T
he Brazilian seed and seedling
sector has evolved greatly and
contributes toward the excel-
lent results reaped by agribusi-
ness. An example is the bumper
grain crop of 237.2 million tons the Country
is set to harvest in the 2016/17 crop year, ac-
cording to theNational FoodSupply Agency
(Conab). The volume is up 27.1% from the
same period last year. As far as the planted
area goes, the grain fields soared 3.7%.
The production of seeds and seedlings
is a major starting point of the Brazilian ag-
ricultural sector. In the2016/17growing sea-
son, the area devoted to seed propagation
crops reached 2.767 million hectares, up
2.33 percent, or almost 63 thousand hect-
ares, compared to the area in the previous
season. These data comprise all species
multiplied by seeds, registered in the Minis-
try of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Sup-
ply (Mapa), observes Virgínia Arantes Fer-
reira Carpi, coordinator of the ministry’s
department of Seeds and Seedlings (CSM).
The farmers keep the Mapa informed
about the estimated volume, the plant-
ed area and the number of seed production
fields. For the 2016/17 season, the estimat-
ednumber, includingall species registered in
the Mapa, was the harvest of 10.251 million
tons of seeds, outstripping the 7.842 million
tons in the previous period. The volume, is
just an estimation, and it also represents the
gross production, as the grains need to be
processed before they achieve the status as
seeds available for commercialization. They
equally include all categories: genetic, basic,
C1, C2, S1 and S2. The producers themselves
register their fields, and provide for all other
data, in the Inspection Management System
(Sigef), a division of the Mapa, reiterates An-
dréia de Oliveira Gerk, chief executive of the
SeedsDivision (Disem).
Furthermore, the farmers can cancel
the production field that has been regis-
tered in the Mapa. The harvested prod-
uct that does not comply with all the seed
requisites can be commercialized as grain.
“Provided the seeds have not been coated
with pesticides for treatment purpose or
any other substance harmful to human or
animal health “, stresses Andréia. The on-
line productionmap is one of the improve-
ments implemented by the ministry. “It is
expected that, as of the next crop, the seed
producing farmers also enter into the infor-
mation system details about the quantity
harvested, processed and commercialized.
This will give us real data, not just estimat-
ed “, she says.
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Seed areas
The biggest areas devoted to the production of seeds are located in the states of Mato Grosso, Goiás, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul,
Minas Gerais and Bahia. If the area registered in theMinistry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa) for the 2015/16 is added
to the 2016/2017 season, Mato Grosso devoted 504.857 thousand hectares; and Goiás, 504.281 thousand hectares. They are followed
by the states of Paraná (385.815 thousand hectares), Rio Grande do Sul (379.707 thousand hectares), andMinas Gerais (358,103 thou-
sand hectares). Seed cultivations that add to the position of the states are soybean, corn andwheat (the latter, in the South).
Full
package
Officiallyregisteredseed
propagation
fieldsoccupied2.767
millionhectaresinthe2016/17growingseason,drivingagribusinessforward
Inor Ag. Assmann
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