Implementation of summer crops advances in Rio Grande do Sul
In the corn crop, which is in the implementation phase, the sowing rate in the period was slower, rising only 2%, reaching 66% of the projected area
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), together with partner institutions, opened this Friday (14/10) registrations for the AgroNordeste Digital - Agro Startups Challenge, the largest call for Agro startups in the Northeast Region. The inscriptions can be made until November 14th at Agro Hub Brazil portal.
The action aims to identify and select the best technology-based solutions to solve the main problems of the productive sector in the five regional agricultural hub regions, in addition to bringing together actors in the innovation ecosystems of the Northeast with hubs, accelerators and investors.
“This project will be a game changer, as in addition to bringing technologies and solutions from startups closer to the demands of producers and rural enterprises, it will also provide opportunities to approach sources of private resources for investment in the best solutions. We are also inviting investment funds, hubs and accelerators from across the country to participate in the call”, emphasizes the general coordinator of Open Innovation at the Secretariat of Innovation, Sustainable Development and Irrigation (SDI-Mapa), Daniel Trento.
According to Mapa's Innovation Secretariat, Brazil has progressed in consolidating its innovation ecosystem, but there is a concentration of startups and innovation environments in the South and Southeast regions, encompassing more than 80% of these ventures.
The call will also contribute to the construction of a national innovation network in the sector and help to deconcentrate the investment axis of these ventures to the agricultural regions of the Northeast, which have business opportunities that have not yet been explored.
AgroNordeste Digital will have two categories: one open and one regional. In the first, national or international startups already in operation and with mature solutions or in the process of validation may compete. Of these, 12 will be selected to present their pitches.
The regional category will be made up exclusively of startups from the Northeast Region, in the initial stage of development.
The challenge is open to national and foreign startups, as long as they have solutions that address the main bottlenecks in the agricultural sector in the project's pilot areas. To identify these bottlenecks and challenges, with the support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), a consultancy was hired to mobilize actors from the project's pilot areas, prepare territorial diagnoses and carry out workshops for evaluation and strengthening. of agricultural innovation ecosystems.
The areas chosen for the call are: Vale do São Francisco (Pernambuco and Bahia); Vale do Jaguaribe (Ceará); Açu Valley (Rio Grande do Norte); and Oeste Baiano (Bahia) and Campina Grande (Paraíba).
However, startups do not necessarily need to be from these locations, as the idea is to move the ecosystem and promote the interaction of different regions in search of solutions.
a) Water resources management: solutions to combat water stress, increasing production and quality of production in semi-arid climate conditions;
b) Traceability: development of solutions for monitoring and recording information about the origin of the product and processes involved in production;
c) Cost management and commercialization: development of digital tools (applications, software, etc.) to assist the producer in managing the rural property;
d) Bioproducts: development of bioinputs with increased efficiency for the supply of nutrients to increase production and quality of production and/or protect plants against biotic and abiotic stresses; It is
e) Digitalization of agro-industrial processes: process automation, agricultural IoT, digital technologies to improve workflow, process flow and livestock management.
The Ministry of Agriculture has been working to facilitate the construction of an environment favorable to the generation of technological businesses focused on agricultural innovation in the country, whether through public notices or calls, which aim to bring innovative technologies from startups closer to the demands of the productive sector, to private investors, to support regional development.
The AgroNordeste Digital Project aims to promote technological entrepreneurship in the region, as well as bringing connectivity and supporting startups to develop new technological businesses for the agricultural sector.
For the director of Mapa's Department of Rural Territorial Programs and responsible for the AgroNordeste Plan, Adriana Melo, the call for AgroNordeste Digital startups promotes the direction of the AgroNordeste Plan towards promoting the development of strategic technologies, such as water resources management and bioinputs.
Business investment in these technological frontiers will contribute to the generation of new products and services, with the inclusion of young people from the countryside, increasing productivity and agricultural profitability on different scales.
The finalist startups will make presentations to a panel of experts and investors. Startups that are unable to travel to the event location will be able to make their presentations online.
The prizes are: trophy for the first three placed in each category; Mapa certificate for the finalists in each category.
The finalists in the Start category will receive an acceleration program, coordinated by the Mapa Innovation Secretariat; connection with national and international private investors from the Mapa Conecta Network (accelerators, hubs and investment funds).
Agronordeste Digital has the support of the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock in Brazil (CNA), Banco do Nordeste, Sebrae, Sudene, Embrapa, Ufersa, Univasf, Ufcg, Ifba, CNI, Senai/FIEP (PB), Ifpe, Fundação Parque Tecnológico da Paraíba, Abrafrutas, Cooperativa Optar organic, among other supporters.
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In the corn crop, which is in the implementation phase, the sowing rate in the period was slower, rising only 2%, reaching 66% of the projected area
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