The purpose of this article is to explore some of the possible lessons for South African agriculture from the Brazilian experience. To this end, the article discusses the performance of Brazilian agriculture in terms of land and labour use, production, and exports. This is followed by aspects of Brazilian agricultural policies, namely farmer support, the research and technology transfer system and land issues. The implications for South African agriculture can be summarized as the recognition that history, geography, the development path and agricultural policies all matter. The article then identifies five important lessons for agricultural development in South Africa.