Embrapa's Agropensa System is the subject of an article in an international S&T and innovation publication

Embrapa's experience with the Strategic Intelligence System, Agropensa, has just been published in Foresight and STI Governance, one of the most important publications in the world, aimed at promoting the development of analytical and prospective research in the field of science, technology and innovation. Published in English since 2007, the publication receives academic works from all countries and has contributed to interaction, mainly between researchers, policymakers, university professors, businesspeople and specialists in S&T and innovation analysis and prospective studies.

Agropensa was considered a reference for its work in mapping and supporting the organization, integration and dissemination of databases and agricultural information, in addition to prospecting trends and identifying future scenarios that allow Brazilian agriculture to prepare for potential challenges and opportunities. The article is authored by analyst Lívia Torres and the supervisor of the Observatory Network, analyst Marcos Pena, from the Secretariat of Intelligence and Strategic Relations (Sire).

Entitled Foresight as support for decision-making amid the limited rationality (RL) of individuals and organizations: the case of Embrapa's Strategic Intelligence System (Agropensa), the article describes how the connection between the strategic intelligence process and organizational management occurred, with the strengthening of long-term corporate behavior, helping – through qualified information – the decision-making of the Company's top management. “What motivated the research was to identify how practical prospective actions, in the case of Embrapa's Strategic Intelligence System, contributed to mitigating the difficulties inherent in the decision-making process”, explained Marcos Pena, highlighting the complexity of the problems in contrast to the limitations of the trend to the adoption of simplified and summarized models: “This approach tends to misunderstand the world”.

According to analyst Lívia Torres, author of the article, anticipatory information contributes to creating competitive advantages and helps to address problems before they become concrete facts. “But Embrapa’s biggest difference is that the creation of a strategic intelligence area focused on implementing a systemic structure allowed the Company to begin accumulating knowledge about the future in an organized way, establishing formal processes, favoring the expansion of mental models and the presence of new information in the decision-making process. Important achievements that contributed to mitigating problems inherent to human rationality”, she explains.

The article describes the creation of observatories at Embrapa, in the strategic intelligence process and how monitoring was carried out to detect trends and signs of the future in decentralized units throughout the country. “The prospective vision ended up being incorporated into decision-making both locally and as well as corporate”, said Lívia, drawing attention to the Company’s investment in consolidating the prospective culture. In 2017, recognition of Agropensa's results earned Embrapa first place in the Innovagro Award, in the organizational innovation in agriculture category. The initiative, promoted by the Innovagro Network, is linked to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).