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Agribusiness Boom Brings Change to the Amazon

Highway 163 was cut through the jungle in the 1970s to connect the Amazon to the rest of Brazil, but the job wasn't completed. Under pressure from agribusiness, the government plans to pave the remaining 600 miles north of Guarantã do Norte.
Geoff Gaudreault, NPR
Highway 163 was cut through the jungle in the 1970s to connect the Amazon to the rest of Brazil, but the job wasn't completed. Under pressure from agribusiness, the government plans to pave the remaining 600 miles north of Guarantã do Norte.

Brazil is in the midst of an agribusiness boom. Vast farms of 10,000 or 20,000 acres are churning out soybeans and other commodities for the world market. That's good news for the country's balance of payments, but it's also turning millions of acres of Amazon rainforest into a tropical version of Kansas.

NPR's Martin Kaste has the first of two reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Martin Kaste is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. He covers law enforcement and privacy. He has been focused on police and use of force since before the 2014 protests in Ferguson, and that coverage led to the creation of NPR's Criminal Justice Collaborative.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.