CULTURES

The history of

Soy

The history of soy is still obscure, the first reports alluding to soy as a food date back to around 2838 BC. Although consumed by eastern civilization for thousands of years, it was only introduced in Europe at the end of the 15th century. The incorporation of soybeans as the main source of vegetable protein was of great importance for the development of society.

Soy in

Brazil

Soybean was introduced in Brazil around 1882 by Professor Gustavo Dutra, from the Bahia School of Agronomy. About ten years later, cultivation began at Estação Agropecuária de Campinas (the Campinas Agricultural Station), the plant was used as forage and in crop rotation. The grains were offered to the animals, as there was still no space in the industry, after around another decade the distribution of seeds to producers in São Paulo began. In the 1970s, soybean was already the main agribusiness crop, always associated with the rapid development of technology and research focused on meeting foreign demand. The grain provided Brazil with an accelerated expansion aimed at the foreign market, becoming a strategic raw material for the agricultural sector, being used for the production of animal feed for cattle, swine and poultry. Today consolidated as the main agricultural crop in the country, soy guarantees Brazilian protagonism as one of the main food suppliers to the world, being essential for global food security.