Partnership between Ampa/IMAmt, John Deere and dealerships in Mato Grosso aims to qualify labor

The Mato Grosso Association of Cotton Producers (Ampa), through the Mato Grosso Cotton Institute (IMAmt), signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement with John Deere Brasil and dealerships in Mato Grosso, aiming to qualify labor that serves farmers and a greater objective, which is to make cotton farming within the production system adopted in the state more sustainable.

"We have achieved leadership in the Brazilian production of fibers and grains, and today we work with a system (double crop) that allows the cultivation of cotton after the soybean harvest. We have machines and implements with a high level of embedded technologies, which help us to dealing with the climate – a fundamental factor for the success of crops. But, to obtain the best performance from these technologies, we need to have qualified labor and managers, and the partnership with John Deere and its dealers is an important step in this direction ", says Alexandre Schenkel, president of Ampa.

The signing took place at Dia de Campo, held at Fazenda São Miguel, owned by Grupo Bom Futuro, in Campo Verde (120 km from Cuiabá), last Saturday, with the presence of Schenkel, other directors of Ampa and IMAmt, the president of John Deere Brasil, Paulo Herrmann, and Juarez Gavinho, president of Iguaçu Máquinas Agrícolas, among other representatives of John Deere dealerships. This partnership, however, began to be built in 2017 and meets a growing demand from rural producers in Mato Grosso, who need to make the best possible use of their investments in new machinery and technologies throughout the year.

Paulo Herrmann thanked Ampa and IMAmt for the invitation to participate in this qualification program. "John Deere is very happy with this investment as it understands that technology is advancing more every day. We need to be careful and also invest in the appropriate, efficient and effective use of the equipment that is delivered to our farmers. With this, we are increasingly closer to farmers and, in particular, cotton farmers in Mato Grosso", commented the president.

Herrmann added that, from John Deere Brasil's point of view, investing in Mato Grosso "is extremely important for the qualification of agriculture that is carried out in this state, mainly due to the growth that is yet to come". In the president's assessment, the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement is a demonstration of alignment with the investments that Ampa and IMAmt made in the construction of five Training and Technological Dissemination Centers in the regions of Campo Verde, Rondonópolis, Sorriso/Lucas do Rio Verde, Sapezal and Campo Novo do Parecis.

According to the Technical Cooperation Agreement, John Deere and concessionaires (Iguaçu Máquinas Agrícolas, Agro Baggio Máquinas Agrícolas and Aster Máquinas e Soluções Integradas) will use the physical structure available in these CTDTs. It will be up to partners to provide John Deere products, components and technology, to be used by experienced instructors. The training schedule is being defined based on the identification of demands presented to IMAmt by Ampa associates, focusing on the operation and adjustment of John Deere equipment, preventive maintenance and initial fault diagnosis.

"The objective is that our customers are able to make the best use of the equipment and can always count on the availability of their machines", explains Marcelo Lopes - Manager of Dealership Development and Training – Latin America. He refers to the need for producers to have a quick response to possible technical problems, thus preventing harvesters, among other equipment, from being stopped at crucial moments of the harvest.

Training of technologists – The partnership with John Deere provides for higher flights, in addition to the qualification of operators and other employees who work directly on the crops. According to Alvaro Salles, executive director of IMAmt, the company is expected to partner in offering short-term courses to meet specific needs related to new technologies. Furthermore, John Deere is already involved in a large project aimed at training technologists at the Faculty of Technology Senai Mato Grosso (Fatec Senai MT). The intention is to offer, from 2019, technical and higher education courses to train differentiated professionals prepared to meet the demands of agribusiness. According to Salles, technologies aimed at the field are advancing rapidly and, with them, the need for professionals who know how to work with computers, analyze the data generated and provide support for decision making.

The president of John Deere Brazil, Paulo Herrmann, confirms this interest in articulating a larger group of companies and entities to offer training courses for technologists in Mato Grosso. "These are professionals who will transform this series of data that the machines provide into management information, which, in turn, will allow for more efficient management of the equipment", he comments.

"In this harvest (2017/18), Mato Grosso cultivated a record area of ​​cotton, which is expected to produce approximately 1,3 million tons of lint. Interest in cotton farming in the state is growing and, more than the quantity, what matters is the quality of our production and its consequent appreciation in the domestic and international markets. In this context, it is essential to have precision agriculture tools, among other resources that allow us to produce more and better, and also to have well-prepared professionals to deal with these new technologies", concludes Schenkel.