Brazil Economy Must ‘Live Off’ More Than Commodities, Silva Says
The country is an agricultural behemoth, but the environment minister warns the farming sector cannot keep growing if it requires destroying valuable forests.
Marina Silva, Brazil's environment minister, during an interview in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 6, 2023.
Photographer: Ton Molina/BloombergBrazil Environment Minister Marina Silva knows her country is an agricultural powerhouse, but she worries about the risks the influential sector’s growth poses to the Amazon rainforest.
Farming has traditionally served as a key driver of deforestation in Brazil, due to activities like clearing forest for cattle pasture to feed the nation’s massive beef industry. It’s estimated that around 20% of Amazon forest cover has vanished in the last 50 years because of deforestation and landscape degradation.