In "State of the World - 97" the World Watch Inst. has a commentary in a section
called "A Land-Scarce World" (p.54-55) on Brazil. Part of it reads:
"Brazil's attempt to colonize the Amazon region in the 70's is a clear
demonstration of the difficulty of introucing farming to remote regions with
poor soils.The Transamazon colonization scheme, announced in 1970,
envisioned construction of a highway through the Amazon jungle that would
open millions of hectares of forst for farming. The plan foresaw
resettlement of a million families by 1980. But by 1978, only 7600 families
had been settled; turnover rates were high, as the scheme was plagued by
lack of infrastructure, administrative difficulties, and above all, poor
soil fertility. Tropical soils like those in the Amazon are notoriously
meagre in nutrients, and can be farmed sustainable only with long fallow
periods. In the late 70's, rice yields in the resettled areas were lass than
half the US average, and well below the world average. Much of the land that
could not sustain ongoing, intensive cultivation was converted to grazing
land or abandoned; by 19890, the program was sharply curtailed."
World Watch in this and other publications has a wealth of information on
land and other resources. I imagine they are available in most libraries,
and the yearly subscription to the bi-monthly magazine in the US is only $20.
All of which goes to say to me that nature will not always cooperate when we
crack the whip over her head, but if we, with a little humility, try to
learn her ways and let her lead us, we may after all accomplish something.
