Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and Technology. Still other revenues are available through private or
bilateral international sources and through the Program for Support in
the Development of Science and Technology (PADCT), a World Bank
lending facility for research administered by the Department of Science
and Technology. The funds are used for genetic engineering and GM
projects on a range of crops including soybeans, cotton, maize, potato,
papaya, black beans, banana, cassava, and rice.
10
As agriculture mechanized and subsistence farming declined, agri-
business in Brazil has increased considerably. A prominent example is
the development of the Brazilian soybean industry. In the 1970s, Brazil
became one of the world's leading producers of conventional soybeans
and soybean derivatives, and the second largest exporter after the United
States. By another measure, Brazil had negligible tonnage before 1960,
but by 1980, had achieved an annual output in excess of 15 million metric
tons, a substantial achievement.
11
This development has been facilitated
by three overriding and interdependent factors: a favorable world mar-
ket and the consequent price incentives, a readily available technology,
and a favorable government policy.
12
B.BrazilianCompetitivenessintheInternationalTradeMarket
inthe1990s
Brazil's two largest competitors in the soybean export market -
Argentina and the United States - began growing GM soybeans in the
1990s, and it seemed at first that Brazil should do the same to remain
competitive. Starting in 1998, however, a growing consumer and environ-
mentalist backlash against GM foods in Europe and Japan raised doubts
regarding consumer acceptance, and some experts in Brazil argued that
a trade advantage would come from remaining GM free.
10
See http://www.embrapa.gov.br/a embrapa/index html/mostra documento.
11
Anthony B. Soskin,
Non-Traditional Agriculture and Economic Development: The
Brazilian Soybean Expansion,
1964-1982 (New York: Praeger, 1988) 59.
12
Anthony B. Soskin,
Non-Traditional Agriculture and Economic Development: The
Brazilian Soybean Expansion,
1964-1982 (New York: Praeger, 1988) 60.
