SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) — Brazilian wheat farmers in the Cerrado biome, where corn and soybeans prevail, can make a decisive contribution to the country’s goal of boosting internal supplies and reducing import dependence.
According to a Sept. 27 statement from the government’s agricultural research agency Embrapa, prospects for wheat farmers in Brazil’s centre west are improving because they can profitably grow wheat varieties adapted to the dry and hot climate.
Traditionally, Brazil plants wheat in the much wetter and colder southern region.
Embrapa sees potential to more than double Brazil’s total wheat area through expansions in the centre west, its Cerrado branch estimated after a field day with about 130 local farmers.
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Julio Albrecht, an Embrapa researcher, noted average wheat yields in the region are 90 bushels per acre, twice the national average.
However, one wheat variety developed by Embrapa called BRS 264 has already produced 142 bu. per acre on a commercial farm, and this can be improved.
“We believe it is possible to reach 12 or 13 tonnes per hectare (178 to 193 bu. per acre) on a 130-day production cycle while maintaining the quality needed to make flour and produce bread,” Albrecht said.
The Cerrado represents about one fourth of Brazil’s land surface.
William Matte, a local farmer who started sowing wheat five years ago, is bullish.
“The centre west region is in a good position to increase Brazil’s (overall) wheat supply,” Matte said. “We will certainly stop importing wheat.”
Brazil is expected to produce almost 11 million tonnes of wheat this season, a record driven by area expansion. The country needs more than 12 million tonnes per year, and has relied on Argentina for much of its imports.
This year, Brazil began testing a variety of drought resistant, genetically modified wheat in the Cerrado, which could help it boost internal supplies further.
