- Government representatives, scientists, and industry leaders debated the global applications of the latest innovations in sustainable AgriTech at the Brazilian Embassy on Wednesday
- Speakers explored how lessons from Latin America’s largest economy could improve transparency and traceability, sharpen policy, and fuel greener market incentives
- The event set the tone for positive trade talks between UK and Brazilian ministers ahead of the UK-Brazil Joint Economic & Trade Committee (JETCO) later this year
London, 11 February 2022 – Developments in sustainable AgriTech, instrumental to Brazil’s agricultural revolution, could hold the answer to many of the UK’s sustainability challenges, while promoting bilateral trade post-Brexit. This was among the key outcomes of a high-level summit hosted by the Embassy of Brazil, in partnership with from the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), in central London on Wednesday 09 February, as both sides look ahead to JETCO later this year.
The AgriSustainability Talks took place as fresh data from Apex-Brasil show that Brazilian agribusiness and food and beverage (F&B) exports rose by 18.4% and 16.8% respectively in 2021. While positive, these growing trade figures raise questions about how both countries will balance the rising demand for food, drink, and agribusiness products with their ambitious sustainability goals.
At the event, government representatives, scientists, and industry leaders from both countries discussed the most pressing issues facing the future of agriculture, and explored how Brazil and the UK could exchange knowledge, technology, and design new policy frameworks in the context of expanded agricultural trade between the two countries.
WHAT’S ALREADY WORKING?
Integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) and no-till agricultural practices are just two examples of research-based initiatives that have resulted in the massive reduction of Brazilian agriculture emissions. The extension of the ICLF system by some 6 million hectares has resulted in the sequestration of 21.8 million additional tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the same as removing 4.7m cars from the road, and Brazil will extend ICLF to a total 16.5 million hectares of farmland by 2030 under the Paris agreement. No-till practices are used by some 45% of farms and contribute to the minimisation of GHG emissions by up to 40%.
The summit heard that Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA), regenerative farming, methane inhibiting cow feed, Ethanol-based vehicle fuel, and nitrogen fixation were all worthy AgriTech breakthroughs currently championed by Brazil, while improved data capture and governance were celebrated for improving the veracity of sustainability claims by farmers, enabling a move from subsidy-led to carbon-credit-led farmer incentives. According to Francisco Jardim, Managing Partner of Latin America’s largest AgriTech venture capital firm SP Ventures, COVID has been a great accelerator, driving sustainable practices, as well as getting farmers to purchase equipment online, and giving birth to a booming agriculture FinTech scene.
GLOBAL BRITAIN SETS EYES ON BRAZIL
In light of the UK Government’s ‘Global Britain’ agenda, the focus on striking new free trade agreements with major global economies is a key priority for the current UK administration in 2022. Penny Mordaunt, UK Minister of State for Trade Policy, has indicated the Department for International Trade’s strategic goal to ‘improve’ trade ties with Brazil ahead of the 12th JETCO that takes place later this year. The significant contributions the agri-business sector brings to both economies was a key theme to emerge from the conference, with a clear call emerging for both countries to build on the successes achieved to date in advancing the sector’s scientific and technological capabilities, as well as exchanging best practice to guide future trade bonds and partnerships.
DEFRA’s Gavin Ross spoke of the UK’s hopes to “fundamentally change the approach, moving from paying farmers, to instead buying environmental benefits through three schemes: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery”, ambitions that have parallels with the “great progress being made in Brazil to recover 90 million hectares of degraded pasture” mentioned by EMBRAPA’s President Celso Morretti, as he talked through some of the 200 research projects currently underway by the more that 40 research centres in Brazil.
BRAZIL’S ABC PLAN
Brazil’s leading reputation in sustainable agriculture is bolstered by several government and industry initiatives to support the agri-business sector in the country. Tereza Cristina Corrêa da Costa Dias, Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply wasn’t at the event, but is currently enacting a strategy, entitled the Plan for Adaptation and Low Carbon Emission in Agriculture (‘The ABC Plan’), which harnesses new technologies and technical skills to help Brazil meet key sustainability objectives in agriculture. The plan is promoting low-carbon agriculture practices and has already helped to recover 26.8m hectares of degraded pastureland for agriculture use – an area significantly larger than the entirety of the UK.
Panellists included Marta Giannichi, Secretary of Amazon and Environmental Services at Ministry of the Environment of Brazil, and Gavin Ross from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). They were joined by industry representatives such as the Financial Times’ Jonathan Wheatley, Dr Jonathan Scurlock from the National Farmers’ Union and Patricia Thornley of the Energy & Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI). Opening and closing the conference was the Brazilian Ambassador to the UK, Fred Arruda, and Plínio Nastari, President of DATAGRO.
