São Paulo – A group of eight Arab professionals is receiving agricultural training from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). The research institution has been developing, since the 18th of this month, the first course for foreigners at its Studies and Training unit, inaugurated in May, in Brazilian capital Brasília, to operate as a national and international training centre.
In the first course, up to the 29th, professionals connected to agriculture and livestock from 25 African countries are participating, among them two Tunisians, one Egyptian, one Moroccan, one Comoran and three Algerians.
The program is part of the Brazil-Africa Dialogue for Food Safety, an initiative of the governments of both regions to promote cooperation in food safety. Apart from Arabs, this group also includes technicians from Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Angola, Senegal, Mozambique, Eritrea, Uganda, Benin, Mali and Gabon, among others.
Foreigners had a week of theoretical training in Brasília and are now divided into two groups, one which will remain in Brasília, receiving training in technology for seed production at the Technology Transfer Unit. The other group is in Campo Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, at the Embrapa Beef Cattle Unit, being trained in management and recovery of pastures. Among the Arabs, the representatives of Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco are in Campo Grande. The Comorans and Algerians are in Brasília.
According to the joint head for training at Embrapa Studies and Training, Paulo Eduardo Melo, the Arabs participating in the training have special demands regarding drought tolerance. "They are also greatly concerned with economic aspects, like the calculation of production costs and economic investment necessary for the use of new technologies," explained Melo. The professionals involved in the course are agronomists and vets from public institutions or ministries.
According to the joint head, in the pasture area, for example, Brazil has a great variety of leguminous plants, whose production could be tested in Africa. "They have great interest in cooperating with us," he said. With the training, representatives of the African countries learnt what Brazil has in their areas of interest and also met those responsible for the areas at the Embrapa. It is up to them, after the course, to send requests for cooperation for installation of the technologies in their countries.
*Translated by Mark Ament
