Glacier FarmMedia—Brazil is on its way to becoming self-sufficient in wheat over the next 10 years, the United States Department of Agriculture reported on July 1.
The USDA attaché in the country’s capital of Brasilia said the expansion of wheat will include cultivating “tropical wheat” in the savanna-like region in central Brazil known as the Cerrado biome. These varieties of tropical wheat are reported to be better resistant to dry weather.
Presently, approximately 87 per cent of Brazil’s wheat is produced in the southerly states of Rio Grande do Sul and Parana. The Cerrado, about 22 per cent of Brazil’s territory, stretches from Parana northward to Maranhao. It takes in all or parts of other states such as Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Sao Paulo, Tocantins, Piaui, Bahia, and the Distrito Federal.
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The attaché said Brazil is on pace to produce about 9.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2024/25, but the country’s equivalent to the USDA, Conab, projected nine million tonnes. Brazil’s demand for wheat is for 12 million tonnes per year, and its imports place tenth in the world. At least 80 per cent of Brazil’s wheat imports come from Argentina.
More production of course means more planted area, with the government pushing to expand it from 3.4 million hectares in 2023/24 up to four million. Within the Cerrado, the plan is to start increasing wheat area to 353,000 from the current 252,000, with focus on converting degraded pastures to fields. That’s also expected to produce an additional 300,000 tonnes of wheat.
The Cerrado weather is based around its rainy season from September/October to March/April, and then its dry season from April/May to September/October. While much of Brazil’s rainfed wheat is planted in March and its irrigated wheat follows in April, the tropical wheat would require only 10 days of continuous rain during its flowering period.
Four varieties of wheat have been developed and are grown in Brazil, with high-quality BRS 264 accounting for 80 per cent of the irrigated wheat. The BRS 394 variety is flexible enough to be used for rainfed or irrigated fields with a development cycle of 110 days. The BRS 404 wheat is more tolerant of dry weather such as that experienced in the Cerrado. The BRS 254 has a development cycle of 120 to 125 days and while it produces high yields it requires careful management.
Then there are issues with wheat blast, a disease that can severely cripple output. Wheat blast can be prevalent in humidity of 90 per cent or more with temperatures of around 28 Celsius.
A number of Brazilian farmers look to wheat as a second-season crop, to follow corn or soybeans, but much of the soil within the Cerrado is often poor in phosphorus and potassium, which requires balanced fertilization.
