---
title: Tropical Wheat Breeding
type: technology
url: "https://www.envisioning.com/research/spore/brazil__tropical-wheat-breeding"
hub: spore
summary: EMBRAPA is breeding wheat varieties adapted to tropical cerrado conditions — Brazil imports 50% of its wheat and aims for self-sufficiency within a decade
---

# Tropical Wheat Breeding

EMBRAPA is breeding wheat varieties adapted to tropical cerrado conditions — Brazil imports 50% of its wheat and aims for self-sufficiency within a decade
- Technology Readiness Level: 6/9
- Impact: 2/5
- Investment: 3/5
Wheat traditionally requires cool, temperate climates. EMBRAPA has spent 40 years crossing heat-tolerant varieties from around the world with Brazilian germplasm, and since 2010 has been testing wheat adapted to the cerrado's hot, dry winters.

The cerrado already produces roughly 10% of Brazil's wheat as a safrinha crop after soybeans. The goal is to expand this dramatically: if even a fraction of the cerrado's 200 million hectares grows wheat, Brazil could shift from importing 7 million tons annually to self-sufficiency.

The geopolitical dimension is significant. Brazil's wheat imports come primarily from Argentina, the US, and Canada. Achieving wheat self-sufficiency would eliminate a major food security dependency and complete the cerrado transformation story — from infertile savanna to full-spectrum grain producer.

---
Source: Envisioning — Technology Research Institute (https://www.envisioning.com/research/spore/brazil__tropical-wheat-breeding)