Brazil: Less than 1% of agricultural estates forms nearly half of all rural area

Nearly half of Brazil's rural area forms the country's 1% of agricultural properties, according to an unprecedented study entitled Territories of Inequality: Land, Agriculture, and Inequalities in Rural Brazil, released today (Dec. 1) by British NGO Oxfam.

Farms surpassing a thousand hectares (0.91%) hold 45% of all of the area used in production for agriculture, cattle, and forestation.

On the other hand, farms with less than 10 hectares account for some 47% of the country's agricultural properties, but take up less than 2.3% of the total rural territory. These small-scale farmers produce over 70% of the foodstuffs consumed by Brazilians, as larger estates are used in monoculture and sell most of its produce overseas.

The study mentions the northeastern toen of Correntina, in Bahia state, as the quintessential example of this reality. There, large properties occupy 65.35% of the total area of agricultural establishments. In Correntina, poverty affects 45% of the rural population, and 31.8% of the total population.

Human Development

The municipalities with a higher concentration of land show the lowest Human Development Indexes (HDI), and those with less concentration presented better social indicators. Katia Maia, executive director of Oxfam in Brazil, explained that the concentration of land generates inequality in every sector linked to land production.

“The higher the concentration of land, the higher the concentration of investment, machinery, which spreads across different sectors. Modernization of agriculture showed an improvement in the population's quality of life,” Maia remarked. “Preliminary figures show that the municipalities with the largest concentration of land have higher levels of poverty.”

Large rural properties with over a thousand hectares concentrate 43% of the rural credit—against 13% to 23% for 80% of small establishments.

Field Reform

A field reform is key to reverse the scenario, but would not suffice, Maia argues. “The government may implement measures and policies in the rural world to encourage better distribution, especially for investment, technical support, and initiatives such as the National Program for the Strengthening of Family Agriculture and the National Program for School Food,” she said.

Land concentration also contributes to slave labor, the study warns. From 2003 to 2013, 82% of notices issued by the Ministry of Labor and Employment for slave-like working conditions took place in western Bahia, where there land concentration is significant. In Correntina alone, 249 workers were found in such conditions.

The survey grouped municipalities by agricultural relevance based on the Agricultural Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) of 2006, and IBGE Cities, of 2010.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira