the seed segment. He reckons the past soybean seed crop at
3.3 million 40-kilogram sacks. The area established by the soy-
bean producers reveals the gradual stride in demand: in the
2016/2017 cycle 1.58million hectares had been devoted to the
crop in the region. In the new phase, statistical figures indicate
anareaof 1.6millionhectares.
Aprosem encompasses 15 of the 17 seed producers in
Matopiba,regionthatcomprisesthestatesofMaranhão,Tocan-
tins,PiauíandBahia,whoseinitialsyllablesgiverisetotheacro-
nym. From these 15 farmers, 11 are fromBahia. Although in its
denomination, Aprosem hints at Matopiba, more recently the
entity includedaproducer fromtheneighboringPará. And, be-
sides soybean, which predominates by far in volume of seeds,
associatedmultipliersareequallydevoted tocorn, foragecrops
andcotton. In the caseof corn, harvest takes place in the region
but seedprocessing isdone inother states.
Foragecropshaveturnedintoaninterestingniche,accord-
ingtoMaia.Astheclimateintheregionisverypeculiar,withlit-
tleprecipitationand longdry spells, it favors thedevelopment
of forages. “Nowwe have around 25 to 30 thousand hectares
devoted to forage crops, whose seed is not even for local con-
sumption, but is exported to other states”, he emphasizes. “I
would even go so far as to say that the seed ends up in Lat-
in American countries, where the highlights are such species
as Brachiaria”. The seed sector equally took advantage of the
hightechnologicalprofileaddedtocropslikecotton,whichre-
quires accuracy in terms of technology packages andmecha-
nization, which were immediately incorporated into the seg-
ment of seedmultiplication.
The risks of piracy
“The seedmultiplying sector is fully
established and nowshows a real professional
spirit inWesternBahia”, says Ivanir Maia. “Just
like agribusiness, an undisputable hub in the
region, themodernization of the processing
structures, promoted over the past years, has
brought themultiplication of seeds to the
same level”. The positive reflections of this
efficiency and quality are visible throughout
the entireMatopiba region and in all the other
regions and countries that get their seed
supplies inWesternBahia.
At regional level the benefits fromthe
quality seedsmultiplied inWesternBahia
are visible and financially relevant. Maia
simplywarns that the region, just likemany
other areas inBrazil, is still suffering froma
chronic problem, piracy, consisting in sales of
common seeds by producers as if theywere
multiplied seeds. “It is a real drama. It is illicit
trade, liable to punishment set forth by law,
and ends up causing quality and productivity
problems to lots of farmers.”
