Minister defends Brazil's leading role in low-carbon agriculture

During meetings on Thursday (25/11) in Campo Grande (MS), Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) reinforced Brazil's leading role in agricultural production with low carbon emissions. With emphasis on Planos ABC+, ABC and programs such as Águas do Agro, the minister defended the Brazilian producer as “the biggest environmentalist in the country, because he conserves within his property”.  

“There is still a lot of lack of knowledge surrounding our modern agriculture. We need to move forward, we need to continue, of course! But we already have a lot. So much so that at the COP many people remained silent in the face of the examples that our agriculture went there to show and prove with numbers, scientific work and indicators that are being carried out”, he emphasized when commenting on Brazilian participation in the Climate Conference.

At the Carbon and Sustainability Business Seminar, promoted by the Secretariat of Environment, Economic Development, Production and Family Agriculture of Mato Grosso do Sul (Semagro) in partnership with Wetlands International Brasil, the implementation of carbon credits in the market was also discussed Brazilian producer.

“Our challenge and also our opportunity is to increasingly train our producers to use all these technologies and credit so they can implement them. The producer will only implement it if, in addition to efficiency, he has economic gains”, reinforced Tereza Cristina. 

For the minister, the issue of payment for environmental services was addressed at COP26, in Glasgow, and Brazil will once again be a protagonist in trade and regulation of carbon payments for environmental services.

“Increasingly we will have to be attentive and work in a modern way looking ahead. This environment page is no longer discussed, it is a reality. Either we are protagonists or we will have to follow what is already happening in the world.”

In addition to highlighting the sustainability of Brazilian agribusiness, the minister gave a presentation on the current scenario of the sector at the 24th National Conference of the National Union of Legislators and State Legislatures (Unale). She highlighted that, with a focus on small farmers and family farming, Mapa's management works on public policies to encourage the development of technologies, in partnership with Embrapa, so that it reaches all producers through strong technical assistance, which today has increasing connectivity in rural areas. 

Health insurance

This Thursday, the minister signed an agreement to conclude an agreement between Mapa and Semagro for the acquisition of vehicles and equipment with the aim of strengthening the nut production chain in Baru and Bocaiuva. Producers from family farming, extractive farming and traditional communities will benefit, totaling 1.210 families, distributed across eight municipalities: Anastácio, Bodoquena, Bonito, Corumbá, Jardim, Miranda, Nioaque and Porto Murtinho.

The financial support will be R$ 1,2 million from the Ministry of Agriculture and R$ 125 thousand, as a counterpart, from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.