Opinion – Vaivém: International agricultural organization wants to bring resources to the Yanomami

The director general of IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), Manuel Otero, who met with various ministers of the Brazilian government last week, was impressed by the situation of hunger and the deteriorating health of the Yanomami.

The entity’s director left the country with the purpose of seeking external financial resources, as well as technical cooperation solutions to reduce the problems of Brazilian indigenous people.

IICA, focused on rural agricultural development, especially for the most needy producers, seeks productive, technological, communication and income solutions to reduce the economic distance between rural producers and the rest of society.

As it works with small producers in mind, the institute brings together a series of experiences in the different countries where it operates in the fields of sustainability and social development. It is these programs that IICA wants to develop with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Otero believes that the entity can cooperate a lot with the guidelines of the new Brazilian government in the field of sustainability, conservation, food security, social inclusion and environmental protection.

This can be a way to open new opportunities for producers, in the institute’s assessment. Otero also sees the possibility of IICA helping in the development of the bioeconomy, through a new frontier of knowledge.

One of the entity’s concerns is with the soil, a program that combines with Brazilian guidelines for the recovery of degraded lands, mainly pastures.

IICA’s Living Soils of the Americas program, which studies land degradation in the various countries where it operates, has the cooperation of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, linked to the University of Ohio and directed by Rattan Lal, Nobel Peace Prize and World Food Prize.

This IICA program is a wake-up call to the serious situation of loss of fertility in agricultural soils, said João Paulo Capobianco, from the Environment, on social media.

Otero also wants Belém (PA) to be the city chosen for COP-30. In his evaluation, agricultural production with less impact involves the protection of natural resources, with science and innovation.

The training of rural communities is important for adapting production to the environment. This also depends on a new generation of public policies, says the Director General of IICA.

IICA already has close to 30 projects in Brazil, in partnership with federal and state governments and the private sector. The next steps should focus on strengthening the environmental dimension of Brazilian agribusiness.

Chinese presence China, which supplied 6 million tons of fertilizer to Brazil last year, 16% of the 38.2 million tons that the country imported, started 2023 with strong momentum in the sector.

Chinese presence 2 The company Wilson Sons carried out the agency service for the Affinity Diva, the largest ship with fertilizers that arrived in the country until then. With a length of 229 meters, the ship brought 85.2 thousand tons of ammonium sulfate from China.

cut in the meat Argentines, who, like Brazilians, depend heavily on agricultural exports, are feeling the drop in international beef prices firsthand.

cut in meat 2 In December 2021, the Chinese paid US$ 4,980 per ton of beef. In the same month last year, the price retreated to $3,160.

cut in meat 3 The fall also occurred in the most noble meats. Germany, which paid US$10,737 per tonne at the end of 2021, reduced prices to US$7,954 in December 2022.

In Brazil This phenomenon also occurred with Brazilian exports. The large price variation obtained by exporters in South America in 2022 may be distant in 2023.

good profit Last year, exports of chilled, frozen and processed Argentine beef totaled 626 thousand tons, with revenues of US$ 3.24 billion. Volume was up 9.5%; and revenues, 23%, according to Indec (National Institute of Statistics and Censuses) of Argentina.