Alliances boost agricultural development in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais

​Partnerships between research institutions, technical assistance, rural extension and local agents have promoted advances in rural development in the North and Northeast regions of Minas Gerais

04.10.2021 | 20:59 (UTC -3)
Embrapa

Partnerships between research institutions, technical assistance, rural extension and local agents have promoted advances in rural development in the North and Northeast regions of Minas Gerais.

The project “Agricultural Technologies for the Semiarid Region of Minas Gerais” shows concrete results in improving the quality of life of producers. The work is developed through coordination between entities and seeks to meet demands presented by farmers and leaders from Vale do Jequitinhonha and Alto Rio Pardo.

In a live broadcast held on the 30th, the actions developed in the territories and the results already achieved over the three years of the project were presented.

The general head of Embrapa Maize and Sorgo, Frederico Durães, highlighted that the project seeks to meet perceived needs in the territories. “We work with real demands in a region sensitive to environmental issues and climate variations. And we, as public institutions, can partner with local entities to develop something that can be a model. It is an arrangement based on technologies, and we seek to support production systems to generate more food in situations of water stress. This is the social role of a knowledge institution, to have an effect on those who produce and need information to produce more and better.”

Oto Cândido, Assessment and Accreditation manager at Anater, highlighted the importance of a new technical assistance approach, which focuses on sustainable rural development. Oto said that he visited the regions where the project operates. “I had the pleasure of getting to know the Demonstration Units (UDs) and Technological Reference Units (URTs), and I was convinced of the need to have this model throughout Brazil, due to the importance of showing producers, in their day-to-day lives, in the region where it is located, that adopting new technologies makes a difference.”

The president of Emater-MG, Otávio Maia, highlighted that family farmers need support from institutions, and this need is even more evident in the semi-arid region, which is experiencing water scarcity. He highlighted that the work developed shows the success of combining research with extension and building knowledge together with the producer. “The word teaches and the example leads. Showing experiences and new technologies in practice can increasingly disseminate and boost agricultural production in our state.”

Agronomist Fredson Chaves, from Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, spoke about the potential of Minas Gerais' semi-arid region and the importance of cultural change to improve agricultural production. “The region has mineral wealth and a suitable temperature for tropical agricultural production. We have to know how to use water. It is necessary to move away from extractivism to build sustainable production, with new alternatives.”

Fredson explained that, based on demands presented by local representatives, alliances were established to contribute to territorial development. “One of the region’s challenges is producing forage, and we use the Crop-Livestock Integration (ILP) system as our main strategy. We started with URTs in public areas, in partnership with city halls and schools, to validate technologies regionally. Then, we expanded the work to UDs, on rural properties, so that producers could adopt the practices.”

The results verified in the project Units were presented by agronomist Marco Aurélio Noce, also from Embrapa Milho e Sorgo. He presented productivity data for different materials evaluated in the Technological Reference Units. “In addition to training technicians, students and producers, the project also seeks to capture information that allows us to locally validate technologies, evaluate cultivars and practices,” he explained.

Marco Aurélio focused his presentation on figures relating to the production of forage for cattle, the main demand in the region. Assessments demonstrated that the performance of grass cultivars depends on the microclimate of each location. A highlight was the BRS Capiaçu elephant grass, which has demonstrated excellent production potential and drought tolerance.

The agronomist highlighted that all plantings in the units were done with fertilization, according to soil analyses, and stressed the importance of this practice. “The tests demonstrated that the results justify the cost of fertilization. In sorghum, the fertilized plots had, on average, an increase of 56% in productivity and, in millet, 400%”.

Irrigation alternatives with low water consumption were also tested: drip, micro-sprinkler and micro-perforated hose (santeno tape). “In general, dripping was the system that produced the most and presented the best cost/benefit”, explained Marco Aurélio.

In the UDs, installed on rural properties, the highlight was the recovery of degraded pastures. Areas of sorghum ILP with grass were implemented in crops with fertilization. “After harvesting the grains, the pasture is renovated and the producer still has the silage revenue. So, quality silage is important, but the main thing in these cases was to recover pastures that were practically lost.”

Emater-MG extensionist Paulo Deniz Oliveira commented on the main factors that cause the degradation of pastures in the region: use of burning, excessive grazing, water deficit, lack of soil and water conservation practices. But he highlighted that it is possible to reverse this scenario and generate good results. “Despite the drop in rainfall in recent years, a lot can still be done if we adopt technologies.”

Paulo Deniz spoke about the case of Francisco Badaró UD, where producer Jorge Gonçalves adopted the ILP system and managed to produce enough food for his herd and even to help neighbors.

Emater-MG guaranteed technical assistance and rural extension at all stages of the unit's implementation. “There are many doubts that the producer has because there are many technologies, for example ILP, fertilization, biological inputs. Even to adjust implements, we were present. This way, it is possible to enhance what the producer already has to know beforehand”, says Paulo. He highlights that the well-built partnership at the local level, with the municipal government, which provided machinery for agricultural operations, was also fundamental, as the availability of machinery is still difficult for producers in the region.

In addition to the case of Francisco Badaró, the experiences of the UDs in the municipalities of Coronel Murta and Ponto dos Volantes were presented during the live, with videos and testimonies from rural producers and extension workers.

After the lectures, there was interaction with the public, who sent questions about cultivars, practices and possibilities for new partnerships to expand the work in new municipalities. The event has already had more than 1.300 views online. In several local Emater offices, broadcast rooms were set up with groups of technicians and producers to follow the live broadcast. To check the recording, click here.

Partnerships

The project “Agricultural Technologies for the Semiarid of Minas Gerais” is coordinated by Embrapa Milho e Sorgo and has a network of partnerships, which involves Emater-MG, Anater, Senar, Sebrae, Epamig, Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, rural unions and the consortia of municipalities from the three regions served: Ameje (Association of Municipalities of the Médio Jequitinhonha Microregion), Comar (Multipurpose Intermunicipal Public Consortium of Alto Rio Pardo) and Nova Ambaj (New Association of Municipalities of the Baixo Jequitinhonha Microregion).

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