Vespasiano Neves/VESPA
At the
beginning
is always the seed
Seedmultiplication,
especially soybean,
putWesternBahia
in the limelight,
meeting state demand
and shipping to
other countries
Western Bahia occupies a distinct position on the global
and Brazilian agribusiness map. Things are not different in the
area of seed production, it may even be themost strategic sec-
tor that sets the pillars for the formidable expansion of the ag-
riculture and cattle supply chains. The soaring cultivation of
grains and the aggregation of
quality and productivity differ-
entials to the fields were only
possible because the seed sec-
tor got increasingly specialized,
meeting the demands of the
farmers and, occasionally, act-
ing in anticipation, suggesting
new technologies, in line with
soil andclimatepeculiarities.
Ahugeportionofthisboldincursionintotheareaofseedmul-
tiplication could be credited to the segment’s regional organiza-
tion,which,in2011,resultedintothecreationoftheMapotibaAs-
sociationof SoybeanSeedProducers (Aprosem),
currentlypresidedoverbyLaerteBaechtold.With
this union, one of the one-off measures was the
refurbishment of theprocessing structure, which
immediately translated into export type quali-
ty. So much that now, around 70% of the seeds
multiplied in Western Bahia are shipped to oth-
erstates,especiallytoMatoGrosso,which,alone,
absorbs about one thirdof the total. The remain-
ing portion traded outside the region is sent to
Maranhão, Tocantins, Pará and Piauí, constitut-
ingsixclientstates,alongwithBahiaitself.
The executive director of Aprosem, Ivanir
Maia, who, since the beginning, has been keep-
ing a close watch on the formalization and ex-
pansion of the Western Bahia area, emphasiz-
es that soybean is, just like what happens at
agribusiness as a whole, the real highlight in
Aprosembrings
togetherseed
producers from
Matopiba and
fromPará
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