Genetic improvement boosts Brazilian agriculture

According to the Coordination of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Secretariat of Innovation, Sustainable Development, Irrigation and Cooperativism (SDI) of the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), with data obtained through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO), 75% of the world's food is generated from just 12 plants and five animal species.

These plants are: rice, wheat, sugar cane, corn, soybeans, potatoes, palm, cassava, sorghum, millet, peanuts and sweet potatoes. Among these products, three rank in Gross Production Value (VBP), according to September data. They are: soybeans, corn and sugar cane. Together, they form more than 49% of the VBP in 2023.

Mapa is one of the actors that works to promote the cultivation of a variety of agricultural species through genetic resources to increase dietary diversity, as presented by the coordinator of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Luis Gustavo Pacheco.

He explains that genetic resources help agriculture because dependence on a limited number of basic crops or species can make the food system vulnerable to pests, diseases and climate change, causing losses in production chains.

Furthermore, through new technologies, such as biotechnology, it is possible to improve the characteristics of interest of cultivated species, making them more resilient and productive, faster and less expensively, contributing to food security.

Mapa also works to create public policies for agriculture through the Secretariat of Agricultural Policies (SPA). One of them is the Minimum Price Guarantee Policy (PGPM), which guarantees a price level to the producer when selling their production, representing price insurance for the producer when selling their production, at no cost to the producers.

The Assistant Secretary for Agricultural Policy, Wilson Vaz, highlights that the PGPM guarantees the farmer a level of income so that, in the event of a drop in market prices, the producer is not compromised in continuing the activity.

“With the guarantee of a minimum price for production, farmers, whether large, medium or small, can make their planting schedule, comparing with their production costs, knowing that the minimum reference is guaranteed by this policy”, it says.

Crop Plan 

Another Mapa action is the Safra Plan, which embodies the agricultural policy, covering the main support measures for rural producers and their production cooperatives, in the areas of rural credit, agro-climatic risk management and marketing support.

The 2023/24 Harvest Plan is the largest in the history of the Federal Government, with incentives for strengthening environmentally sustainable production systems, reducing interest rates for recovering pastures and rewarding rural producers who adopt agricultural practices considered more sustainable.

Vaz expresses that public policies for agriculture contribute to rural producers' decision-making regarding the harvest, providing predictability regarding the support provided, as well as increasing production and agricultural productivity.