Brazil can lead the climate agenda with narrative coherence and a global coalition

Faced with the climate agenda and the proliferation of unilateralism, Brazil needs to seek greater narrative coherence internally and build a coalition abroad to take these discussions to international forums. “The parameters of temperate agriculture do not apply to tropical agriculture, as they are different, so we need to expose this fact on equal terms with countries that are leading these issues”, said ambassador Roberto Azevêdo, partner at YvY Capital and consultant for the Brazilian Association of Agriculture. Agribusiness (Abag), during the 23rd Brazilian Agribusiness Congress (CBA), held this Monday, August 5th, by Abag and B3, the Brazilian stock exchange.

Even in this scenario, in Azevêdo's view, there are many opportunities for agribusiness and many possibilities for alliances with countries in Latin America, the African continent, the Asian continent, but also with the United States, as they are global food producers and have the same concerns, even though they are a strong competitor in the sector, as the objective is to have a field to compete on an equal footing, avoiding arbitrariness. “This would be a strong coalition to have a conversation about what a new international order would look like, where agriculture would be considered a solution to the climate issue,” he stated.

During the Geopolitics and Sustainability panel, Ingo Plögler (vice-president of Abag), mentioned the following as opportunities for the sector: food security, energy security, biological assets and social development. “In this area, we have Bolsa Família. Today, a global alliance against hunger and poverty is being negotiated within the G20. It’s an agenda suggested by Brazil,” he said.

For him, Brazilian agriculture needs to work together on visions where these “avenues” of opportunities can be explored, possibly finding trucks that are not so visible. “It is the work of private leaders, because wherever this force is directed, governments will follow”, I consider

According to Ricardo Santin (president of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association - ABPA), it is not possible to have borders when it comes to food. “When a new world order is being formed, the Brazilian government needs to seek an agreement to expose our situation, as we are competitive”, he emphasized.

According to Santin, Brazil has 37% of the global market share in chicken, and 14% in pork. He recalled that it is not possible to export land or water, only the products. “This is the important point for Brazil. In the medium and long term, we will be even more important in providing proteins, which is what the world is asking for”, he pointed out. The panel was moderated by journalist William Waack.

Launch of the new work of Rede Paolinelli

After the panel, the book Giant and Global Agriculture - The epic that Alysson Paolinelli began in 1974 was launched, a creation of the Paolinelli Network, organized by Coriolano Xavier and Ivan Wedekin. The work, in five chapters, tells the story of Paolinelli at the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, where he arrived 50 years ago. With a preface by Roberto Rodrigues, it also contains ten testimonials about the honoree. This is the second book by Rede Paolinelli. The first, Alysson Paolinelli - the visionary of tropical agriculture, was launched in 2021. 

"The work was organized from three dossiers sent to the Norwegian Nobel Prize committee, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, each with more than 400 pages, a breathtaking work that brings the achievements of this great miner to Brazil", Wedekin said.