The government of brazil launched on Friday a national plan that seeks to increase local production of fertilizers and thus reduce dependence on imports, a growing need due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The plan, formalized by decree, considers tax incentives, credits and other measures to stimulate the opening of factories and increase the exploitation of minerals for the next 28 years.
Brazil, a global power in agribusiness, is currently the world’s fourth largest consumer of fertilizers, with potassium being the main product used by Brazilian producers.
Of the total fertilizers used in the country, 85% are imported, while soybeans, corn and sugar cane are the three crops that require the most fertilizers. According to the plan’s roadmap, Brazil intends to reduce dependency from 85% to 45% in 2050.
The economic sanctions adopted against Russia, as well as those that weigh on Belarus, two of the main suppliers of fertilizers for Brazil, could compromise sales, for which the government of Jair Bolsonaro has begun to explore alternatives to supply a possible shortage.
President Jair Bolsonaro again on Friday encouraged Congress to move forward with a controversial bill that enables mining on indigenous lands, alleging its urgency in the context of war that could cause the lack of fertilizers in the country.
The president defended that proposal by assuring that “it will open spaces to integrate the indigenous brothers into society” and added: “They (the indigenous) are almost like us and want to integrate.”
For her part, the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, will travel to Canada this Saturday to try to get that country to increase fertilizer sales to Brazil.
“We are not looking for self-sufficiency, but rather the ability to overcome challenges and maintain our greatest wealth, agribusiness, which is thriving and competitive, which brings food security to Brazil and the world,” said the minister, who added that the plan does not only react to the crisis, but rather solve a structural problem.