Sustainable intensification of Brazilian agriculture: scenarios for 2050

Abstract

The expected increase of urban population mainly in developing countries, the increase in demand for animal protein, the shortage of available land for agriculture expansion and the high probability of climate change are driving factors shaping the Brazilian agricultural sector boundary conditions in the next three decades. In this paper, we selected four important areas for the Brazilian agricultural sector (climate, fertilizers, livestock and economy) to discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise in such perspective for the country. The discussion was based primarily on the challenge for yield increasing without (or with little) area expansion and points out to a positive outlook in the case Brazil were able to remain as one of the leading world food producer.