Yield Of Dreams: Marching West And The Politics Of Scientific Knowledge In The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa)

Abstract

Over the past forty years, Brazilian agriculture has rapidly industrialized elevating the country as one of the world's largest exporters of key commodity crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton. Much of the credit for this transformation has gone to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) for their work in the center-west region of the country. This area, known as the Cerrado, industrialized rapidly starting in the early 1970s with the introduction of chemical fertilizers and new seed varieties to fix its acidic soils. This paper historicizes the political and social relations behind the industrial transformation of the Cerrado by focusing on the establishment of Embrapa. I argue that U.S. political relations and corporate interests helped to lay the scientific and institutional groundwork for public research in Brazil to ensure longterm industrialization of the Cerrado. This research is based on interviews conducted at Embrapa headquarters and field research sites in Brazil as well as historical archives in both Brazil and the U.S. iii