Embrapa's potential to support international strategies for articulating agriculture outside Brazil was one of the main points defended by Celso Moretti, president of the company, this Monday, September 14, during the second meeting of Brazilian agricultural attachés. According to him, the experience of the institution and its researchers over almost five decades can contribute to the coordination and provision of qualified information in negotiations and forums, in addition to favoring rapprochement in foreign cooperation scenarios. “Embrapa has expertise for that,” he said.
Accompanied virtually by more than twenty attachés and representatives of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) abroad, Moretti spoke about Embrapa's international agenda, the relationship with 43 countries, 120 research institutions and the 154 projects currently developed in cooperation. Present at the meeting: ministers Tereza Cristina, of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and Ernesto Araújo, of Foreign Affairs (MRE), deputy Alceu Moreira, president of the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA) and Sérgio Segovia, president of Apex-Brasil .
“We have been working with a focus on international strategic relations, global policies, scientific and technical cooperation, focused on innovation and business”, explained Moretti. He highlighted the connection with the ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, in addition to funding agencies and research support foundations: “Internally and externally, we are in constant coordination, through the Company's Executive Board and our management of international relations, and we received numerous representations from embassies and international delegations interested in approaching and exchanging with Brazilian agricultural research”.
The president reaffirmed the priority in strengthening the participation of researchers in committees, working groups and international forums, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Organization of United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO). “We also seek the alignment of international projects on Embrapa's strategic themes, such as the scientific cooperation signed with the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), in the United Arab Emirates, with which we have a common interest in developing technologies for the use of water rich in salts”, commented Celso Moretti.
Regarding scientific cooperation mechanisms, he referred to the effort developed in virtual laboratories (Labex) in the United States and Europe, coordinated by researchers, responsible for articulating and participating in joint calls for projects with foreign research institutions, and supporting visiting scientists who work in cooperative studies. Moretti highlighted that there is an intention to return with Embrapa's presence in African territory, but no longer as humanitarian aid, but seeking to strengthen business. In his opinion, Africa represents an opportunity to raise funds on the Company's international agenda, which, in turn, has attracted the attention of governments in several countries, currently interested in restructuring the agricultural research system in the country, inspired by the Brazilian model.
For the president of Embrapa, there is great potential related to the internationalization of Brazilian companies. Thus, he has defended the African continent as strategic, as it is the middle of the road for China, a potential market and partner for Brazil. “Furthermore, 60% of the world’s arable land is in Africa; there are 400 million hectares of savanna, and Brazil is the only country in the world that has technology for developing tropical agriculture”, justifying the importance of encouraging the Brazilian private sector to occupy spaces in the continent's commercial scenario. “Embrapa is a key point in supporting this process.”
During the presentation, Celso Moretti recalled the trajectory of Brazilian agriculture over the last 50 years, with the transformation of Brazil from a country dependent on food imports into a world leader in productivity, in a sustainable and competitive way. As one of the results with the greatest impact in the research, he cited the importance of biological nitrogen fixation in soybean cultivation, which guaranteed savings of 22 billion reais in the 2019 harvest, cultivated on 35 million hectares that did not require nitrogen fertilizer. “Brazil has developed the technology that allows this replacement which, in addition to the economic gain, represents a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, something around 100 million tons less in the atmosphere,” he stated.
To the Brazilian agricultural attachés who attended the event, the president gave the message: “Demand Embrapa, demand information”. According to him, the Company works to provide solutions to agricultural problems and that it is important to use this knowledge to disseminate possibilities for agreements, partnerships, cooperation and the opening of new markets for the national private sector.
The president of Embrapa also highlighted Embrapa's alignment with Apex-Brasil and cited the agreements signed in July this year with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of Brazilian agriculture. “There is a joint effort to increase the sector’s competitiveness and its ability to enter global value chains, expand international promotion and also attract foreign investment,” he said. Celso Moretti participated in missions coordinated by Apex-Brasil that generated new opportunities for Brazilian science.
The Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, said that Brazilian agriculture needs to be treated in an integrated manner and the ministry is working to reinforce the focus on supply, international trade, land issues and forestry promotion, to the benefit of small, medium and large producers . “And for this, the rapprochement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Apex has been fundamental. It is necessary to deal with agribusiness diplomacy,” she said. Regarding the work of attachés abroad, she drew attention to the importance of bringing solutions. The minister announced the creation of three more attaché positions starting this year in France (Paris), Germany (Berlin) and Australia (Canberra), countries chosen because they host the World Organization for Animal Health and the Organization for Cooperation and Economic development.
Referring to the potential of Brazilian agriculture, Tereza Cristina said that the country has the capacity to expand the food supply in a sustainable way and should be able to meet global demand by producing 40% more by 2050. “This, by investing in productivity, to produce more with less land, combining research, technology and incentive policies”. She drew attention to the success of Embrapa's research related to wheat in Ceará: “With high technology, surpassing crops in the south, we need to be up to date with new technologies for various products”, she concluded.
During the second meeting of agricultural attachés, two cooperation agreements were signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Apex-Brasil, aimed at strengthening and unifying the international promotion agenda, inserting new companies into the international market, attracting foreign investment and encouraging entrepreneurship.
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
