Platform will bring together technologies against desertification in the Caatinga biome

From cultivars to methodologies for soil diagnosis, more than 200 technologies were identified in Embrapa's portfolio that can contribute to preventing desertification processes in the Caatinga or mitigating their effects. The initial survey was carried out by Embrapa Territorial (Campinas, SP) and is now undergoing validation of the units responsible for each solution. The forecast is that they will be organized on a platform online based on territorial intelligence, together with other data, to support the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) in defining actions to combat desertification and land degradation in the biome. 

The selection of technologies was based on the method used by Embrapa Territorial in the construction of GeoMatopiba, which presents the Company's solutions for the agricultural expansion region in a spatialized way. The team looked for both products, processes and services aimed directly at the problem of desertification and those that indirectly minimize it. Replacing a cultivar with another more adapted to the region can contribute to productivity gains and better soil management, reducing erosion, explained analyst André Farias, from the Campinas research center.

Analyst Daniela Maciel, from the Technology Transfer area at Embrapa Territorial, detailed the criteria adopted in the selection. The selection of technologies was carried out based on structured surveys in the database of Embrapa's Technological Asset Management System, Gestec, responsible for gathering records of all technological solutions developed by the Company. The editions of the Semiárido Show also served as a basis, an event organized every two years by Embrapa Semiárido, in which technologies adapted to the regional context of the Caatinga are exposed.

Desertification is a broad concept

The concept of desertification, with which the project team works, comprises the reduction of the production capacity of an area, not only from an agricultural point of view, but also from the point of view of maintaining native vegetation and biodiversity. To this end, it considers natural characteristics, climatic effects, but also human activities.” Explaining desertification only by climatic characteristics is not enough, just as it is not enough to explain it only by human activities. In fact, it is explained by the integration between climate and human activity, between the anthropic and the natural”, explained Farias, from Embrapa Territorial.

The region most prone to desertification in Brazil, the semi-arid northeast is home to 27 million people. “This is a challenge we have as a country: we have an area with a very important natural complexity that, at the same time, concentrates millions of people, with a very consolidated social and economic dynamic”, analyzes Farias.

The final result of the project, with reports and the online platform, should be delivered to the MMA by the end of this year.