On the first day of ESALQSHOW 2018 – Innovation Forum for Sustainable Agribusiness, which takes place on the campus of the Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (Esalq/USP), in Piracicaba (SP), leaders from academia, research agencies, the productive sector , government and representative entities met to discuss the future of tropical agriculture for society, the central theme of this edition of the event.
The forum was moderated by journalist and publicist, José Luiz Tejon and included the participation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, Francisco Ferreira Sergio Jardim; journalist Humberto Pereira, former editor-in-chief of Globo Rural and one of the creators of the Globo campaign “Agro: the wealth industry of Brazil”; Cleber Oliveira Soares, executive director of Innovation and Technology at Embrapa; João Dornellas, executive president of ABIA – Brazilian Association of Food Industries; Jacyr Costa Filho, president of Cosage and director of Grupo Tereos; Luiz Gustavo Nussio, director of Esalq/Usp and Roberto Rodrigues, president of the ESALQSHOW Council and “Luiz de Queiroz” professor.
When evaluating the role of academia in agriculture of the future, the director of Esalq/USP, Luiz Gustavo Nussio, highlighted that it is currently estimated that the validity of knowledge is 10 years. “Estimating that a professional lifespan is 65 years, the student needs to reinvent himself at least seven times in his life. The challenge is to attract this student back to the academy so that they can update their knowledge. Holding an event like ESALQSHOW, which seeks to bring graduating students closer to what the university has been doing, is one of the ways”, highlighted Nussio, who highlighted the growth of partnerships between universities and the private sector as one of the ways to ensure progress research and training people. “It is not enough for Brazil to have natural resources and a favorable climate. It is necessary to think about people, training them to be managers, who know how to integrate systems, make decisions based on information, working on the integration of knowledge”.
For the Secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, Francisco Ferreira Sergio Jardim, the sector is faced with major challenges to feed the growing world population, which include increasing productivity with greater use of technologies, producing more with less in a sustainable way and, specifically in Brazil, in his assessment the sector has the challenge of facing issues relating to the legal security of land.
Jacyr Costa Filho, president of Cosag – Superior Agribusiness Council of FIESP and director of Tereos Group, gave a presentation on how agroenergy is mitigating the effects of climate change. Between 1950 and 2017 there was an increase of 1ºC in the global average temperature and ethanol production presents itself as an alternative to minimize these effects. “In addition to the environmental benefits, ethanol has several advantages, such as the fact that it is a crop with a short production cycle, its economic relevance and the possibility of helping to balance the trade balance, since Brazil imports around 12 billions of dollars from fossil fuels. The greater use of ethanol would help save emissions of 570 million tons of CO² by 2030 in Brazil, which, according to calculations by a professor at USP, would prevent approximately 7 thousand deaths, resulting especially from respiratory problems”, explains Filho. The executive highlighted the importance of RenovaBio as a State policy to outline a joint strategy in order to recognize the strategic role of all types of biofuels in the Brazilian energy matrix, both for energy security and for mitigating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect, stimulating a search for greater efficiency.
The executive president of ABIA – Brazilian Association of Food Industries, João Dornellas, gave a vision of the food industry in Brazil, which accounts for around 10% of Brazilian GDP and is responsible for processing 58% of agricultural production. He commented on some points from the results of the survey “A Mesa dos Brasileiros – Transformações, Confirmações e Contradições”, which heard 3 thousand people in 12 metropolitan regions of the country about their food consumption habits to analyze how both the agricultural and industrial sectors should be attentive to these changes to guide its actions now and in the future.
Embrapa's executive director of Innovation and Technology, Cleber Oliveira Soares, gave the research agency's vision for the future. “Aspects such as traceability, sustainability, adoption of environmental and social criteria, agro-economics, integrated production systems, animal welfare and low-carbon and carbon-neutral products are increasingly present in the direction of research and innovation”, guaranteed the researcher.
Journalist Humberto Pereira, former editor-in-chief of Globo Rural and one of the creators of the Globo campaign “Agro: the wealth industry of Brazil” analyzed how communication in the sector is carried out, highlighting some aspects that need to be improved so that agribusiness is recognized especially by the urban public. “There is an enormous capacity for communication within agriculture in the most varied instances, but there is great difficulty in getting the gate out, not only for the Brazilian public, but for our customers abroad. Agriculture has to consistently prepare for this new situation of being a market leader. You have to anticipate, protect yourself, be aware of weak points and prepare. We know that the international market will use any 'hair in the egg' as a trade barrier. It would be interesting to carry out research to detect the major criticisms that the world has in relation to Brazilian agricultural products”, analyzes the journalist. According to him, agriculture is currently experiencing its most consistent production cycle, with a succession of records. “It is necessary to recognize that we are facing not only a new agricultural sector, but a new farmer. Sustainability can no longer be something debatable, it is not possible to produce without being sustainable and the person most accredited to take care of nature in Brazil is the farmer”, he attests. “We cannot be afraid to discuss serious and controversial issues, such as agrochemicals. Agriculture is committed to positioning itself at the forefront of society. We have a very big communication challenge, but, at the same time, a very good foundation, which is the sincerity, honesty and passion of the Brazilian farmer. All this technology that is coming will not take away the wonderful culture and traditions of Brazilian farmers”, he believes.
For the forum's moderator, José Luiz Tejon Megido, communication in the sector should be considered a major struggle. “It’s not enough to show or enchant: we need to move people, offer experiences that don’t fade over time.”
The president of the ESALQSHOW Advisory Board, Roberto Rodrigues, ended the meeting with a reflection on what gives meaning to people's lives. “For me it is teaching and learning and today I learned a lot in this rich debate we had with agribusiness stars. I remain motivated to make Brazil a protagonist and world champion of peace by providing quality food for people”, concluded the former Minister of Agriculture and coordinator of the FGV Agribusiness Center.
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