Where once it was seen as an infertile wasteland, the Brazilian Cerrado — the vast tropical savannah spreading across the center of South America — became the biggest source of grains in the country, helping turn agribusiness into the driving force of the domestic economy. As we have shown in previous articles, the tiny Federal District, home to capital city Brasília, has some of the highest agricultural productivity rates in Brazil, and potentially the entire world. Farmers have begun planting specialty coffee and grapes for winemaking in a region that was, until the 1970s, almost completely unused, with...
