Covering 4.4 million hectares in 1985, soybean farms had expanded to over 40 million hectares by 2023, making up 14% of Brazil’s whole agricultural land; 18 million hectares between 1985 and 2008. According to experts, the area occupied by short-term crops including soybeans, sugarcane, rice, and cotton expanded 3.3 times between 1985 and 2023, from 18 million to 60 million hectares. Last year, the Cerrado biome saw the largest soybean growth (19.3 million hectares). The Atlantic Forest (10.3 million hectares) comes next, followed by the Amazon (5.9 million hectares).
Sources: Agência Brasil/Revista Dinheiro Rural (*Translated by Ia Niani)