Tocantins Farmers Build Roads to Secure Record Soy Harvest

As the harvest season approaches in Tocantins, a familiar challenge resurfaces: ensuring the state's massive agricultural output can reach its destination. With soybean collection set to begin in late January and peak in February and March, rural producers are mobilizing to address a critical bottleneck outside the fields.

The state is on track for a record-breaking season, with soybean production alone estimated at 5.75 million tons. This volume is projected to push total grain output beyond 9.6 million tons, a historic high. However, the journey from field to port begins on the state's often-overlooked vicinal and state highways.

The most significant mobilization is occurring along the Garganta region, a 90-kilometer corridor marking the border between Tocantins and Bahia. Here, producers have moved beyond mere advocacy, taking direct action to pave the road that connects their farms to markets.

Producer Martin Dowich explained that the initiative was born from practical necessity. The asphalt on the Bahia side of the border was executed by the farmers themselves in partnership with the Associação de Agricultores e Irrigantes da Bahia (AIBA).

“The 40 kilometers that now support this axis were not just recovered. They were built from scratch, with new asphalt constructed by the producers, because there was no longer any condition to depend on dirt roads in a region that moves ever-increasing volumes of grain.”

This specific 40-kilometer segment represents a strategic shift in the region's logistics. Dowich notes that the road leading toward Mateiros is a continuation of this paved section, with plans to advance an additional 13 kilometers of new asphalt and maintain another 40 kilometers to ensure adequate traffic conditions throughout the corridor.

The effects of these infrastructure improvements are already being felt by those transporting crops and inputs. The new roads facilitate the movement of soybeans, corn, and cotton, while also improving access for the entire region.

Benefits extend beyond the agricultural sector, enhancing connectivity between municipalities and reducing logistical costs. The following areas rely heavily on these vicinal and state roads to move production to main arteries:

• Lagoa da Confusão
• Cristalândia
• Pium
• Formoso do Araguaia
• Santa Rita do Tocantins
• Dueré

Most of this traffic converges on the BR-153, the state's primary logistics corridor connecting Tocantins to markets in the South and Southeast and the ports of the Arco Norte. State highways also provide crucial access to multimodal terminals in Palmeirante, Porto Nacional, and Alvorada, where cargo transfers to other modes of transport.

For the productive sector, the message is clear: the competitiveness of Tocantins' agriculture depends on transforming historical bottlenecks into collective solutions. Caroline Barcellos, president of Aprosoja Tocantins, views this mobilization as a necessary response to the lack of adequate public infrastructure.

“With a harvest of this size, one cannot think only of production. The road is also part of the crop. When the producer organizes to build or maintain a road, it is not for satisfaction, but because they need to guarantee the flow of production in the face of the absence of public power.”

Each kilometer of asphalt paved or maintained represents a reduction in costs, an increase in safety, and a boost in development along the routes that sustain the state's economy. The improvement of roads is a strategic part of the harvest, directly impacting security, logistics, and regional development.

As the 2025/2026 harvest gets underway, the actions of Tocantins' farmers serve as a case study in proactive problem-solving. By investing directly in infrastructure, they are securing the flow of a record crop that is vital to the state's economy.

The ongoing projects along the Garganta corridor and the push for further paving demonstrate a commitment to efficiency and safety. As the season progresses, the focus will remain on maintaining these critical routes to ensure that the state's agricultural output continues to move smoothly from the interior to the global market.