The readers could test it in their daily
routine: there is no occasion in the every-
day life of the Brazilian people where the
soybean is not present. Judging just from
this point of view, it is possible todimension
the importance of this kernel for the rhythm
of modern life. In the kitchen, in the prepa-
ration of a meal, the oilseed is there, under
various disguises, starting with oil – and it is
very likely there in the form of animal pro-
tein, as it is the basis of the nutrients chick-
ens, pigs and other livestock feed on. Along
the roadways, trucks that cross the Country
from north to south, carrying progress, as
the saying goes, are powered by diesel, and
in this fuel the share of biodiesel is on the
rise. Brazilian biodiesel is made from soy-
bean,arawmaterialthatisalwaysavailable.
A quick look at the trade balance, at the
businesses Brazil maintains with the glob-
al market, make things even clearer: at the
moment, the soybean propels the foreign
currency revenues, and its dividends trans-
late into progress, works and the develop-
ment of all regions across the Country. And
this scenario, in itself worthy of celebration,
tends to get strengthened even further. Not
by chance, projections indicate that in only
10 years, upwards of 10 million hectares
should be added to the present 33 million
hectares cultivated with soybean in the five
national regions. It is a clear announcement
that in only one decade the national soy-
bean volumes will jump much beyond the
100 million ton mark, an amount to be out-
stripped in the 2016/17 growing season.
It also attests to the fact that the benefits
from this kernel tend to penetrate all the ar-
eas of our society. AndBrazil, through its en-
tities and public and private organizations,
has managed to create conditions for our
“soybean dependence”, so to speak, not to
interferewith its beneficial aspects.
Once the Country is one of the few ones
with available agricultural frontiers to be in-
corporated into the productive system, it is
almost certain that the Brazilian people will
be directly responsible for an eventual in-
creaseindemandinthefuture.Astheglobal
populationgrows, the foodneeds togrow in
the same proportions, with regular supplies
and affordable prices. At such moment, the
available arable lands in Brazil, without the
need to resort to deforestation or to the in-
hibition of other agricultural activities, turn
into an unquestionable argument.
Up until now, exports of soy kernels have
beentheflagshipinthebusinessesofthesup-
ply chain. In view of this, the sector is getting
more andmore organizedwith an eye on val-
ue-added products, with different process-
ing and industrialization stages. Foreign sales
of soybeanmeal and oil, are now running be-
hind the real capacityof the supply chain, and
could be implemented over the next years.
With the gradual institution of new crushing
plants and the expansion of the existing ones,
for sure, these two products will have a say in
thedividendsrakedinbytheCountry.
The formidable stridesmade by the Bra-
zilian soybean crops over the past years
carry the unquestionablemark of research.
Ever since a group of specialists, led by Em-
brapa Soybean, managed to adapt this
crop to tropical environments, this plant is
in a position to conquer the immense fron-
tiers in the Center-West, in the cerrado bi-
ome, year after year migrating towards the
Brazilian north and northeast territories. At
present, there is practically no agricultural
region, consisting of either small, medium
or large farms, where soybean crops and
their social impacts are not present.
For this panorama, one of the most ex-
uberant and revolutionary in real agribusi-
ness around the world, it is the soybean
that is the steady basis of Brazilian econo-
my. In the countryside and in town, in di-
rect industry and service areas, trade, it is
this kernel that, so tospeak, feeds theplans
and ambitions of every citizen. And re-
search, it is not difficult to conclude, turns
more and more strategic, lending support
to the eventual risks and needs faced by
the sector, at field level, or otherwise.
Therefore, when a truck crosses the
Brazilian agricultural regions, it is carrying
much more than a single kernel that comes
from the fields, along the roadways. In its
heavy load, it hauls society’s dreams and
happymoments.
HappyReading and amarvelous crop!
Thesoybeanismuchmorethanthekernelharvestedfrom33million
hectares inBrazil. It isthemeatonthediningtableof thepopulation, it isoil
andmeal,andis increasinglybecomingthediesel thatpropelsourprogress.
Heavy
load
Sílvio Ávila
8
