Silvia Massruhá will be the first woman to preside over Embrapa

Researcher Silvia Maria Fonseca Silveira Massruhá will be the first woman to assume the presidency of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Her name was confirmed on the Company's Boards of Directors (Consad) and Eligibility (Coele). She will assume the position on May 1st, when the appointment will be made official in the Administrative Communications Bulletin (BCA).

Sílvia Massruhá has a PhD in Applied Computing from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), where she presented the thesis The artificial intelligence model for diagnosing plant diseases. She has a master's degree in Automation from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and a degree in Systems Analysis from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas).

Minas Gerais de Passos (MG), he joined Embrapa in 1989, participating in important transformations in the area of ​​IT in agriculture, from the software factory, through the internet decade to the present digital era, in which computing is transformed into the third pillar scientific research, alongside theory and experimentation, according to the researcher.

Among its areas of knowledge is the development of technologies for complex systems or interdisciplinary solutions that bring the future, which materializes in the use of tools such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT), among others. 

"It is an honor to assume the direction of Embrapa on the very special occasion of its recently completed 50 years. It is also a milestone in the management of the Institution, which will have a woman as President for the first time. An important step for the Company towards increasingly more egalitarian and inclusive", he declared. She also cited some challenges brought about by changes in agriculture. "In the food sector, consumers are concerned about obtaining healthier products and with transparent information. In the energy sector, agriculture has a lot to contribute to the transition to cleaner matrices. Research has a lot to develop in these and other areas, always maintaining focus on environmental, social and economic sustainability", he said.

For more than three decades at the state-owned company, Sílvia was linked to Embrapa Informática Agropecuária, in Campinas (SP), which, in September 2021, was renamed Embrapa Agricultura Digital to better reflect its multidisciplinary and transversal role. The change took place during the researcher's tenure as General Manager of the research center (2015 to 2022). In the previous period, from August 2009 to March 2015, she held the position of head of Research and Development.

Center for digital agriculture for small producers

Before assuming management roles, Sílvia worked for 20 years in research, leading projects in the area of ​​software engineering, artificial intelligence and scientific computing applied to agriculture. The researcher leads the recently created Science Center for Development in Digital Agriculture (CCD-AD/SemeAr), supported by the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp), which she helped to create, with the aim of structuring the process of digital transformation in agriculture in order to reduce inequalities in access to emerging technologies. 

Boards and committees

The researcher who now assumes the presidency of Embrapa has been present in various forums on the topic of digital agriculture. She is the coordinator of the Digital Agro Thematic Chamber in the Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration Network (ILPF) and participates in the Board of Directors of the Eldorado and Consultative Institute Faesp / Senar-SP.

He also sits on the Strategic Committee of the National Agro-photonics Laboratory – Lanaf, of Embrapa Instrumentação, in addition to being a member of the Advisory Council of Ecossistema Brasil 6.0, the Board of Directors of SBIAgro (Brazilian Agroinformatics Association) and the External Advisory Committee of Embrapa Rice and beans.

Within the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa), to which Embrapa is linked, the researcher coordinated the Sinagro working group (National Agricultural Information and Intelligence Management System) established by the ministry from August to December 2022 , having been a member of Mapa’s Precision and Digital Agriculture Committee.

The Agro 4.0 Chamber, created by the Ministries of Agriculture and Science, Technology, Innovation (MCTI), had its collaboration between 2018 and 2022.

Internationally, he represented Embrapa Digital Agriculture in international articulations, missions and technical-scientific events in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The consolidation of the innovation ecosystem for digital agriculture in the country counts on the collaboration of the future president of Embrapa, who participates in the agtech movement, working in startup acceleration and mentoring programs organized by Embrapa Digital Agriculture, by other research centers of the institution and by partners.

People

Granddaughter of a farmer and daughter of educators, Silvia moved to Campinas, where she studied Systems Analysis, interned at the Information Technology Center (CTI) and learned about the Software Factory Project (PFS) - which motivated the creation of the Technological Center for Agricultural Informatics (NTIA), precursor of Embrapa Agricultural Informatics, currently Embrapa Digital Agriculture.