Ponta Grossa solidifies as a powerhouse of agribusiness by Izaltino Cordeiro dos Santos

The history of Agribusiness in Ponta Grossa is marked by the transition from trolling and subsistence agriculture, to one of the most robust agroindustrial poles in Brazil.

The development of agriculture in Ponta Grossa is recorded basically in four evolutionary cycles.

First Cycle of the Tropeiro and of the Livestock (Sec. 18th to 19th century) – had its origin of occupation with an initial agriculture, closely linked to the Way of the Troops and the Sesmarias donated at the beginning of the 18th century.

In this first cycle, extensive livestock was practiced, which occupied vast areas of natural pastures of the Campos Gerais and favored livestock breeding and tropeiro landings, this being the main initial economic base.

The second cycle was that of immigration and the creation of the "Model Farm" (beginning of the 20th century) – it was the beginning of Family Farming and the arrival of European immigrants, which changed the scenario with the introduction of new cultures. The basic subsistence production (corn, beans and cassava) began to incorporate the English potato and other crops.

In the research, in 1912, the municipality won the Farm Model of Creation of Paraná, created to develop activities of selection and crossing of cattle and to research the cultivation of forage plants.

Already in the 1970s, linked to the Southern Agricultural Research and Experimentation Institute – IPEAME, it was called Experimental Creation Station. Later, it was incorporated into the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company – EMBRAPA and in 1978 it passed to the administration of the Agronomic Institute of Paraná – IAPAR. And in 2019, he passed to the administration of the Rural Development Institute of Paraná – IDR-Paraná, linked to the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply – SEAB.

In the early 1980s, the Experimental Station - Model Farm, began research with crosses between cattle breeds, to form a compound breed for meat production.

The proposal was to give cattle farmers a ready breed, capable of gathering much of the qualities of mestizos obtained by crossing animals of the breeds Caracu, Canchim, Aberdeen Angus and Charolês. The result obtained, after more than 30 years of studies, was the PURUNÃ breed, whose name is a tribute to the Serra do Purunã, which delimits the Campos Gerais do Paraná and is near the Model Farm, in Ponta Grossa, where the crossings and researches were developed.

Purunã is the first bovine breed developed in the Paraná, officially recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Map) in 2016.

At the beginning of the 20th century, around 1914, Ponta Grossa became a reference in agricultural research. With the installation of the Experimental Wheat Station in 1921, the first variety of wheat in Brazil, called PG 1 (Ponta Grossa 1), originated from selections of wheat “Polysú”, which took the name of the researcher Jorge Polysú, marking the initial research in the genetic improvement of wheat. To this scientific heritage was added the Seed Benefit Unit of Vila Velha, forming one of the most traditional and complete public agricultural research complexes of Paraná.

Third Cycle - began in the 1970s, marking the genetic improvement of soy in Ponta Grossa. The researcher Francisco Terasawa developed cultivars such as FT-Cristalline, which made possible the expansion of soybeans in the Brazilian Cerrado, especially in the regions of Mato Grosso, Goiás, Bahia and Mato Grosso of the South.

The great revolution of agriculture took place with the advent of Direct Planting in the 1970s. With the pioneering of Straw Direct Planting, Ponta Grossa became one of the largest cradles of Straw Direct Planting in Brazil.This technique, ideal for the soils of the region, revolutionized soil conservation and agricultural productivity.

It was at this time that visionary producers, such as Franke Dijkstra and Manoel Henrique Pereira (Nonô Pereira), developed and spread the Straw Direct Planting System, one of the greatest revolutions in modern agriculture. From the experiences started in the region in 1976 and the creation of the Minhoca Club in 1979, Ponta Grossa hosted, in 1981, the 1st National Meeting of Direct Planting, taking this technology to all Brazil and later to other countries.

In Innovation and Research, Ponta Grossa hosts state-of-the-art research poles, such as the unit of the Institute of Rural Development of Paraná - IDR-Paraná, which plays a strategic role in the development of agricultural technology in Paraná, conducting research in beans, corn, winter cereals, fruit and vegetable management, agroforest systems and water. The Ponta Grossa Research and Innovation Pole stands out with the IDR-Paraná Bean Genetic Improvement Program, contributing to the development of cultivars, such as IPR Sabiá, IPR Urutau, IPR Águia, IPR Tapicuru and IPR Quiriquiri. These materials increased productivity, grain quality and resistance to major crop diseases, strengthening the competitiveness of the production chain and contributing to consolidate Paraná as one of the largest bean producers in Brazil.

In 1977, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company – EMBRAPA, in the area belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture, called Fazenda Modelo, was also installed in Ponta Grossa.

In the lines of research, Embrapa operates in 03 (three) National Centers: Embrapa Soybean, Embrapa Rice and Beans and Embrapa Florestas, with research in systems of production and development of cultivars.

In Ponta Grossa, Embrapa develops research in the soybean (conventional and transgenic), bean (black, carioca and special), wheat and triticale crops.

Fourth Cycle – the development of the Industrial and Technological Agricultural Pole with a productive focus, the municipality has consolidated itself as a major producer of grains and cereals, especially soybeans, wheat and corn, in addition to having strong expression in dairy and cutting.

In the agribusiness, the city is home to the largest concentration of inland industries of the Paraná, with strong performance of grain grinding, dairy and food processing companies.

In Ponta Grossa, agribusiness continues to be an engine of development, with high technology employed in local agriculture, consolidated highway infrastructure, presence of large cooperatives and high profitability of agricultural commodities. The municipality is one of the largest agro-exporting poles of the Paraná, highly valued, standing out nationally as an important logistics and processing pole, positioning itself as one of the largest powers in the export of soybean derivatives (such as oil and bran), housing giant multinational industries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq3zf8FbyZQ

Article by Izaltino Cordeiro dos Santos for the book: "PONTA GROSSA: From the Route of the Tropeiros to the Tracks of Innovation"

Read the other articles of the book here!