Uma análise econômica dos impactos ambientais gerados pela expansão do agronegócio no Brasil

Abstract

Agribusiness plays a fundamental role in the economy of several countries and significantly in the Brazilian economy. However, its development is accompanied by worrying environmental impacts caused by agriculture and livestock on natural resources, which can affect biodiversity, water availability, air and soil quality and human health. With this, the general objective of this article is to analyze the performance of Brazilian agribusiness and the impacts caused by its production model on the environment and on the life of the population. For this, a bibliographic review was carried out in scientific articles, theses, dissertations, manuals and government documents that deal with the subject in question. It was possible to conclude that the process of modernization and expansion of Brazilian agribusiness boosted its productivity but caused negative impacts on the environment, such as erosion and contamination of soils, air and water, especially through conventional techniques used in monocultures, the insertion of transgenic plants and the increasing use of agricultural inputs. In addition, it was possible to verify that it is essential to rethink the model of technological development that has been adopted by Brazilian agribusiness.