CNA/Senar system debates connectivity and innovation in the field

The Innovation Coordinator of the CNA/Senar System, Matheus Ferreira, participated in a public hearing, on Tuesday (12), on connectivity and innovation in rural areas. The debate was promoted by the Agriculture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

Matheus Ferreira gave a presentation on the advancement of technology in Brazilian agriculture and the relevance of connectivity for the rural sector. Among the main trends in innovation in agriculture, he cited the use of sensors and drones in the field, artificial intelligence, science and data analysis, internet of things and virtual reality.

“Connectivity in the field plays a fundamental role in productivity and profitability gains. Therefore, the sector needs investment, whether from the public or private sector. We hope that, by universalizing the internet in the field, a greater number of producers will have access to the benefits,” he said.

According to the 2017 Agricultural Census, of the more than 5 million rural properties in Brazil, 72% do not have access to the internet, which represents an area of ​​almost 196 million hectares. Of this total, 50% are in the Northeast region and 91% are properties with up to 100 hectares.

“We realize that the smaller the area, the greater the connectivity deficiency, which is often linked to the producer's investment capacity in contracting this service. And despite advances in the 5G auction and in the Telecommunications Services Universalization Fund (FUST), there is still a large number of disconnected producers”, stated Matheus.

According to the Innovation Coordinator of the CNA/Senar System, for connectivity to advance in the field, broad, safe, accessible and stable telecommunications solutions for producers are necessary; demands for the universalization of telecommunications services, productivity, rural public security, distance education (EaD), telemedicine, firefighting and Electronic Invoice (N-Fe), in addition to defending a favorable regulatory environment.

During the hearing, Ferreira cited Senar's professional education courses and training actions for producers and professionals who work in the field. There are more than 100 distance education courses. Since 2010, more than one million students have enrolled in various courses, such as soil acidity correction, Rural Right Business, biological nitrogen fixation and spring protection.

The representative of the CNA/Senar System also cited Senar's collection of booklets and videos, which has innovative content and technologies to support the improvement of production, the EaD technical courses available in 164 centers in the five regions, and the Technical Assistance service and Management (ATeG), which has helped producers to increase their production according to the adoption of technologies.

He also spoke about the Prover platform, which provides solutions for the use of digital tools on rural properties, helping producers make decisions, regardless of their location in Brazilian territory.

By helping rural producers identify providers and plans available in their municipality, the rural connectivity solutions available from Prover will allow connecting people and “things” (IoT) in rural areas, meeting the strategic demands of agricultural production chains. 

Parliamentarians and representatives from the National Agency for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Anater), the ministries of Agriculture and Communications, Conexis Brasil Digital, the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) and Datora Telecom participated in the public hearing.