The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) participated this week in a mission to Switzerland to exchange knowledge on sustainable food systems. According to the director of the Department of Support for Innovation at Mapa, Sibelle de Andrade Silva, the visit was an opportunity to talk and open dialogue in relation to the sustainable practices adopted in Brazilian agricultural production.
“There is still a clear prejudice in society about the issue of sustainability of products that come from Latin America and Brazil. We were able to interact in the presentations they made, talking a little more about the Brazilian reality and showing that we do have sustainable solutions and a lot of innovation, and that we need to expand this dialogue”, said the director. The participation of Mapa was at the invitation of the Swiss Embassy in Brasília and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
The mission includes visits to government agencies, universities and companies that have initiatives and programs that promote food innovation in Switzerland, aiming to face the challenges of food security through science and technology, with emphasis on the Swiss Future Farm, equivalent to a branch of the Brazilian company Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation). The group also visited the polytechnic school in Zurich, where researchers are working in partnership with Embrapa. “The Swiss academy knows about the sustainability of agriculture, but it still doesn’t communicate it so well with the whole society, just as we also have the communication challenge in Brazil”, highlights Sibelle.
The mission was also important to identify opportunities for cooperation between Switzerland and Brazil, especially in the area of innovation and sustainability. One of these opportunities is in the agri-environmental startups segment, in which Brazil can both benefit from new knowledge and contribute to many of the innovations of tropical agriculture. In terms of alternative proteins, for example, although the universe of Brazilian startups is still not well known by the Swiss, based on the contacts established in the mission, a rapid change in this scenario is projected, in the medium term.
“Brazil’s agriculture is more challenging, not only because of the size of the country, but because of the richness and diversity of the national agriculture. Therefore, all knowledge and ways of adding value can boost the country, with the professionals involved, especially researchers, playing a fundamental role in creating innovative and sustainable solutions, enabling the opening of new markets and strengthening existing commercial relationships”, concludes the director.
Source: Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento
See the original article in Portuguese here: https://www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/na-suica-mapa-reforca-dialogo-sobre-praticas-sustentaveis-adotadas-pelo-agro-brasileiro