Biggest employer
Data furnished by Aiba attest that agribusiness is also the
biggest employer in the region. For every job generated in
the rural setting, two other jobs are created along the supply
chain, significantly expanding the scope of the segment, as
far as employment goes. The growers’ organizationmaintains
that the activity accounts formore than 60 thousand direct
and indirect positions inWesternBahia, which ultimately
benefit 240 thousand people, identifying the vast economic
and social repercussion provided by the supply chain
towards the construction of regional development, with
positive reflections on the State and Country.
Western Bahia amounts to R$ 12 billion, where the highlight is
Luís Eduardo Magalhães, which is known as the Capital of Agri-
business, has made investments in agroindustries and is now
on the forefront of the generation of regional wealth. Although
not being the biggest in population, the municipality has been
leadingthegrowthrate(39%from2010to2017,andhasnow83
thousand inhabitants), while themost populated, Barreiras, the
big regional center, with 157 thousand inhabitants, likewise re-
veals substantial income, basedonagricultural operations.
On the other hand, the most significant evolution in the
Gross Domestic Product occurred in São Desidério, with 161%
from 2010 to 2014 and, simultaneously, it experienced a big-
ger than normal growth in population in the region, reaching
22% until 2017. The municipality equally registers the highest
GDP per capita in 2014, no less than R$ 78 thousand real. For-
mosa do Rio Preto and Correntina, equally in the Bahia cerra-
do region, are also included in the number of the fivemost sig-
nificant municipalities in terms of regional GDP, while the ten
biggest include Riachão das Neves and Jaborandi, with cerra-
do and commercial farming, besides BomJesus da Lapa, San-
ta Maria da Vitória and Barra, in the area of the valleys, where
family farming prevails, alongwith livestock operations.
From another point of view, the municipalities with the
biggest income in the region also generated more taxes for
the government coffers, indirectly benefiting the population.
According to numbers surveyed by the Bahia Association of
Farmers and Irrigators (Aiba), from 2000 to 2015, Formosa do
Rio Preto and Correntina experienced increases in the collec-
tion of State Added Value Taxes (ICMS), and other taxes, of up-
wards of 650%, Luís EduardoMagalhães, 550%andSãoDesid-
érioandBarreiras, over 200%, thusbeingentitled to takemore
advantage of theMunicipalities’ Participation Fund (FPM).
55
Fonte:
IBGE
os campeões
the winners
Os maiores da regiãoOeste-BA em Produto Interno Bruto (PIB)
Municípios
PIB (R$ milhões)
Habitantes
2010 2014
2010
2017
Luís Eduardo Magalhães
1.900 3.825
60.105 83.557
Barreiras
1.922 3.340
137.427 157.638
São Desidério
959 2.506
27.659 33.661
Formosa do Rio Preto
651 1.368
22.528 25.912
Correntina
572 1.234
31.249 33.361
Total região (39 municípios)
9.329 18.006 932.095 1.044.977
