Agribusiness in the municipality of Dourados and its importance for the state of Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

The objective of this work is to carry out an overview of agribusiness in Dourados and its importance in the economy of the municipality and state. The municipality of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, is the second largest municipality in population in the state, living up to its name called model municipality. It has an area of 4,086,387 km², being in a privileged region where its agricultural production is easily shipped to any part of the country. Dourados stands out with its thriving activity in agribusiness. The Human Development Index (HDI) of the municipality is 0.747. It has the 3rd largest GDP of the 79 municipalities in the state. The activities of industry, service, commerce, education and leisure are the main economic activities developed in the municipality. In 2021, 200,000 hectares of soybean were planted with a production of 684,000 tons. With regard to corn, 170,000 hectares, and production was 406,080 tons. Regarding these temporary crops, soybeans since 1985 have grown by 223%, from 63,208 hectares of planted area to 204,199 in 2022. It was also observed that in the last 5 years the municipality has always been among the 5 largest grain producers in the state, and this production each year has been reaching production records. With all this growth, the municipality has attracted dozens of industries focused on agribusiness, generating thousands of jobs in the municipality and also in the countryside, mainly in precision agriculture. The State Agency for Animal and Vegetal Sanitary Defense of Mato Grosso do Sul IAGRO in Dourados has 2798 active records of inspected rural properties in the municipality. Regarding the service to family farmers during the year 2022, the Agrarian Development and Rural Extension Agency AGRAER carried out 263 extension services to family farmers in the municipality. Therefore, Dourados is one of the most promising municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the agricultural sector, being in a prominent position in the production of grains, livestock, vegetable extraction and forestry. These activities, in addition to increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the municipality, have contributed to local and regional development, providing the creation of jobs, improvement of infrastructure and education. Data from the Comex Stat (2022) linked to the Ministry of Economy, the municipality of Dourados - MS moved in 2021 US$ 514.984.916,00 of which about 99.7% of exports came from agricultural production. In view of all this development produced by the productive sector, which makes the municipality really occupy a prominent national position, the fact is that in 2023 an important Brazilian television network will present a soap opera in honor of the municipality, highlighting the local agribusiness, called “Terra Vermelha” (red earth) , a reference to the extremely fertile red earth prevalent in the municipality.