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Precision Agriculture in the Five Regions of Brazil

Writer's picture: PAULO GALVÃO JÚNIORPAULO GALVÃO JÚNIOR

Paulo Galvão Júnior (1)

The management of agricultural production requires new technologies for sustainable and high-performance farming, and precision agriculture (PA) provides accuracy and data for Brazilian farmers in the five regions of Brazil (North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, and South). PA has been expanding across the country, driven by the need to increase efficiency in agricultural production and reduce costs.

According to the Brazilian Association of Precision Agriculture and Digital Farming (AsBraAP), "Precision agriculture is a management strategy that gathers, processes, and analyzes temporal, individual, and spatial data and combines them with other information to support management decisions according to estimated variability to improve efficiency in the use of resources, productivity, quality, profitability, and sustainability of agricultural production."

The New Industry Brazil (NIB) is the new industrial policy that establishes six missions for the period 2024 to 2033 in the process of neo-industrialization of the Brazilian economy. Sustainable and digital agro-industrial chains are mission 1, with a set goal of increasing the current 18% of mechanized family farms to 70%.

Additionally, 95% of these machines should be produced domestically. Priorities related to mission 1 include the manufacturing of precision agriculture (PA) equipment, agricultural machinery for large-scale production, and expanding and optimizing the productive capacity of family farming for the production of healthy food.

It is essential to highlight that the main goal is to increase the agro-industry's participation in the Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 50%. Therefore, more PA-related companies are needed in the five regions of Brazil to allow farmers to optimize agricultural production in all its stages. PA provides technologies that will increase productivity and profitability.

In the North Region, PA is used in activities such as sustainable forest management, monitoring reforestation areas, and low-impact agriculture. Technologies such as satellite imagery, remote sensing, and drones are employed to monitor forest health and plan agricultural activities more sustainably.

In the Northeast Region, especially in the northeastern semi-arid, PA is crucial to optimize water use in regions prone to water scarcity. Techniques such as precision irrigation and monitoring soil moisture help farmers maximize water efficiency and agricultural production in adverse conditions.

In the Midwest Region, the agricultural heart of Brazil, PA is widely used in crops such as soybeans, corn, and cotton. Technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS), soil sensors, and autonomous agricultural machines are employed to optimize the management of large cultivated areas, reducing costs and increasing productivity.

In the Southeast Region, in the four states where a significant part of Brazilian agricultural production is concentrated, PA is applied in crops such as coffee, sugarcane, citrus fruits, and vegetables. Techniques such as soil variability mapping, fertilizer application according to plant needs, and monitoring crop health are used to maximize yield and product quality.

In the South Region, where crops like soybeans, wheat, corn, and grapes predominate, PA is essential to deal with the region's climatic and soil variations. Technologies such as automatic weather stations, agricultural drones, and temporal, individual, and spatial data analysis software are employed to monitor environmental conditions and optimize crop management, ensuring the sustainability and profitability of agricultural activities.

PA is present in all five regions of Brazil, adapting to the specific characteristics and demands of each to provide more efficient and sustainable agricultural production management. In all these regions, PA plays a fundamental role in promoting more efficient, sustainable, and profitable agricultural production management, contributing to the country's economic growth.

PA generates savings and presents economic impacts through the application of tools such as proximal or remote sensing, sensor data fusion, and sampling strategies. The main economic impacts include cost reduction, increased productivity, optimization of natural resource use, increased profitability, and technological empowerment.

PA is an approach that uses technology to optimize agricultural management, increasing production and productivity. It is based on collecting and analyzing precise data on various aspects of cultivation, such as soil conditions, climate, and plant health.

In the Brazilian context, PA has been increasingly adopted by farmers in all five regions of the country. This is partly due to the vast Brazilian territory, which has a great diversity of climates, soils, and agricultural crops. Agricultural production management requires an adaptive approach, and PA offers tools and techniques to meet this demand.

The main benefits of PA for Brazilian farmers include the optimization of input use, monitoring plant health, productivity mapping, and reducing environmental impact.

Optimizing input use with detailed data collection on soil and climatic conditions allows farmers to apply fertilizers, water, and pesticides more precisely, reducing waste and costs.

Through agricultural drones, sensors, and satellite images, farmers can quickly identify problems such as pests, diseases, or water stress, allowing timely and effective interventions in monitoring plant health.

PA enables farmers to map productivity variability in their cultivation areas, identifying high and low-yield areas. This allows the implementation of differentiated management practices to maximize yield per hectare.


In conclusion, PA offers a modern and efficient approach to agricultural production management in continental Brazil, enabling farmers to make more informed and strategic decisions to maximize productivity and profitability in their economic activities.



(1) Paulo Galvão Júnior, an economist from Paraíba, is a Professor of Economics in the Accounting and Financial Management courses at UNIESP, Effective Counselor of CORECON-PB, WhatsApp: (83) 98122-7221, Email: paulogalvaojr@gmail.com

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