RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – While the country’s agricultural producers worry about the impact of the war in Ukraine on the supply of fertilizers, a study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais shows that Brazil has reserves that could guarantee the supply of potassium until 2100.
According to Embrapa, 50% of imports of this raw material currently come from Russia and Belarus.
According to Professor Raoni Rajão of UFMG’s Production Engineering Department, two-thirds of the reserves are concentrated in the states of Sergipe, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais.
Of the reserves in the Amazon, only 11% overlap with indigenous territories that have not yet been ratified. The figures are based on data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The information comes when the federal government’s project to authorize mineral exploration on indigenous lands could be discussed again after being on hold for two years.
As Larissa Rodrigues told CNN, senior representatives of the House of Representatives reported a meeting on Tuesday (8) to discuss the issue.
The parliamentarians said that the Speaker of the House, Arthur Lira, wants to expedite the approval because Brazil has difficulty obtaining fertilizer in light of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In an interview with a radio station in Roraima on Monday (7), President Jair Bolsonaro defended the project and criticized the demarcation of indigenous lands.
“We have a project since 2020 that allows us to explore this indigenous land, depending on the ministry’s interest; if they agree, we can explore minerals and build dams.
Everaldo Zonta, a professor at the Department of Soils at the Federal University of Rural Development of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), on the other hand, believes that the deposits on indigenous lands pose a technological challenge.
“It is potassium that cannot be extracted so quickly, not because of environmental problems, but because it is potassium in the form of brine, which is deep. We don’t have the technology yet,” he explained.
HOW TO ACHIEVE INDEPENDENCE
Brazil relies on imports of nitrogen-, phosphorus- and potassium-based fertilizers to sustain agricultural production. They are used to correct the soil and ensure an increase in harvest.
According to researchers Raoni Rajão and Everaldo Zonta, the country was independent of potassium until 1990.
“Since the privatization of Vale, which was the largest producer, that is no longer the case. The increase in food production, which today keeps the balance of trade positive, is due to the increased consumption of fertilizers. Still, national production did not follow the same line,” Zonta analyzes.
Both professors agree on the need for a national policy for potash mining. This month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply should present a national fertilizer plan.
Rajão believes the war scenario shows the importance of investing in the Brazilian market but defends that incentives are needed to start competing with the international giants that dominate sales.
“The federal government is preparing a fertilizer plan, but it passes over several important points, such as aligning tax issues. If you produce in Brazil, you pay 8% ICMS. If you import, you don’t pay any tax. It makes no sense to have this different treatment, apart from the need for long-term measures, with incentives from public banks,” he defended.
On the other hand, Zonta stresses the importance of investing in research to find solutions to the search for fertilizers.
SUPPLIES FOR THREE MONTHS
The National Association for the Distribution of Fertilizers (Anda) said that producers have three months’ worth of fertilizer stocks.
The association is in dialogue with the federal government to solve the problem and hopes that the war in Ukraine will end as soon as possible.
CNN has reached out to the Ministries of Mines and Energy and Agriculture, Livestock and Supply for comment on the exploration of national potash and is awaiting a response.
With information from CNN Brasil