Rota Brasil <-> Mundo: Tirso Meirelles

Brazilian agribusiness has established itself as a complex engine of entrepreneurship and high technology. For Tirso Meirelles, president of the São Paulo State Federation of Agriculture and Livestock (Faesp) and of the National Rural Learning Service in São Paulo (Senar-SP), the sector’s success lies in rural producers’ ability to act as business managers. According to the sector leader, the “key to survival” in the countryside is the combination of extreme professionalization and managerial technical assistance.

A focus on entrepreneurship is reshaping the sector: Brazil does not merely plant, but applies real-time market intelligence. Bringing agronomists and veterinarians directly into farms generates productivity leaps of 30% in the very first year of management. The strategic objective is to turn local production clusters, such as the coffee hub of Caconde (São Paulo), into agro-industry centers. “Instead of selling only commodities, the goal is to add value to production. That is how we keep men, women, and young people on the land, with income and dignity,” Meirelles says. He also highlights women’s leadership through the “Semeadoras do Agro” program, which combines business training with preventive health care.

Tirso Meirelles, president of the Faesp/Senar-SP System. Photo: Daniel Teixeira/Estadão Blue Studio.

Geopolitical chessboard

While entrepreneurship advances at home, the borders face a turbulent geopolitical landscape. Five decades ago, Brazil was a food importer; today, agribusiness accounts for 25% of GDP and 50% of national exports thanks to a technological revolution that has increased productivity by 540%. That sheer scale, however, has prompted protectionist reactions from global powers.

Meirelles’ reading of today’s geopolitics is pragmatic. Moves by China and the European Union create barriers that test Brazil’s resilience, while the sector tallies billion-dollar losses as a result of tariff disputes with the United States.

On the Mercosur–European Union agreement, the FAESP president remains cautiously optimistic.

Although access to a market of 700 million people is essential, he criticizes the lack of reciprocity in environmental clauses. Meirelles argues for applying a “reciprocity law” to respond to sanctions that often mask purely commercial interests. The strategy he advocates is diversification: Brazil is seeking to reduce its reliance on a handful of buyers, targeting new horizons such as India, Indonesia, and Japan.

Efficiency “inside the farm gate” runs up against bottlenecks that require immediate solutions. Chief among them is the cost of production, inflated by external dependence on fertilizers. Meirelles points to the urgency of a mining code that would allow Brazil to exploit its own nutrients, avoiding the transfer of royalties abroad while the country’s natural wealth remains untouched. In addition, a high-interest-rate environment, with rates that can reach 23% at the final lending point, stifles long-term investment in an activity whose average payback takes eight to ten years.

Climate solution

On the environmental front, Meirelles rejects the stigma of being a “villain” in climate change. He portrays Brazilian agribusiness as the environment’s greatest ally through strict compliance with the Forest Code. Brazil currently preserves 65% of its national territory, and farmers refrain from producing on 30% of their land in favor of conservation. “If we monetize this area preserved by producers, we are talking about an environmental donation of US$1 trillion to the world.”

Brazilian sustainability is measurable: agribusiness’s energy matrix is 53% renewable, far above the global average of 13%. In livestock farming, the time to slaughter has fallen from 48 to 20 months, drastically reducing methane emissions. For Meirelles, the fight against deforestation should focus on the international demand that consumes illegal timber, striking at the financial source of the problem.

The message is clear: sustainability and production are inseparable. In a world that now operates without food-security buffer stocks, strengthening a robust rural middle class in Brazil is the only guarantee of stability for the coming decades, argues one of the leaders of Brazilian agribusiness.

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The Interview Series: Rota Brasil <-> Mundo is a space for guests to share their perspectives and insights on the commercial relationship between the Brazilian and global markets. The information and opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author. This text does not necessarily reflect the views of Estadão.