Brazil: Brazil's 'Tropical Wheat' - Paving the way to self-sufficiency

Brazil consumes over 12 million tons of wheat and wheat-based products per year, which is more than the country's national production of roughly 9.5 million tons. As a result, Brazil is among the top ten importers of wheat in the world. However, the Brazilian government is committed to making the country self-sufficient in wheat production within the next decade. This should be achieved by cultivating land in the Cerrado biome, a savanna-like region in Central Brazil. The government aims to expand wheat production in almost 4 million hectares of degraded land and use adapted wheat seed varieties that are resistant to dry weather and soil conditions prevalent in the region.