Brazilian research on regenerative coffee farming gains prominence at conference in Japan

Researchers from the Minas Gerais Agricultural Research Corporation (Epamig) Madelaine Venzon and Wânia dos Santos Neves participated in the 25th International Congress of Entomology (ICE 30) in Kyoto, Japan, between August 27 and 2024. During the event, they presented technologies for Conservative Biological Control of Coffee Pests for Regenerative Coffee Farming, developed over the last two decades.

“I participated as an author and co-author of two posters and an oral presentation. Researcher Wania Neves was a co-author of one of the papers and my advisees Elem Martins (postdoctoral student), Jessica Martins (PhD student) and Douglas Ferreira (PhD student) presented posters. In addition, we were part of the Brazilian mission that submitted a proposal to host the next event, in four years’ time, in Rio de Janeiro,” says Madelaine Venzon.

Under the theme “New discoveries through consilience”, the event addressed topics such as biological pest control, biodiversity, agroecology, and management, through lectures, symposia, oral presentations, poster sessions, and awards, with the participation of professionals from different countries. “This is the largest and most important event in the world in the field of Entomology, where we had the opportunity to strengthen contact with researchers, both Brazilian and foreign,” says the researcher.

Among the contacts established, Madelaine Venzon highlights some that will become partnerships between Epamig and institutions in Asia and the United States. “There were many contacts and technical meetings, for example, with Dr. Agenor Mafra Neto, researcher and founding partner of Isca Technologies in California, with whom we will have a partnership in the area of ​​behavioral control of coffee pests; with Professor Jason Schimit from the University of Georgia, who will collaborate with us and intends to spend some time in Brazil as a visiting researcher; and with researcher Pheophanh Soysouvanh from the National University of Laos, who wants to partner to apply biological pest control technologies in Vietnam and Laos,” she explains.

“I also had the opportunity to interact with Professor Gurr Geoff, from Charles Sturt University in Australia, who is one of my references in conservative biological control”, adds the researcher.