Wall Street Journal writer Samantha Pearson reported late last week that, “Deep in the sweltering savanna of central Brazil, a quiet farming revolution is under way, promising relief as Russia’s war in Ukraine sparks food shortages.
Here in the tropics, growing wheat—a crop best suited to mild temperatures—was once considered a crazy idea. Now, new varieties of protein-rich ‘tropical wheat’ created by state agronomists are already starting to reap record harvests and profits.
“With higher prices attracting farmers, analysts are predicting as much as a 40% increase in national wheat production to almost 11 million tons this year.”
The Journal article noted that, “‘Brazil has everything it needs to become one of the world’s biggest producers,’ said Celso Moretti, an agronomist and head of Embrapa, Brazil’s agricultural research agency. Currently a net importer of wheat, Brazil has the capacity today to triple wheat production to 22 million tons on existing farmland in the next few years, turning the country into one of the world’s 10 largest exporters, he said.
“While the effort to grow these new varieties started before the invasion of Ukraine in late February, the timing couldn’t be better. With almost 50 countries dependent on Russia and Ukraine for at least 30% of their wheat imports, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warns disruptions caused by the war could lead to widespread hunger in the poorest nations.”
https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2022/05/a-quarter-of-sunflower-oil-has-vanished-brazil-eyes-tropical-wheat-and-fertilizer-problems-persist/ |
