State of Goias

Goiás State anchors Brazil's agricultural frontier—the cerrado biome where soybean cultivation expanded dramatically since the 1970s. Goiânia, the planned capital (1.5 million, 2.6 million metro), was founded in 1937 to promote interior development. Today the state ranks among Brazil's top agricultural producers: soybeans, corn, beef cattle, and increasingly sugarcane for ethanol.

Agribusiness integration is particularly advanced. Processing facilities convert raw commodities into exportable products: soybean meal, chicken, beef, sugar, ethanol. The logistics network—highways, railroads, and the future Ferrogrão corridor—channels production to Atlantic ports. Brasília's proximity (approximately 200 km) provides spillover effects from federal capital employment and spending.

The transformation from cerrado savanna to agricultural production creates environmental tensions. Native vegetation loss exceeds Amazon deforestation in percentage terms, though it receives less attention. Water resources face pressure from irrigation and processing demands. Goiás demonstrates commodity-export development's potential and limits—wealth generation that transforms landscapes irreversibly while creating vulnerability to commodity price cycles and climate variability.