Assessment and evolution of socio-environmental management of soybean farms participating in the Agro Plus program in Minas Gerais State, Brazil

The Agro Plus program supports rural producers to comply with legislation and be prepared to meet demands of the international soybean market. This paper sought to analyze the current sustainability conditions of soybean farms in Minas Gerais based on the program checklist. The assessment of property improvements was carried out using data from 70 farms evaluated twice between 2016 and 2020 by the Agro Plus. The correlation between the soybean area cultivated in the season 2021 (ha) and the score for each of the 19 themes assessed by program (in %) was calculated and the t test was applied to verify the significance of the correlations. The program has a positive impact on soybean farms in Minas Gerais and contributes significantly to the management of properties in terms of compliance with current legislation. It enabled improvements in all the topics evaluated, with emphasis on those that were most critical before the farm joined Agro Plus. However, some themes are not suitable for most farms. Risk management at work, employee training, waste management and empty packaging storage and PPE laundry facilities have the lowest averages. Focusing on their indicators on second visits, distributing specific teaching materials and organizing courses on the subject seem interesting alternatives for Agro Plus to promote greater development on farms. There are significant correlations between the size of properties and socio-environmental issues, mainly related to labor issues and waste management on the property.