From migrant to agribusiness leader, the story of Suzana Viccini in Western Bahia

Named by Forbes as one of Brazil's top 100 women agribusiness personalities, the farmer and president of the of Agro-Western Bahia Women's Group talks about the importance of organizing, women's empowerment, and sustainable development for the region's agribusiness.

Picture of Suzana Viccini provided by Agribusiness Women’s Group.

"If I were a tree, I would be rooted in Western Bahia," says Suzana Murtele Viccini, a rural landowner and director of the region's Agribusiness Women's Group. The daughter of migrants from Rio Grande do Sul who moved to northeastern Brazil in the 1980's looking for new opportunities, Suzana's story is intertwined with the recent history of agribusiness in Bahia. The Viccini family switched from working in commerce in the south to farming in Brazil's 'new west'. "Despite all the hardships when we arrived – those were different times, with difficult access to the farms and very little knowledge about agricultural technologies –, I love the region," says Suzana Viccini. For her, early adversities in the Cerrado – such as acidic soil and a poor climate for grain crops – brought local farmers together to seek the scientific knowledge and technological innovations they needed to enable farming and sustainable agricultural development.

"I really believe in organizing, in pooling ideas and forces to get a job done," she says. "That’s how we were able to support each other to create a network of shared solutions for so many basic and structural issues, like opening roads." As the head of the Agro-Western Bahia Women's Group, founded in 2016 and with over 30 members today, Suzana coordinates social and environmental responsibility actions and partnerships with other institutions and public authorities to promote sustainable development in the region, including the recognition of women's roles in agricultural activities, both on and off the farm.  

"Bringing women together around collective awareness and work"

According to the agricultural census by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), of the 5.07 million rural properties in Brazil, only 947,000 are run by women. The Northeast region accounts for 57% of that amount, against only 6% in the Center-West. A joint study by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Embrapa and the IBGE shows that women manage about 30 million hectares, some 8.5% of the total farmland in the country. For Suzana, women's participation in agribusiness is fundamental: "Although we are more visible now, we have always been in the field. As in other regions of the country, it was our mothers and grandmothers who gave up a lot to migrate, gave up their own dreams and helped build new agricultural frontiers."

Named one of the 100 most influential women in Brazilian agribusiness by Forbes magazine for her work at the head of her class association, Suzana explains that this recognition imposes greater responsibility: "We didn't expect this repercussion. But, at the same time, it helps us realize the magnitude of the challenge we face. We represent a sector, a very important and necessary sector for the country – food production. We want to help bring women together around collective awareness and work," she says.

The association offers capacity building and training both to women involved in agribusiness and to residents of the region's rural communities, delivering knowledge and technical assistance to the countryside through seminars and workshops. In its social work, the Agro Women's Group runs three major projects – Cotton that Warms, Planting to Feed, and Plant Love, Save Lives. On the environmental side, the institution collaborates with major projects underway in the region, such as Ecological Restoration, led by the Viva Cerrado Park, providing environmental education workshops for the local population.

"Knowledge leads to sustainable development"

Suzana sees the region's farmers improving year after year, becoming more sustainable: "Farmers are thinking more about the life that thrives in the soil, that our eyes can't see, and about the life of the ecosystem as a whole." From soil management to precision farming and a growing reliance on bio-inputs, farmers' choices are guided by the efficient and responsible use of natural resources. "Of all these techniques, perhaps the most revolutionary for the region has been no-till farming," she said.

Soybean no-till. Photo provided by AIBA (Association of Farmers and Irrigators of Bahia).

Used on about 33 million hectares of land, or 69% of the country's cropland, no-till farming is based on crop rotation, permanent soil coverage with straw and controlled plowing, restricted to the furrows, to reduce the use of water and to increase soil conservation and crop yields.  Studies carried out by the Embrapa Soy Center show that no-till farming increases yields by 30%, compared to the conventional system. In Western Bahia, the technique reduces surface water runoff, keeping the soil moist for longer and making it more resistant to drought. The straw also works as a sponge, absorbing water and reducing the risk of torrents that could damage crops; and nutrients remain in the soil for longer, preventing erosion and increasing organic matter content.

For this farmer, the pandemic has highlighted the need for investment in science and technology in all sectors of society. According to Suzana, in agriculture the seed breeding to adapt to Brazil's different types of soil and climate, especially the work done by Embrapa and by the Bahia Foundation, allowed the expansion of the agricultural frontier into the North and Northeast. "It was through research that we got better and were able to cultivate the land. Farmers who came to western Bahia unfamiliar with the region’s sandy soil now know how to work it, and how to produce with less impact on the environment," she concludes.

She highlights the need to produce more scientific knowledge and to make it available to small farmers in the region, who are still left out of private-sector projects and public policies, with little access to new technologies or scientific research. Bio-inputs, for example, are still restricted to medium and large landholdings, and are not widespread among small farmers. "Knowledge leads to sustainable development," she insists, concluding that "We are all here in this world together, and whatever we do will impact society as a whole."

"Knowledge leads to sustainable development," she insists, concluding that "We are all here in this world together, and whatever we do will impact society as a whole."