Evolution of agricultural aviation in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has experienced an enormous investment and expansion in agriculture over the last 5 years with the opening up of large farms in various regions of the country. As an example, according to DERAL (2013), the total production of soybeans in Brazil increased by 27.5% from 2009 to 2013, while the average growth in total production for this crop worldwide was only 8.9%. Just from 2012?13, soybean crops increased by 5.1%, compared with a global increase of 2.7%. This process has led to a demand for timely delivery of crop protection products against key pests and diseases, for which there has been a remarkable tendency of farmers to choose aerial application as a tool to treat their crops.