Agricultural modernization and grain production: a study on the potential for soil contamination by pesticides in the western region of Bahia.

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the potential for soil contamination by the use of pesticides in grain production in the western region of Bahia. Therefore, the calculation of the Contamination Potential Index by the use of Agricultural Defensives - IDEF was carried out for the municipalities of Barreiras-BA, São Desidério-BA, Formosa do Rio Preto-BA and Luís Eduardo Magalhães-BA covering the cultures of corn, soybeans, cotton and beans. The study is based on the understanding that the expansion of grain production in the West region is inevitable without compromising the soil through the use of pesticides. Based on this understanding, the basic hypothesis is that the need to expand production to meet market demand in the long run will lead producers to increase production and productivity, and as a consequence, a greater consumption of pesticides. The results obtained suggest that soybean was the culture that presented IDEF with a value of 0.20 and that the bean culture had the lowest index with an average value of 0.99. It is concluded that the increase in production to meet the growing demand of the international and national market, especially soy, results in a greater consumption of pesticides and, consequently, in a greater potential for soil contamination in the western region of Bahia.