I attended a meeting this week of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association, known as Abag, with over 200 representatives from different sectors discussing proposals that will be presented to Brazil's next president, ahead of the October elections.
The meeting was headed by Carlo Lovatelli, a director at Bunge and former head of the Brazilian soybean crushers association, known as Abiove, while the main guest speaker was former Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues.
Lovatelli argued that the sector should be given more importance by the government, and that would only happen if all sectors pulled together to present a united front.
He added that agribusiness is currently responsible for over 30 percent of the country's GDP and over 40 percent of exports, but receives less than one percent of the government's annual budget.
The association prepared a preliminary list of 15 items to be addressed by Brazil's next president, including high taxes, poor infrastructure and logistics, outdated environmental laws, tight credit and high debt.
After some discussion and input from participants, such as Marcos Jank, head of the sugarcane producers association, known as Unica, it was agreed that the main problem facing the sector is the lack of judicial security in relation to land title and ownership.
This insecurity follows a recent decree, signed by President Lula, that gives extra power to land invaders.
According to the decree, published on Dec. 21 of last year, farmers would no longer be able to get a court order to remove groups such as the landless workers movement, or MST, from occupied farms. Instead land owners would have to consults with a conciliatory committee to try and come to an agreement.
According to Plinio Nastari, a sugar and ethanol consultant, the law undermined land ownership and property rights and violated the constitution, as well as encouraging land invasion.
Following pressure from the agricultural sector, the government has already stated that it will review the decree, which has not yet become law, so it seems farmers can rest a little easier.
The other main issues discussed were high debt - now totaling over $100 billion -, high taxation, which penalizes value added products, and lack of crop and revenue insurance.
