Mapa and IICA will bring digital rural extension to family farmers in the Northeast

Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) announced this Tuesday (18) Mapa's partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to offer digital agricultural consultancy services to family farmers in the Northeast of Brazil . The program is developed by the organization PAD - Precision Agriculture for Development, one of whose founders is Michael Kremer, awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics. Brazil will be the first country in Latin America to implement the program.

The announcement took place during the awarding of the title of IICA Goodwill Ambassador on Sustainable Development to Michael Kremer, who is a professor of Economics at Harvard University. The minister participated virtually in the ceremony and was invited to be godmother for the position of ambassador.

PAD has already reached 3,6 million farmers in eight countries in Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. 

“IICA, which represents each of the different agricultural sectors in the Americas, comes to welcome us with this alliance with Michael Kremer, who brings to us this great instrument of development”, said the minister, adding that Mapa is preparing the Ater Digital program, which will offer new digital technical assistance tools to expand the service base for family farmers.

At PAD, family farmers receive rural extension information via cell phone messages, twice a week. With simple language, he will have access to meteorological data, planting techniques, crop management, health information and crop yields. The method is very important at this time, when in-person rural extension visits are not viable due to the pandemic. Furthermore, the messages even reach farmers who live in places without internet, as the telephone signal is sufficient to receive them.

The Northeast was the region chosen for the first phase of the project, which should serve 100 small rural producers, including goat and sheep breeders, a strong economic activity in the region, and producers of corn and local varieties of beans. The idea is to reach 1 million family farmers in the region.

“It is an intelligent way to face the effects and threats of the pandemic on food security and to continue innovating, which is the hallmark of Brazilian agribusiness”, highlighted Tereza Cristina.

Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Michael Kremer, thanked Brazil for its initiative in implementing the program. He presented data from analyzes carried out in Africa and Asia, demonstrating that PAD services have a positive impact on the lives of farmers, with an increase in productivity gains by 4%, an increase in the use of inputs by 22% and an increase in income of families in vulnerable situations.

“Digital is not a replacement, it is a way to improve rural extension”, he highlighted.

Another difference is the cost. With PAD, sending a weekly message with a technical recommendation costs US$1,5 per family per year, a cost 200 to 300 times lower compared to traditional technical assistance methods.

Kremer highlighted that producers' access to smart cell phones improves the performance of services and large-scale application. “Costs are low and are falling further due to the drop in cell phone prices, and people have more access to information. It is the best time for investment, not only because of the moment [of the pandemic], but to create foundations for the future”.

IICA Director General, Manuel Otero, emphasized the impact that digital agriculture can bring to small farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean. “These results bring new perspectives and opportunities for the more than 17 million small farmers living in the Latin America and Caribbean region,” he said. “[PAD]’s extensive research has shown the world that there are innovative ways to improve people’s lives and shape public policy.”

In addition to Brazil, Colombia is studying the use of digital consultancy for rural extension services. “We will be able to boost knowledge in Colombian rural areas and with knowledge trainers, improving the productivity of Colombian agriculture,” said the country's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rodolfo Navarro.