Potential for Agricultural Expansion in Degraded Pasture Lands in Brazil Based on Geospatial Databases

Édson Luis Bolfe (), Daniel de Castro Victoria, Edson Eyji Sano, Gustavo Bayma, Silvia Maria Fonseca Silveira Massruhá and Aryeverton Fortes de Oliveira
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Édson Luis Bolfe: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Agricultura Digital), Campinas 13083-886, Brazil
Daniel de Castro Victoria: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Agricultura Digital), Campinas 13083-886, Brazil
Edson Eyji Sano: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Cerrados), Planaltina 73301-970, Brazil
Gustavo Bayma: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Meio Ambiente), Jaguariúna 13820-000, Brazil
Silvia Maria Fonseca Silveira Massruhá: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Sede), Brasília 70770-901, Brazil
Aryeverton Fortes de Oliveira: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Agricultura Digital), Campinas 13083-886, Brazil

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Important public and private initiatives to map agricultural lands and natural resources have been carried out in Brazil to support land use planning. Some studies indicate that Brazil still has up to 109.7 million hectares of cultivated pastures with some level of degradation, representing around 60% of the total pasturelands, estimated at 177 million hectares. This study aimed to gather, process, and analyze publicly available databases to generate quantitative and spatial information about the potential of Brazilian degraded pastures for agricultural expansion. We considered data related to the natural agricultural potential, restrictions imposed by special areas (indigenous lands and Afro-Brazilian “quilombola” settlements), areas with high biodiversity conservation priorities, infrastructure such as distance between major highways and availability of warehouses, current agricultural areas, and the information made available by Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning. The results indicated the existence of approximately 28 million hectares of planted pastures with intermediate and severe levels of degradation that show high potential for agricultural crops. These areas could increase the planted areas with grains in Brazil by approximately 35% in relation to the total area used in the 2022/23 crop season.

Keywords: spatial analysis; land use planning; digital agriculture; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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