Although coffee was introduced into Brazil in the early part of the eighteenth century, it was first grown as a speciality item. It was consumed mainly domestically and in coffee houses in major European cities. With improvements of European and North America living standards, resulting from the progress bought bout by the industrial revolution, coffee consumption expanded rapidly. “By the late 19th century coffee was a principal export item of Brazil” (Bruneau, Thomas C 1981) Most of the major obstacles that Brazil would face is exporting coffee and getting recognition of its quality but these were overcome by the sugar cycle. In addition, this paved a way for Brazil to export anything that was scarce in other parts of the world and was in excess in Brazil. Coffee plays a key role in world markets that organisations have been set up to try and prevent such volatile price fluctuations and to make sure there is still a market for them. The Fairtrade organisation is an example. They help producers worldwide to keep prices fair and make sure producers are given a fair price for their goods and have sustainable living conditions. Pronaf is another organisation however this is a domestic organisation run by the domestic government. It provides guaranteed finance for farmers who are unable to afford new capital to update their farming methods so they can keep up with the demand and produce enough. “VCP in Brazil: Planting eucalyptus” is a case study which highlights how important agriculture is for Brazil. Like we have development projects and skill regeneration programs to get unskilled back into the labour force in Britain, Brazil have programs such as this case study. The case study is about how small business and medium size farmers who are doing well get together to fund projects that help get unskilled people into farming. They are taught basic skills of farming and are given opportunities to start up their own farms with the fund leaders looking over them. Unskilled labourers are normally people who “particularly vulnerable and lived on the verge of social-economic exclusion if not provided with the conditions to make a living from the land” (UN 2008) the collaboration of these local farmers who gain nothing from the project shows Brazil has come a long way from the slave labour and corrupt days. There is enough land and capital for them to allow new people to work alongside them. Most sectors try and be the best and the biggest. This case study shows us that there is still so much spare capacity and still more room for Brazil to expand more than it already has. The project is privately funded by farmers. The case study includes statistics to back up the claims in this essay that agriculture in Brazil is still expanding and has further room to carry on expanding at the rate it is. The case study is able to prove to us that without agriculture there wouldn’t be community projects such as the VCP.
Modern western countries have started to move out of the agricultural sector. Agriculture in most European countries has slowed down a lot over the years and they have adapted more into the services sector with financial services being one of the most common. Although Brazils services sector is big the agricultural sector makes up for almost 3.5% of total GDP and accounts for 15% of national labour force who are part of agriuculture. (Brazil Government 2002)
The graph shows to us how western countries such as the UK although still do produce agricultural goods have slowed down production over the years. However, it is the opposite case for Brazil. As western countries try to conquer the services sector Brazil is capturing the agricultural sector. Farmers to produce high yielding crops are now utilizing Land in Brazil that was once baron. Crops that farmers know will fetch a good price on the market and is also the best and easiest way for them to make a living in Brazil which has very little else going for it.
We have seen how Brazil is booming with the agricultural trade at the moment however if we look back at the earlier times where Brazil was unaware of the riches agriculture could bring to them we see that it did not have much attraction towards it. During the time of slave labour, Brazil was exploited for its resources and agriculture was under estimated and sold very cheaply. After the abolishing of slave labour, which also saw the end of dictatorship, Brazil was finally able to realize the impact its agriculture had on the world. Brazil is the fourth largest producer of agriculture in the world in terms of volumes. In 2009, Brazil had an output of $96,016 million. (CIA Fact book 2009) The amount they produce means that Brazil is self-sufficient and does not need to rely on any other countries for its agriculture unlike other countries that do have to rely on Brazil meaning that Brazil is able to uphold its power and that is due to its agricultural production.
Agriculture also brings about its problems as whole. With its rapid expansions Brazil faces the problems of externalities when producing on such a scale. Co2 emissions have to be carefully monitored. Safety has to be considered to any diseases that are in Brazil cannot be transferred onto their produce. Weather conditions are one of Brazil’s best resources if they get a season of rains that are sufficient and then the next season rains fall so much they saturate the soil and ruin it would mean that it cause problems for its production. The products that Brazil produces also pose a threat the elasticity of the products means that prices are very volatile. Government intervention is necessary to make sure prices are kept stable. Brazil has been able to overcome most of these problems so far but as time goes on these problems could get worse as the scale of production increases. The scale of production also has to be monitored to make sure that supply doesn’t get greater then demand.
Agriculture has also opened other doors for Brazil. By being known for its coffee, it has also boosted its tourism trade Brazil is now one of the most visited countries in South America. The tourism in turn helps the economy and as a whole increases Brazil’s growth furthermore. As more and more tourists visit each year there is a need for more attractive cities to bring in the tourists more bars, hotels and amusements parks open up and there is an expansion in Brazil. People realize Brazils potential and start this brings in more foreign investment making Brazil a popular destination for holidaymakers and investors. As Brazil has a warmer climate and is becoming more urbanised people start to have second homes and a cycle is started, expanding Brazil more and more and increasing its other sectors such as the services and industry sectors.
In conclusion, agriculture shows to be the reason why Brazil is seen to be an up and coming economy it is still classed as a developing country but it is developing at a very fast rate. The reasons Brazil is mainly known for are its coffee and chocolate. Agricultural products that are a necessity in most countries these days. The fertile soil and fortunate climate Brazil is known for also further helps its agriculture. Statistics tell us that Brazil is growing at a fast rate, and this means all the sectors of Brazil are growing we are able to see that the key to all the other sectors growing was the dependence of the agriculture sector the world has on Brazil. Once people started realizing Brazil is potential beyond just the agriculture sector it started to grow and grow. The population increase left behind after the end of the slave trade started Brazil’s expansion. More workers meant more work was created and all the spare capacity was forced to be used.The volumes it produces every year proves to us that agriculture plays a big role on Brazil. The elasticity of these products is also highly inelastic. They are products that are in demand in other countries which helps Brazil make sure it will always have a demand for its produce. We are able to see without agriculture the rest of the sectors would not have been recognized and Brazil would not be developing as fast as it is. Furthermore, the diversity of the products Brazil produces also means that agriculture is able to hold its importance. Most countries only specialize in one type of agricultural product however; Brazil has been able to get all areas of agriculture from coffee to sugarcane to beef and various vegetable as well as cereals. Their diversification in product production will make sure their rapid growth caries on.
Bibliography:
(Bruneau, Thomas C): 1981 (Authoritarian Capitalism: Brazil’s Contempary Economic and Political Development) West view Press 1981 page 14
(Central Intelligence Agency): 2009 (World Fact book 2009) [Online]
[Accessed December 21st 2010]
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
(Cláudio Boechat & Roberta Mokrejs Paro): 2008 (Planting eucalyptus in partnership with the rural poor) United Nations Press pages 1-21
(Defra) : 2008 (UK Agricultural Productivity) [Online]
[Accessed: 28th November 2010]
http://www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk/current_production.htm
(Dictionary.com): 2011 [Online]
[Accessed 9th January 2011]
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agriculture
(Kowitt, Beth ): 2009 (For Mr. BRIC, nations meeting a milestone) [Online]
[Accessed: 27th November 2010] http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/17/news/economy/goldman_sachs_jim_oneill_interview.fortune/index.htm
