Matopiba is a region formed by the state of Tocantins and parts of the states of Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia, where strong agricultural expansion occurred from the second half of the 1980s, especially in grain cultivation. The name is an acronym formed by the acronyms of the four states (MA + TO + PI + BA).
The flat topography and the low cost of land compared to consolidated areas of the Center-South led some enterprising rural producers to invest in the then new agricultural frontier. The expansion took place over areas of cerrado, especially underutilized pastures, and was only possible due to the availability of technologies to make plantations viable under local conditions. Production systems are intensive since implementation and seek high productivity.
The movement led the Federal Government to request the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) to carry out a study on the region, through a technical cooperation agreement with the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra). The work evaluated natural characteristics, land issues, the agricultural profile, infrastructure and local socioeconomic conditions (Access the geoweb with the data). This led to the delimitation of Matopiba, made official in a decree from the Presidency of the Republic in 2015. It comprises 337 municipalities in 31 geographic micro-regions, totaling around 73 million hectares.
Matopiba’s agricultural production is marked by large grain harvests, especially soybeans, corn and cotton. The Bahian portion of the region is the second largest Brazilian producer of fiber, behind only the state of Mato Grosso. Adding up the entire expansion area, the local soybean and corn harvest was almost 15 million tons in 2018, equivalent to around 10% of national production, according to IBGE data processed by Embrapa. But rural properties in the region also make room for fruits, roots and tubers, forestry species and livestock.
