Brazil, mainly known for its beautiful women and glorious sun, is now building a reputation for an entirely different reason: agriculture. On a vast and barren area of land that was previously deemed unfit for farming, Brazil has created an oasis of growth and become one of the top five exporters of meat, soya beans and grain in the world. Not one to rest on its laurels, the Latin American country is now working out ways to reduce hunger in other areas of the developing world, as well as feeding its own citizens.

“The use of GM is highly problematic.  One of the biggest issues is the use of pesticides. This causes huge problems poisoning people, animals and driving people out”

The UN reported that agriculture is key in feeding the one billion empty stomachs in the world, explaining that growth in small and organic farms usually generates the greatest improvements for the poorest people, as well as being an environmentally-friendly farming method.  Whilst much of the rest of world remains in agreement with this local-level strategy, Brazil chose to turn its back on these methods and take another route. 
 
40 years ago, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - known as EMBRAPA - was challenged with turning the country’s ‘cerrado’, or savannah, into an area rich in agriculture, preparing it for trade.  With over 2000 researchers led by Eduardo Lombato, the winner of the World Food Prize in 2006, the team set out to create new technologies. This included improving soil fertility and structure along with the efficient use and storage of water, as well as working on GM crops. 

With GM crops considered a ‘toxic chemical’ by many, this strategy has raised more than a few eyebrows; with various experts and protesters speaking out against the use of GM crops.  Friends of the Earth International claim that GM crops are unhealthy: both for the human body and the planet. 
 
“The use of GM is highly problematic.  One of the biggest issues is the use of pesticides. This causes huge problems poisoning people, animals and driving people out” said Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Food Sovereignty programme co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth International.
 
Over in Brazil, EMBRAPA now boasts the seventh largest gene bank in the world - holding almost a quarter of a million seed samples – in a quest to produce plants resistant to plagues and diseases.  These tactics have enabled Brazil’s production to increase massively (hitting a staggering a 3000% increase for its soya bean production) and pushed this ‘developing’ country into the forefront of trade exports, alongside Western nations.
 
The Brazilian method is not only causing controversy as a result of its genetic engineering. Many questions have been raised around the use of the cerrado, alleging that its extremely bio-diverse land is being ruined by extensive farming.  Others question the true ownership of the land being used for mass farming. Many claim the land originally belongs to indigenous communities, groups that are often marginalised within Latin American society, and routinely denied land rights.

According to Ms Chandrasekaran, “There is a huge decrease in local farming. Lots of farmers lose their livelihoods and the environment is ruined as plantations are grown on rainforests. The cerrado has been lost by 60% to big plantations.”
 
 

'The UN reported that agriculture is key in feeding the one billion empty stomachs in the world, explaining that growth in small and organic farms usually generate the greatest improvements for the poorest people, as well as being an environmentally friendly farming method'

With the population explosion, climate change and the deadline for the Millennium Development Goal to halve hunger by 2015 looming over us all, it seems that an all-hands-on-deck approach is required in feeding the world’s hungry. In anticipation of this, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commenced a South-South partnership between the world’s most poverty stricken area, Sub-Saharan Africa, with whom Brazil now shares knowledge, technology and trade.    
 
But Kirtana Chandrasekaran claims that this partnership is not as positive as it may appear. “After 30 years and billions invested, GM has delivered practically nothing. For the sake of the planet and its people, we need to put our money towards a more ecological approach.”
 
Brazil’s willingness to share these agricultural techniques and technologies with those in dire need is laudable, and the speedy growth of trade exports has seen its political power on the increase. Even if Brazil is aiming to reduce world hunger, the controversial methods by which its doing so seem likely to cause much consternation for a while to come.

Words: Melanie Scagliarini

Photos: Flickr user - Brazil Adventure International