Abstract
The importance of plant breeding in Brazilian agriculture has grown a lot in the last 50 years. This occurred mainly because of the: increase in graduate programs, which qualified hundreds of professionals; creation of EMBRAPA and other research institutes or state companies, with an emphasis on the production of new cultivars and; promulgation of the cultivar protection law, which stimulates investments in seed production. The retrospective of what happened, enabling the country to move from being an importer of grains, fruits, and fibers to one of the largest exporters of these products worldwide, was the focus of this work. Taking as reference some agricultural products, this article highlights the significant contribution of plant breeding in recent years. Also, some of the enormous challenges that still have to be overcome, in which the participation of Brazilian breeders will be fundamental to continue the progress of agriculture in the coming years.
Highlights
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of grain, fruit, and fiber in Brazil was concentrated in the Atlantic Forest biome and was largely itinerant, that is, the forest was cleared for growing annual crops, usually for only a few years, and a new area of forest was cleared, and this procedure continued
The success of agriculture in Brazil over the last five decades is based on various factors, including the dedication of many farmers and development of their business skills; government incentives in various financing programs, for example, the use of limestone, irrigation projects, and grain storage facilities; annual financing of crop and other expenditures; intensifications of agricultural extension services performed by government agencies and by companies that market crop inputs; and the generation of agricultural technologies adapted to tropical conditions, technologies that did not yet exist in other countries with more technologically developed agriculture
Plant breeding in Brazil began long ago in some research institutions, it was mainly concentrated in the state of São Paulo at the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas - IAC (Carbonell 2012)
Summary
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of grain, fruit, and fiber in Brazil was concentrated in the Atlantic Forest biome and was largely itinerant, that is, the forest was cleared for growing annual crops, usually for only a few years, and a new area of forest was cleared, and this procedure continued. The success of agriculture in Brazil over the last five decades is based on various factors, including the dedication of many farmers and development of their business skills; government incentives in various financing programs, for example, the use of limestone, irrigation projects, and grain storage facilities; annual financing of crop and other expenditures; intensifications of agricultural extension services performed by government agencies and by companies that market crop inputs; and the generation of agricultural technologies adapted to tropical conditions, technologies that did not yet exist in other countries with more technologically developed agriculture This last factor involved numerous areas of knowledge, with effective co-participation in this process. The production of new cultivars, which is the focus of this publication, was fundamental for the success of Brazilian agribusiness
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