Sorriso, Mato Grosso – MT Foundation, a private agricultural research institute headquartered in Mato Grosso, established as its target expansion of soy productivity in the state to 70 60-kilogram bags per hectare, according to José Antonio Costa, manager of the organisation’s research institute in Sorriso, a city located 412 kilometres north of Mato Grosso state capital Cuiabá. Today, according to him, productivity varies from 52 to 55 bags per hectare, the largest in Brazil.
"It is a challenge," said Costa to ANBA and to the other members of the E.torQ Amazon Journey, a trip by car from São Paulo to Pará, returning through Mato Grosso, sponsored by FTP, a maker of Fiat engines. He added, however, that there is no specific schedule for this objective to be reached.
The foundation, established in 1993 by farmers in the state, works on genetic improvement of soy and cotton, as well as developing management techniques. To reach the target, according to Costa, it is also necessary to further develop pesticides.
The organisation works with sector companies, like Syngenta, Basf, Bayer and Dow, which have research areas within the same property as the institute, in Sorriso. The city is the largest producer of soy and maize in the country, according to the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The advantage of genetic improvement, including the development of genetically modified plants, according to Costa, is that the plant becomes resistant to certain diseases. That makes the volume of pesticides necessary lower. “It pollutes less and the production capacity is fantastic," he declared.
The manager added that the greater production must take place without expansion of the area of cultivation. "We have to produce more but greater deforestation is not possible," he said. Currently, Mato Grosso has 6 million hectares turned to soy cultivation.
Foreign cooperation
The organisation provides technical assistance to farmers at events and in the field and also has technology exchange agreements with organisations in other states, like Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.
At the unit in Sorriso – the organisation’s headquarters are in Rondonópolis, in the south of the state of Mato Grosso, – there is an area for experimental cultivation, which is taking place at the moment. The dry season took a long time to arrive this year, and cultivation, as a whole, was delayed by almost one month.
Change in scenery
On crossing the state from north to south, it is easy to notice the change in vegetation and economic activity. While the North is part of the Amazon and is marked by cattle farming, on travelling the BR-163 towards Cuiabá, the savannah starts taking the place of the forest and enormous crop areas take over from cattle farms.
Costa explained that the mountainous relief is not appropriate for agriculture and, furthermore, transport of produce is harder. However, with the tarmacking of the BR-163, from Guarantã do Norte, still in Mato Grosso, to Santarém, in Pará, the flow of the crop may take place on the River Amazon.
When reconstruction of the highway is ready, which should take place in up to four years, Costa believes that soy cultivation may advance in southern Pará. "Wherever it is possible to plant on degraded pasture, it will be possible," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
