This paper presents a study whose goal was to characterize the evolution of the agricultural modernization process in the Brazilian states. Factor analysis was applied to a group of variables related to the use of the main modern technologies. The results have led to the conclusion that the intensity of the modernization process was significantly different among the states. Since 1980, that process is becoming less intense, with the reduction in the values associated to the financing level and investments in agriculture, phenomenon related to the decrease in the offer of rural credit and the elevation of its cost. Possibly, this was also influenced by market retraction, lower expectations and increasing risks, events observed in the 1980s.
