Brazil's water management challenges open doors for cleantech entrepreneurs Clean technology will have a strong future in Brazil as its farmers continue to feed much of the world

Brazil's massive economic growth could have environmental consequences in the future, and the two-fold punch of an increasing population and an agricultural boom threatens its plentiful water supply. Nanotechnology and cleantech entrepreneurs, however, will find opportunity in Latin America's largest economy.
While many countries still suffer from an economic hangover due to the 2008 global financial crisis, Brazil's economy continues to grow. Once a fiscal lost cause, Brazil emerged from years of massive debt to become a creditor nation. Its energy policy is the envy of many nations that struggle with economic independence, and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's anti-poverty measures lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty.

One booming industry sector behind Brazil's rise is agriculture. In 1980 Brazil was a food importer: now the nation of 193 million is arguably the world's breadbasket. Soy, poultry, sugar cane, citrus, grains and, of course, beef have contributed to Brazil's new wealth, and compared to their counterparts in the United States and the European Union, Brazil's farmers have driven this boom without much government subsidy. Brazil's land management policies account for much of this change, possibly because Brazil's fresh water supply is among the largest in the world. Nevertheless, Brazil's water supply is not infinite, so the future poses challenges for agribusiness – and opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Critics of Brazil's resource management often focus on the massive Amazonian rain forest. Much of Brazil's economic growth, however, is due to the cultivation of the cerrado, the enormous tropical savannah of 770,000 square miles that provides a buffer between the Amazon and heavily populated coastal regions. Full of conifers, eucalyptus, drought-resistant native plants, and rich in wildlife, at least half of the Colorado has been transformed into industrial-scale farms in the past three decades.
Agriculture has thrived in the cerrado because much of the soil, once thought to be too nutrient deficient, has been fortified with lime to reduce its acidity, while phosphate-based fertilisers allowed lucrative cash crops to flourish. Unlike other regions such as California's San Joaquin Valley or Africa's savannah, the cerrado receives plentiful rainfall, negating the need for exporting water long distances for irrigation.

Agribusiness's long-term effects on the cerrado are unclear. Despite modern farming techniques developed by firms such as Brazilian giant Embrapa, the accumulation of lime and phosphates could threaten the soil in the long run. Most Brazilian farmers employ "no-plow" techniques that cut harvested plants at the stalk instead of digging up the entire plant, which increases the amount of organic matter that returns to the ground. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that the technique may not be enough to replenish the cerrado's soil.

So what can be done to mitigate the long-term effects of Brazilian agriculture on the country's water supply? Organic agriculture faces hurdles in much of Brazil, including the cerrado, because those farmers face difficulty in securing loans. Carbon sequestration projects – such as recent wide-scale tree-planting initiatives – could pique carbon market traders' interest. Many native cerrado plants also have beneficial medicinal and pharmaceutical properties that could combat illnesses from simple bacterial infections to malaria. Clean-tech investors, however, may want to explore technologies that could help farmers maintain and recycle Brazil's supply of safe water.

Clean technology will have a strong future in Brazil its farmers will continue to feed much of the world. For nanotechnology startups, innovations that allow for controlled release and filtration of fertilizers, new composites for engineering applications, waste processing, and improved food packaging offer opportunities for Brazil's farmers and those interested in participating in the country's clean-tech sector. Private investment would be welcome – while Brazil has several respected nanotechnology research centers, its government has invested less than $100m over the past decade (compare that to the US government's $1.6 billion investment in nanotechnology in 2010 alone).

NGOs such as Conservation International have succeeded in focusing more attention on the cerrado's future. Private and public investment in new technologies will complement that work as Brazilian farmers make their farmland more efficient, and feed a growing population in Brazil and throughout the world.

Leon Kaye is founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com. A consultant and business writer, he frequently writes about sustainability efforts in the Balkans, renewable energy, and water issues.