Behind the Myth: Land Sparing and Deforestation in Brazil

Abstract

The land sparing model, that is, the idea that agricultural intensification fosters environmental protection, lacks empirical validation. In Brazil, sustainable intensification through the conversion of degraded pastures into agricultural areas became a promising and widespread solution to deforestation. We investigate the mismatch between the land sparing discourse and the reality of productive and territorial strategies of large soybean producers in Brazil. We combined documental, fieldwork and secondary data from old (Mato Grosso), intermediate (Pará) and recent agricultural frontiers (Roraima). We argue that the land sparing narrative relies on a conceptual separation between modern agriculture and a land extensive ‘backward agriculture’ (on deforestation fronts). We show that many agroindustrial enterprises expand their activities from consolidated areas to agricultural frontiers, maintaining farms in both regions. For the agribusiness sector, maintaining the myth of sustainable ecological intensification is crucial to conceal its role in opening up new deforestation fronts across South America.