Embrapa and companies create “ILPF Network Association” to expand the use of integrated systems in agriculture

This Wednesday, April 4th, at 15 pm, the ILPF Network, an association formed between Embrapa, the Cocamar cooperative and the companies John Deere, Soesp and Syngenta, will be launched at Embrapa Headquarters, in Brasília (DF). The objective is to stimulate the use of crop-livestock-forest integration technology (ILPF) and help ensure that Brazil reaches 19,3 million hectares with ILPF by 2020. It is estimated that, today, around 14,6 million of Brazilian hectares are managed using integrated systems.

The public-private partnership marks a new phase of work that began in 2012, when the ILPF Development Network was formed. At that time, with a different legal constitution, companies began to contribute R$500 each year to a foundation to pay for actions conducted by Embrapa, such as the installation of 107 Technological Reference Units, holding field days and technical events, training of professionals, in addition to generating information about integrated agricultural production systems.

The objective was to accelerate the technology transfer process, enabling broad adoption of ILPF by producers across the country.

The transformation of the ILPF Network into an association aims to facilitate the entry of new partner companies, in order to enable the expansion of the scope of actions developed. According to the president of the ILPF Network Management Council and Embrapa researcher, Renato Rodrigues, the expectation is that the association can count on representatives from different sectors such as the forestry base, milk production chain and information technology, for example.

At the launch event of the ILPF Network, representatives of the institutions participating in the association will sign the cooperation agreement. Among the already confirmed presences will be the presidents of Embrapa, Maurício Lopes, of John Deere in Brazil, Paulo Herrman, of Cocamar Luiz Lourenço.

 New directions

In this new phase, the ILPF Network will continue the work of technology transfer, technical assistance and communication training that has already been done, seeking to improve it. Furthermore, it will focus on internationalization, adding value through certification and innovation.

The expectation is that the money contributed by companies participating in the ILPF Network will be used mainly for the maintenance of the Association, communication actions and technology transfer. For other actions, the focus will be on raising resources from international funds.

“We have a goal of raising 1 billion dollars to finance research projects and actions related to technology transfer. Among the priorities are the definition of metrics for the international recognition of ILPF as a mitigator of greenhouse gas emissions and the development of a digital ATER [technical assistance and rural extension] platform”, says Renato Rodrigues.

ILPF in Numbers

ILPF is a Brazilian technology. It is characterized as a production strategy that integrates agriculture, animal husbandry and tree planting in the same area, so that there is positive interaction between the components and generating social, environmental and economic benefits.

According to research commissioned by Rede ILPF, in 2016 Brazil had 11,5 million hectares with some type of integrated system. 83% of this area is formed by crop-livestock integration systems (ILP), 9% by ILPF, 7% by livestock-forest systems (IPF) and 1% by crop-forest integration (ILF).

Based on 2016 research, Plataforma ABC, a multi-institutional group formed to monitor the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, estimates that in the 2017/18 harvest the area with integrated systems will reach 14,6 million hectares. The projection is that by 2020 the area will reach 19,3 million hectares.

As a low-carbon technology, ILPF is one of the Brazilian government's bets to fulfill its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made internationally.