Tocantins invests in fruit crop Projects to attract new investors and maintain the population in the rural areas
SP, September 4th 2008
I came back totally surprised from a trip to Tocantins, where I went to visit two projects funded by the Federal Government, via the National Integration Department, and in partnership with the Government of that state. These are produce/fowl raising projects, with stronger emphasis on fruit crops. They are São João Project and Manuel Alves Project, which will be ready to start next year.

There is no doubt that these two centers, now being implemented in Tocantins, will attract investors and will help to maintain the rural population in rural areas, in a Project like the project implemented in Bahia, specifically in the José Eduardo Magalhães region. The sizes of each of them, as well as the investment amounts, reflect the focus on expansion of a new agribusiness front in Tocantins.

The Manuel Alves Project covers a pilot area of 5,138 hectares, with the possibility of expansion to 20,000 hectares. It has 54 corporate plots and 292 plots of land for planters, covering two municipalities, with a total of 18,138 inhabitants, and R$ 200 million have already been invested. Thanks to the irrigation in this region, the proposal is the encouragement to the growth of produce/fowl raising projects, with emphasis on fruit species such as pineapple, papaya, banana, coconut and passion fruit.

The São João Project received investments in the order of R$ 129 million, in an area of 5,524 hectares, with 227 corporate plots of land and 349 plots for planters, covering a region with two municipalities, with a total of 196,164 people. Similarly to the Manuel Alves Project, São João Project also has been equipped irrigation with the microaspersion and drop falling method, in addition to the fruit crops also planted in Manuel Alves Project, it also includes planting mango, water melon, acerola, grapes, pine cones, graviola, lemon and guava.

There is no doubt that Tocantins is going in the right direction, creating conditions to maintain the rural population in the fields, with guaranteed sustainability projects; that is, if the next elected authorities do not start innovating, changing what is going well, just to be against the previous administration.

I surely hope that the strength I saw and the existing possibilities will be greater than the childish and egotistical desires of the politicians that will come next, because that part of Brazil is now beginning to grow correctly and in accordance with our vocation of being a truly agricultural country.

It is really a pleasure to see this Brazil that succeeds, out of the axis São Paulo – Mato Grosso – Goiás – Bahia – Minas Gerais – Paraná – Rio Grande do Sul, because this makes us more mature and stronger to face up to the protectionism and subsidies offered in rich and developed countries.

With initiatives like this one, combining the incentives of low land cost, favorable payment conditions and an already established infrastructure, we are on the right path to play well in the orchestra of sustainable progress. 

Elizabeth Chagas

 
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  After working for 30 years in the agribusiness and logistics areas, executive Elizabeth Chagas, attentive to the development and potential of the Brazilian agribusiness, noted that, to that time, small and medium-sized rural producers did not have at their disposal consulting services to meet their demands in their expertise areas which are import, export and domestic and international logistics... [more]  
   
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