Socio-environmental implications of agribusiness in Brazil

the need for agroecology as a viable alternative

Abstract

Agribusiness is in full development in Brazil, occupying a prominent position in the production and export of agricultural products, and as a result, the country has been in first place in the consumption of pesticides for more than a decade. The model of agriculture practiced in a predatory way has adverse impacts on the environment and on human health, causing soil and water contamination, loss of biodiversity, intoxications, and deaths. Thus, the objective of this article is to discuss the main issues of agribusiness expansion in Brazil and its socio-environmental impacts. On the other hand, agroecology presents itself as a possibility for a paradigm shift in this model of agricultural production. This brief review offers considerations that contextualize the need for integration of economic growth with the promotion of social and environmental development, with regard to Brazilian agribusiness, being the duty of the State to take actions that reconcile these dimensions.