Summary of Canal Rural Entrevista | Silvia Massruhá, presidente da Embrapa | Canal Rural

00:00:00 - 00:20:00

In the Canal Rural interview, Silvia Mauruhá, the President of Embrapa, discusses her upcoming speech at the Global Agribusiness Forum where she will focus on new technologies and sustainability in Brazilian agriculture. Mauruhá reflects on Brazil's transformation from an importer of food to a major exporter and Embrapa's role in it, highlighting the importance of sustainable agriculture in three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. She also talks about Embrapa's use of technology to increase productivity in agriculture over the past 50 years, including digital agriculture and the importance of collecting and communicating data on livestock farming to improve productivity and reduce emissions. Mauruhá emphasizes the need for public-private partnerships and the importance of making agricultural technologies more accessible to small and medium-sized farmers. She will be speaking at the Global Agribusiness Forum in São Paulo, an important event focused on adding value and contributing to food security in Brazil.

• 00:00:00 In this section of the Canal Rural interview, Silvia Mauruhá, the President of Embrapa, discusses her upcoming speech at the Global Agribusiness Forum. She will focus on the role of new technologies and sustainability in Brazilian agriculture. Mauruhá reflects on Brazil's transformation from an importer of food to a major exporter and the challenges of ensuring food security domestically and globally. She also mentions the need for sustainable agriculture in three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. The interview covers other topics such as energy transitions, climate change, and digital transformation in agriculture. Mauruhá emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships, including Embrapa's collaborations with state research institutions, universities, startups, and other organizations, to drive agricultural innovation.
• 00:05:00 In this section of the interview, Silvia Massruhá, the president of Embrapa, discusses the transformation of Brazilian agriculture over the past 50 years and Embrapa's role in it. According to Massruhá, before the 1960s, Brazil was an importer of food. Today, it is one of the world's leading food producers. She highlights the importance of Embrapa's work in the last five decades, particularly during the 1970s when Brazil sought to develop agriculture suitable for its climate and soil. Embrapa initiated research on soil correction, using technologies like lime and other methods to address the acidic nature of Brazilian soils. The organization also established three units to work on the country's diverse soil and climate conditions. This led to advancements in grain production, horticulture, and livestock farming. The success of Brazilian agriculture is attributed to its scientific and technological foundation, which has been recognized globally. Massruhá emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing Brazilian farmers, who work in partnership with Embrapa to address their challenges and validate new technologies. Over the past 50 years, Brazil has expanded its planted area by 140% and increased grain production and productivity by 58%. This progress is due in part to the development of more resilient and disease-tolerant crops and sustainable agricultural systems. Embrapa's work extends beyond research in the field, as it also focuses on technology applications that can benefit farmers.
• 00:10:00 In this section of the interview, Silvia Massruhá, the president of Embrapa, discusses how Embrapa has used technology to increase productivity in agriculture over the past 50 years. Embrapa started with traditional genetic improvement, conducting various experiments for different crops, generating data and information. Today, Embrapa has a digital agriculture unit that organizes these data and develops applications and digital platforms to help place this information in the hands of farmers. For instance, Embrapa has a network for agricultural risk zoning, which generates risk matrices for various crops and 5,000 municipalities, helping farmers identify the most suitable planting windows. Embrapa also uses this data to subsidize agricultural policies and rural credit in the country. With over 200 researchers and 32 Embrapa units involved, they validate and study new technologies like biotechnology, nanotechnology, automation, precision agriculture, and digital agriculture, which allow farmers to add value to their production systems, reduce costs, or improve their production management. Embrapa is also linked to new generation apps to join their research efforts, such as the integration of agriculture, livestock, and forest system, where they monitor data like forage biomass, animal health, microclimate, and animal weight to improve genetic selection.
• 00:15:00 In this section of the interview, Silvia Massruhá, the president of Embrapa, discusses the importance of collecting and communicating data on livestock farming to improve productivity and reduce emissions. Embrapa is working on projects involving the Internet of Things and sensors to gather and process this information for farmers. Massruhá also emphasizes the need to communicate the results of agricultural research to urban consumers to promote sustainability and improve Brazil's international standing. She mentions that a significant challenge for Embrapa is transforming research findings into effective communication tools for the world. Additionally, she touches upon the need for a new financing model for Embrapa to ensure its sustainability for the next 50 years and the importance of making agricultural technologies more accessible to small and medium-sized farmers.
• 00:20:00 In this section of the Canal Rural interview, Silvia Massruhá, the president of Embrapa, discusses her upcoming participation in the Global Agribusiness Forum in São Paulo. She emphasizes the importance of adding value and contributing to food security in Brazil to improve income and reduce insecurity. Massruhá expresses her pleasure in speaking with the interviewer for the first time on the Canal Rural program and wishes them good luck. She invites the audience to join the next edition of the program and thanks them for their company. The Global Agribusiness Forum is an important event that will take place in June, and Massruhá is one of its speakers.