(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA))
Brasília – Embrapa , Brazil's agricultural research agency, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) are preparing a cooperation agreement to be established by the end of the year, which would facilitate the training of technicians from African countries at the Brazilian state-owned corporation's units. The letter of intent between the two institutions has already been signed.
The resources, initially set at USD 100,000, will come from the José Irineu Cabral Fund, named after Embrapa's first president. The fund was established by the IICA for cooperation purposes. The money will be used to provide scholarships for three to six months to 30 technicians involved in rural extension, transfer, or research. They will be able to acquire knowledge and multiply the training in their own countries.
IICA Director-General Manuel Otero hopes that Embrapa's training will help address“the serious problem of soil degradation in Africa” by using strategies that can be applied to the African savanna.“Which Brazil has achieved in the development of the Cerrado areas.”
The cooperation could increase food production in crops that are also part of the traditional diet of African countries, such as cassava, yam, rice, and beans and other legumes, as well as vegetables, fruits, seed production, and inputs.
According to Marcelo Morandi, Head of the International Relations Office at Embrapa, the cooperation could extend to ethanol production.“In many regions there, energy security is also a crucial factor for human development and even for creating opportunities, so that there are other activities, including food production,” he explains.
Brazil's s
oft power
“The most relevant aspect of this partnership is demonstrating the importance of agricultural science in Brazil in terms of tropical agriculture, sustainability, and development. Brazil has become a reference, and Embrapa is the icon of that reference. We have this very important soft power: a creator of solutions that can be adapted for various countries that need to develop food production,” says Morandi.
There is still no detailed schedule for the selection and recruitment of scholarship recipients, nor has it been decided which of Embrapa's 43 units will conduct the training. The countries from which the scholars will come have also not been determined – Africa has 54 countries.
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Embrapa president wants more technology in farming
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
©AFP
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