Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil
In recent decades, soybean production has expanded rapidly across areas of South America. This expansion has been broadly credited to rising soybean returns, and the technical innovations and demand side growth that have raised farm prices or farmers’ profit margins. In this letter we argue that rec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aace8e |
| _version_ | 1797748241243045888 |
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| author | Peter Richards Eugenio Arima |
| author_facet | Peter Richards Eugenio Arima |
| author_sort | Peter Richards |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, soybean production has expanded rapidly across areas of South America. This expansion has been broadly credited to rising soybean returns, and the technical innovations and demand side growth that have raised farm prices or farmers’ profit margins. In this letter we argue that recent agricultural expansions in South America would be better framed as responses to periodic, short term shocks and incremental increases in the supply of investment capital available to the farm sector. More specifically, we suggest that soybean expansion in Brazil has been heavily driven not by the expectation of future profits, but by the need and desire to invest profits accrued during previous growing seasons. Similarly, we argue that future agricultural growth in Brazil, and likely in many other tropical areas, is primarily constrained by access to capital rather than the spatial extent of profit margins. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:02:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e11d1063299b47be89d97a4ea6f177c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:02:05Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e11d1063299b47be89d97a4ea6f177c82023-08-09T14:35:24ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262018-01-0113707501110.1088/1748-9326/aace8eCapital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in BrazilPeter Richards0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3863-926XEugenio Arima1Bureau for Food Security, US Agency for International Development , United States of America; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas , United States of AmericaIn recent decades, soybean production has expanded rapidly across areas of South America. This expansion has been broadly credited to rising soybean returns, and the technical innovations and demand side growth that have raised farm prices or farmers’ profit margins. In this letter we argue that recent agricultural expansions in South America would be better framed as responses to periodic, short term shocks and incremental increases in the supply of investment capital available to the farm sector. More specifically, we suggest that soybean expansion in Brazil has been heavily driven not by the expectation of future profits, but by the need and desire to invest profits accrued during previous growing seasons. Similarly, we argue that future agricultural growth in Brazil, and likely in many other tropical areas, is primarily constrained by access to capital rather than the spatial extent of profit margins.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aace8eBrazilsoybeansland use changeleakage |
| spellingShingle | Peter Richards Eugenio Arima Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil Environmental Research Letters Brazil soybeans land use change leakage |
| title | Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil |
| title_full | Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil |
| title_short | Capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in Brazil |
| title_sort | capital surpluses in the farming sector and agricultural expansion in brazil |
| topic | Brazil soybeans land use change leakage |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aace8e |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT peterrichards capitalsurplusesinthefarmingsectorandagriculturalexpansioninbrazil AT eugenioarima capitalsurplusesinthefarmingsectorandagriculturalexpansioninbrazil |