Abstract

This paper reviewed Brazilian agriculture in the context of a greater - priority” for the production of food, exportables and energetic crops, as well as the economic recession from 1981 on. We indicated that the recession had a fundamental role in decreasing food demand at the same time that contributed to a strong decline in real prices. This seems to be important in terms of production targets for energetic crops, of exchange and commercial policies and of a possible recovery of the world economy. In addition, the negative effects of the expansion of energetic crops over food production constitute one of distributive problems of the Brazilian energy program.