Partnership between Embrapa and Ceplac proposes to strengthen cocoa production in Brazil

This Wednesday (05/05), the Mixed Cocoa Research and Innovation Unit (UMIPI-CACAU) was officially announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina. Based in Ilhéus (BA), the project is the result of cooperation between the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation and the Executive Committee of the Cocoa Farming Plan (Ceplac).

The president of Embrapa, Celso Luiz Moretti, mentioned that since 2012 the company has been working with mixed research units – an originally French concept – and expressed satisfaction with the collaboration between the entities. “It is a great pleasure to be hand in hand with Ceplac at this moment. I have no doubt that this is an innovative, creative and modern way of advancing topics for research, development and innovation in Brazilian agriculture”, he stated. 

Moretti, who revealed at the launch event that when he was a student he imagined one day working at Ceplac, declared that the alliance between the companies will be a great opportunity to share human resources, infrastructure and knowledge, aiming to contribute to the competitive and sustainable development of cocoa farming Brazilian. “The tendency, when using investments, is to build buildings and laboratories and buy new equipment, when, in fact, we can join forces and favor Brazilian agriculture. That's what we're going to do. Count on Embrapa,” he said. 

Waldeck Araujo Jr., general director of Ceplac, detailed how the partnership will work, which will initially be between the two institutions, but which aims, according to him, to create a research and innovation network in the future made up of producers, cooperatives, foundations, associations, universities and other organizations. “On one side we have Ceplac, with all the knowledge and prospecting developed over 64 years, and on the other side, Embrapa, with 48 years of dedication to Brazilian agriculture, with more than 2.200 researchers and laboratories at a level of excellence in technology. This will result in the sharing of resources, governance and research, with a focus on productivity, sustainability and quality,” he clarified.

For Minister Tereza Cristina, the launch of the Unit is a reason for celebration. “The day we have been waiting for for a long time has finally arrived! Today is a very significant day for strengthening the cocoa chain in Brazil, which is important for all of us, as it is a crop that offers multiple benefits, from generating employment and income to preserving the forest, through carbon fixation. ", said. Minister Tereza Cristina guaranteed an initial investment of R$4,7 million for the entity, which will strengthen genetic development and disease control, and promised to seek another R$15 million in partnerships with the private sector over the next two years.

Cocoa culture is characterized by the predominance of family farming and has more than 70 thousand producers throughout Brazil. The country is the 7th largest producer and the 5th largest consumer of the product in the world, but national production requires investment. “Our cocoa production is insufficient compared to demand. Through the partnership between Embrapa and Ceplac, efforts will be directed to promoting research and sustainable development in this agricultural activity in the country. Our goal is to seek self-sufficiency by 2025”, announced Tereza Cristina. To achieve this goal, the idea is to work with all links in the production chain to increase production. “With all the knowledge available at Embrapa, we will enable the modernization of Ceplac and, in this way, we will produce increasingly better cocoa, adapted to the natural and climatic characteristics of Brazil”, highlighted the minister.

The event was broadcast on the official channel of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply on YouTube, and was attended by Minister Tereza Cristina; the president of Embrapa, Celso Luiz Moretti; the general director of Ceplac, Waldeck Araujo Jr; and other representatives of the institutions involved.