Anuário Brasileiro do Arroz 2011 - Unemat

8
Sílvio Ávila
What will tomorrow be like?
Brazil has an undeniable vocation
for rice farming, a peculiarity that reaffirms
its agribusiness expertise as
a whole. Some of the best and most
efficient technologies for the cultivation
of this cereal crop, in terms of
social and environmental viewpoints,
are now used on fields of different
profiles, spread across the vast national
territory. And, although the
highlands in the Center-West Cerrado
region show good productivity rates
with dryland varieties, and even
if the meadowlands of the North
Atlantic coastal areas have become
part of the process, it is a fact that
now rice rhymes with South. And the
cereal seems to be very fond of irrigated
plantations.
Rio Grande do Sul, located in the
Far South, accounts for 65% of the
2010/11 crop. Santa Catarina, the
neighboring state, expands significantly
the southern share. Both guarantee
domestic supplies and have surpluses
that are exported.
It is an impressive superiority,
which even calls for careful assessment
of the factors that lead to such
outstanding performance: if, on the
one hand, competence stands to rea-
son, so to speak, on the other hand,
it might suggest a certain dependency
of the region on this cereal, in addition
to the natural vocation of certain
areas. And, as things stand now, there
will always be pros and cons.
The first conclusion is that, in a
year of fully favorable climatic conditions
and fields established on large
scale, harvest will be abundant. This
land is really suitable for rice. Not by
chance, the crop is to be concluded
with new record production volumes.
The problem in such a scenario,
where global stocks are enough to
meet demand, surfaces at the moment
remuneration is evaluated. In
spite of all precautions regarding production
cost control, and although using
the most efficient economic return
technologies, the bumper crop weighs
heavily and prices plummet. This is
what is happening.
This is in fact the complex problem
the rice production chain is now facing.
And in this case it is not just the
producer’s problem, it is also a government
concern, responsible for assuring
enough supply to meet what
society demands; and it is not just the
mission of a single country, but of all
countries where rice is a staple that
people consume almost daily.
Can we afford not to produce rice?
What could be done for this cereal
to remunerate the producers without
overburdening the consumers?
How to control the balance of trade,
considering that Brazil is a relevant
importer and now also an exporter
of this cereal? And, especially, how
to keep growers motivated in light
of a lush harvest, while the money
jingling in their pockets is far from
bringing satisfaction?
There are many variables involved.
None of them overshadow the importance
of rice on the dinner table,
nor the incredible capacity of Brazil
to seed and harvest this cereal.
Nonetheless, agriculture is business, a
fact that nobody can deny. And when
it comes to business, it is not a matter
of accepting losses, the fact is, nobody
CAN AFFORD to lose.
The scenario of the next crop will
inevitably depend on the solution to
this intricate equation between cost
and benefit, harvest and profit and
between domestic market and exports.
What will tomorrow be like?
That’s what we all would like to know.