The North of Minas Gerais has been gaining strength in agriculture with the support of irrigation and technology. The region, located near the border with Bahia, has become a coffee hub, presenting new varieties of coffee in productive crops thanks to technological projects, systematic irrigation, and the use of mechanization.
Despite the dry climate and rainfall indexes that can be lower than 400 mm at certain times of the year, the region overcomes these conditions with the adjustment of water intake through irrigation and cultural practices, resulting in high levels of productivity. The main coffee producers in the region are the municipalities of Águas Vermelhas, Berizal, Taiobeiras, and Ninheiras, with altitudes between 700 and 900 meters, soils with a good level of clay, and a dry forest vegetation and flat-undulated lands, enabling mechanization and professionalization of coffee cultivation.
In addition to pivot irrigation, some crops show the plantation of African mahogany for shading the coffee plants, with planting at 4 meters from the plants. The shaded environment favors the balance between high temperatures (between 22 and 24ºC) and coffee growth, which, due to the climate, grows all year round, assisting in productivity.
In the region, the Arabica coffee has the Catuaí as the main planted variety. However, studies have shown good performance of the Catucaí Amarelo and Arara varieties, which present both good cupping grades and tolerance to rust and maturation outside the appropriate time.
Despite technology bringing the possibility of productivity to the backcountry and allowing the advancement of coffee production in Brazil, the annual cost of coffee in the North of Minas is higher than in other traditional areas, due to the need for irrigation, cultural practices, and grain preparation. However, the coffee hub in the North of the largest coffee-producing state continues to advance.
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