Seminar on innovations in Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF) brings together technology experts

The Northeast Seminar – Innovations in Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF) begins on Thursday, June 13th, an event promoted by Embrapa and the Associação Rede ILPF. The seminar will take place in Fortaleza (CE), at the Ceará Events Center, and aims to present innovations developed by Embrapa and partners for crop-livestock-forest integration systems (ILPF) that can be replicated in the Caatinga biome. The Agricultural Federation of the State of Ceará (FAEC) and XXIII PECNORDESTE are partners.

On the 13th and 14th, researchers and experts will present the concrete results obtained by the ILPF Technological Reference Units (URTs) to an audience of technicians, extensionists, rural producers, companies, associations, NGOs and government bodies. On June 15th (Saturday) a technical visit will be held to the Grangeiro farm, in Paracuru (CE), where seminar participants will learn about a crop-livestock integration experience (ILP) that combines coconut production with dairy cattle breeding. . Although participation in the seminar is free, access to the visit is limited. 

According to the president of the Management Council of the ILPF Network and researcher at Embrapa Solos, Renato Rodrigues, the dissemination of ILPF in the Northeast is still a little timid, although there is very great potential. Bahia is the state that makes the most use of this production system in absolute numbers, while Rio Grande do Norte already uses the technology in 10% of its production area.

Rodrigues states that there are high expectations regarding the seminar. For him, the ILPF is a development tool for the region: "We want to do public policy work and encourage the federal government so that we can expand the use of this technology in the Northeast. We are not going to arrive with any ready-made recipe. Each region will need to adapt so that the producer can extract the benefits that technology can offer, such as adaptation to climate change, increased income and quality of life, as well as the possibility of men staying in the field through training of a more specialized and qualified workforce", he argues.

For the executive director of Associação Rede ILPF, William Marchió, Embrapa has productive arrangements capable of being used in the Semiarid and Caatinga, with excellent technical and economic results also in these more challenging environments. “Integration is a sustainable production technology, helping to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change,” he states.

Adding value to biodiversity

Researcher at Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical and coordinator of the seminar, João Pratagil, states that the region can benefit from two axes of ILPF action: adding value to products such as native Caatinga species and essential oils, as well as using the results of evaluation of forest species by Embrapa for the Marco furniture hub, a municipality that is home to the main timber and furniture companies in Ceará.

Pratagil also highlights the technology transfer model used. The Rede ILPF Association is a public-private partnership formed by Embrapa, Cocamar, Bradesco, Syngenta, John Deere, Soesp, Cepits and Premix. "With the promotion of technology transfer and technological development from ILPF to Brazilian biomes, these companies and cooperatives benefit from the growth and dynamism of the economy: the increase in production impacts on the increase in demand for machinery, agricultural implements, inputs , such as fertilizers and pesticides, and even in granting credit to farmers and ranchers".

PECNORDESTE

The seminar on ILPF takes place in parallel with the XXIII Northeastern Livestock Seminar (XXIII PECNORDESTE), which has as its theme this year "Technology and innovation for competitive livestock farming". Historically, the event brings together an audience of 30 thousand visitors, including ranchers, farmers, technicians, researchers, students and entrepreneurs from the agribusiness and family farming production chains.

Service

Northeast Seminar – Innovations in Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF)

Date: June 13-15, 2019

Location: Ceará Events Center - Avenida Washington Soares, 999, Pavilhão Oeste - Room 5 - Mezzanine 2, Edson Queiroz - Fortaleza, C