Embrapa Cocais has new general manager

Since July 1st, Embrapa Cocais has had a new general manager: researcher Marco Aurélio Delmondes Bomfim, selected through the recruitment and selection process restricted to permanent Embrapa employees and conducted by the Company's Executive Board. Among the criteria required for the position, the recognized technical-scientific, managerial and administrative competence to strengthen institutional meritocracy and strategic alignment with Embrapa's governance model stand out.

For this management cycle at the Company, Marco Bomfim highlighted some of the premises with which he will build, with the leading role of Embrapa Cocais and in partnership with public and private institutions in the state, a bold and results-driven research and innovation environment in Maranhão.

Valuing the full potential of the State of Maranhão with a focus on inclusion and sustainability. In both main biomes that form the state - Amazon and Cerrados (Matopiba), there are challenges and opportunities both to support family farming in improving the state's Human Development Index - HDI, and for larger-scale agriculture and livestock farming, which are important for Gross Domestic Product – GDP. “Maranhão is a state with a large territorial dimension, it is the fourth economy in the Northeast and has the largest share, among Brazilian states, of agriculture in GDP, holding more than 30% of the country's largest agricultural frontier - MATOPIBA, where we need support the development of low environmental impact agriculture. On the other hand, we cannot neglect the development of social and technological innovations with high potential for productive inclusion and promoting development, to reduce rural poverty in the state, which is the highest in the country”.

Delivery schedule in connection with the production sector. The focus of the research, development, innovation and technology transfer agenda, according to the general manager, will be defined based on active listening to the demands of the productive sector, to define the priorities of the Embrapa Cocais Strategic Plan. “The demands must guide not only the Unit’s agenda, but also the network of Science and Technology Institutions (ICTs), which will be stimulated from the perspective of the Maranhão innovation ecosystem”, says the new head.

Cooperation and alliance with key partners. One of the most daring goals of the new management is to innovate in the way the Unit operates, making Embrapa Cocais a corporate innovation cell, acting as a network, in the Maranhão innovation ecosystem for the development of agricultural research and innovation, as well as fulfilling a role strategic for the productive sector, making demands visible and supporting the formulation of public policies. “Create synergy based on the strengths of each partner (existing knowledge and physical infrastructure - such as laboratories and experimental fields) and mobilize the expertise of the entire Embrapa Brasil. We will work to create a powerful science and innovation environment for the state", aims the manager. 

Summary academic profile

Graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the State University of Maranhão (1995), Master's degree in Animal Science from the Federal University of Lavras (2000), Doctorate in Animal Science from the Federal University of Viçosa (2003) and Post-Doctorate from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Drought Areas - ICARDA in Aleppo, Republic of Syria (2008) and Texas A&M University, College Station-Texas-USA (2012).