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Immense potential
Bahia has been expanding the production of soybean seed over the past years, in spite of the drought conditions that hit the
northeastern states. “The sector is prepared to double the present area devoted to soybean seed in Bahia”, notes Ivanir Maia,
from Aprosem. It is also prepared to expand the areas devoted to corn and cotton seeds. The seed producers in the State are
increasingly investing in their structures to enhance even further the quality levels of their crops.
On the track of
production
Regionknownas
Matopiba
ishighly
noticeable inthe
productionofseeds,
wherethehighlight
isBahia, statethat
occupies 18.06%of
thisterritory
The seed sector is keeping pace with the
wave of growth started by Brazilian agricul-
ture, especially in the grain sector, in the re-
gion known as Matopiba. The entire region
comprises 337 municipalities and 31 micro-
regions, totaling 73 million hectares, in the
states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Ba-
hia (whose initials give origin to the acro-
nym). The main criterion for the borders
of the territory is based on the cerrado ar-
eas that exist in the four states. The second
criterion takes into consideration the socio-
economic status of the states.
Maranhão occupies 32.77% of the terri-
tory of Matopiba, with 23.9 million hectares
and 135 municipalities. Tocantins accounts
for 37.95%of the area, with 27.7million hect-
ares and 139 municipalities. Piauí represents
11.21%, with 8.2million hectares and 33mu-
nicipalities. Bahia completes the region with
18.06% of the area, 13.2 million hectares and
30 municipalities. The delimitation was sug-
gested by the Strategic Territorial Intelligence
Group (GITE), from Embrapa.
One of the main opportunities of
Matopiba is the chance to increase the ar-
eas devoted to agriculture, opening new
fields for the production of grains. “Soy-
bean is the leading crop, and will con-
tinue as such, because it has a well-orga-
nized supply chain, with relevant players
in the region “, says agronomist Maia, ex-
ecutive director of the Bahia State Seed
Producers’ Association (Aprosem), the
entity that comprises the seed multipliers
in Matopiba. He notes that the use of new
technologies, in the area of biotechnology,
for example, should receive support be-
cause soy producers are always ready for
technological novelties.
The expectation is for the grain crops
to occupy 10.9 million hectares, by 2022,
according to the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestick and Food Supply (Mapa). “How-
ever, the production of seeds in high tem-
peratures, particularly in Maranhão and
Piauí, is one of the challenges the Matopi-
ba productive sector will have to sur-
mount”, says Maia. The recent drought
conditions have reduced the capacity to
invest in the production of grains. Maia
has it that logistics is the real hurdle or
bottleneck of the region.
Nowadays, one of the states of Matopi-
ba that leads the production of soy seed
is Bahia. In the 2015/16 growing season,
production was estimated at 3.215 mil-
lion 40-kg sacks, exceeding the 2.8 million
sacks in the previous year. The total vol-
ume in Matopiba reached 4.751 million
sacks in the 2015/16 growing season. On
average, the utilization rate of this input
reaches approximately 65%.
The total volume that was traded
amounted to nearly 2.5 million 40-kg sacks
of seed, destined for the 2015/16 growing
season. Soybean seed harvested in Bahia is
sold in the State and equally in Tocantins,
Maranhão, Piauí, Mato Grosso and Pará.
According to Maia, there is no shortage
of soybean seed for the soybean farmers in
Matopiba. “Perhaps, certain varieties may not
be found in the market”, he comments. Fur-
thermore, the farmers are using more grains
saved from their own production in 2016, as
a result of the Brazilian economic crisis and
the lack of credit lines. In the case of corn,
theremight be a shortage of seeds, due to the
bigger planted area, even in Bahia.
