Lessons from the Brazilian Cerrado 

Technological Achievements and Environmental Challenges

The Cerrado is the world’s largest and most biodiverse tropical savanna. Photo: Chapada do Veadeiros National Park, Goiás: Vivian da Silva Braz, October, 2018.

The Brazilian Cerrado— the country’s vast tropical savanna— has gained recognition in recent years as a successful model story in agronomic development and precision agriculture fueled by technology within the tropics. This is a relatively recent development, following the era of classic Green Revolution models in Latin America. A 2010 The Economist article credits the success—described in the editorial as a “miracle”—of agricultural production in the Cerrado to three factors: Embrapa, Embrapa and Embrapa—the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.   However, historical views of the region, located in the Brazilian heartland, have often overlooked its agricultural potential or biodiversity. Over time, perceptions of the Cerrado have changed, making the balance between agricultural growth and environmental conservation more complex. Brazilians needed to resort to technological research to find the answers. Thus, Embrapa was the institution that operated the “miraculous” work.

One of Embrapa’s most successful strategies was establishing regional research centers, linked to the selection of priority and strategic crops for each ecoregion. The creation of the Cerrado Agronomic Research Center (CPAC) was crucial for technological progress based on the climatic, soil and ecological features of this complex biome. Data from the annual reports published by Embrapa Cerrados between the 1970s and 1990s show that the main investment in this ecoregion focused on soil research, aiming for a comprehensive understanding of soils, their vulnerabilities, and their potential. Technological research also aimed to discover agricultural crops with market potential and income-generating opportunities. Soybeans were one of the prioritized crops, requiring significant research investment. The work of adapting soybean production to tropical conditions was among the major challenges faced by researchers led by Embrapa, which also involved collaboration with other research centers such as the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) and the  Agricultural Research Company of Goiás (Emgopa).

Embrapa was established in 1973 during the Brazilian military dictatorship and was aligned with national development programs. The developmentalist obsession that captivated all of Latin America had broader goals in Brazil than simply expanding domestic wealth production. It was also linked to regional integration projects and the conquest of ecoregions that previously had little economic potential. Therefore, among the objectives of the National Development Plan (PND I and II), the conquest of the Cerrado and Amazon stood out as strategic biomes for advancing agricultural development. Another major goal was food production for local supply and reducing poverty—secondary aims within the larger developmentalist effort. Beyond merely distributing income and addressing historical social issues, the primary aim was to improve economic indicators, a goal strongly promoted by the Brazilian developmentalist movement.

A major challenge to the agricultural conquest of the Cerrado was the lack of understanding of its biogeographic characteristics. The Cerrado is the most biodiverse tropical savanna on Earth. It borders nearly all Brazilian biomes, especially the Amazon, serving as a vital area of social and environmental convergence in Brazil. However, the perception of its ecosystem value has been recent, resulting from contemporary shifts in ecological thinking. A widespread and longstanding view in Brazil since the early 20th century was that the Brazilian campos— a term historically used to describe non-forested areas such as grasslands and savannas — were “ecologically fragile.” The development of these regions for agriculture would serve both economic and environmental purposes. The economic potential of the central Brazilian savannah was focused on finding a viable solution for agricultural production and accommodating the surplus population concentrated in coastal areas.

The primary environmental challenge was its ecological features, such as low soil fertility and its climate seasonality, based on two distinct seasons (dry and rainy). From an ecological perspective, farming in the Cerrado, which spans just under 800,000 square miles, was seen as a way to protect the coastal forests, which had been destroyed for agriculture, especially coffee monoculture. This view aligned with the early goals of the Brazilian environmental movement and development policies, which established a biogeographical asymmetry between the importance of forests and savannas in Brazil. The challenge was to overcome what botanists referred to as the “natural fragility” of the Cerrado. In this context, the creation of Embrapa was an important project in Brazil’s regional development strategies.

The Brazilian Green Revolution that started in the 1970s—led by Embrapa in collaboration with other Brazilian research institutes and universities—made soil fertilization possible through technologies that included the use of phosphate fertilizers and liming correction methods, which utilize minerals to neutralize the natural acidity of Cerrado soils. This resulted in a significant increase in average grain yields for key crops like soybeans and corn. Another technological advancement was the genetic improvement and development of crops suited to tropical light conditions and resistant to the seasonal climate of the Cerrado. Improving tropical-adapted plants, such as soybeans, involved managing early flowering processes caused by photoperiodism—the plant’s response to different lengths of light and dark periods throughout the year.  In this way, the cerrado played a major role in the tropicalization of soybeans. In many cases, genetic improvement allowed for the expansion of annual harvests of soybeans, corn and sorghum. Additionally, climatic seasonality encouraged the development of new irrigation technologies incorporating moisture sensors and automation, improving productivity in drought-sensitive crops such as beans, vegetables, tomatoes and coffee, ensuring stable yields even during drought periods.

Beyond advances in soil research and understanding soil ecology in the Cerrado, microbiology research has helped create new fertilizer technologies. These include micronutrients and biological products that reduce dependence on chemical inputs and improve soil quality. This progress was recognized when Mariangela Hungria received the World Food Prize in 2025 for her research on biological nitrogen fixation, which combines economic benefits with significant ecological improvements for tropical agriculture.

Brazilian livestock farming has also embraced technological innovations, with the Cerrado playing a key role in improving cattle genetics and adopting new feeding and livestock management techniques, especially the integration of crops, livestock, and forestry. This technology involves combining crops and forage during the second harvest, producing grain harvests and high-quality pasture for fattening beef and dairy cattle. As a result, there has been an increase in beef and milk production. According to Forbes, the Cerrado is more than just a Brazilian agricultural frontier; it is a “global breadbasket,” accounting for 60% of Brazilian agricultural output and 22% of global soybean exports.

These technological advances have not only shifted the geopolitics of Brazilian agriculture in grain and commodity production for the international market but have also transformed the country’s economic and sociocultural influence. The interior, or sertão, historically linked with underdevelopment and poverty, is now making a significant contribution to Brazil’s domestic wealth through exports and improved trade balance. The adoption of agricultural technologies, including new equipment for precision agriculture, has harnessed Artificial Intelligence (AI), satellite imagery, robots, drones and other agronomic tools that optimize natural resources and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, leading to higher productivity and lower overall costs.

Technological advances in artificial intelligence and robotics exemplify the unprecedented modernization of Brazilian agriculture. Brazilian agriculture is no longer just a family farm business but has been transformed through the efforts of companies and startups investing in new technological products for grain and agricultural commodities. The use of drones and autonomous machines in the field handles mapping, planting, controlling and distributing nutrients and pesticides, as well as harvesting. AI algorithms help predict weather patterns and identify pests and diseases in crops. They also assist in soil analysis using advanced technologies such as Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), a technique for chemically analyzing soil, foliage, and grains. Due to their precision and agility, these tools can create economic and environmental benefits, making them innovative and sustainable solutions.

These technological advances have established the Cerrado as a global model for innovation, sustainability and productivity, emphasizing food and energy security for Brazil. Meanwhile, technological and scientific advancements transformed the country into a global agricultural powerhouse, making it one of the world’s largest producers of food and agricultural commodities. However, these issues are complex, and the challenges are significant for both the Cerrado and neighboring biomes, especially the Amazon. Due to its strategic role in global grain and commodity production, the Cerrado has attracted international attention regarding its potential and challenges. According to a report by the Tropical Forest Alliance initiative, linked to the World Economic Forum, addressing the needs for increased agricultural production while safeguarding the Cerrado’s biodiversity, ecosystems, and the rights of Indigenous and local communities remains a major and urgent concern. Scientific and technological progress, political commitment and international cooperation can help elevate this debate on sustainability and environmental governance on the global stage.

Extensive soybean farming on the plateaus in Matopiba—the new agricultural frontier in the Cerrado—while savanna vegetation in the lowlands remains protected. Photo: Hebertt Castro (Drone Esporte CBT), Bahia, Brazil, 2025.

The expansion of the agricultural frontier is affecting new areas of the Cerrado, such as Matobipa—the confluence region of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia. This region is experiencing a boom in soybean farming, but this expansion brings environmental risks and tensions. Real estate speculation accelerates the destruction of native vegetation and encroaches on Indigenous territories and traditional communities. It also increases pressure on the Amazon, leading to further deforestation in the border biome. These issues must be considered when tackling the challenges related to economic development, social progress, and environmental conservation.