{"id":358849,"date":"2023-09-17T17:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T20:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/embrapa-president-wants-more-technology-in-farming\/"},"modified":"2024-03-22T16:59:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T19:59:06","slug":"embrapa-president-wants-more-technology-in-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/embrapa-president-wants-more-technology-in-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Embrapa president wants more technology in farming"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 At a time when the whole world turns to new technologies<\/strong> and its potential uses, one of the world\u2019s leading food research institutions, Brazil\u2019s agricultural research agency Embrapa, makes history. Career researcher, software engineer and PhD in artificial intelligence, Silvia Massruh\u00e1<\/strong> became the president of<\/strong> Embrapa<\/strong> last May as the first woman to ever take the role since the agency was founded in 1973.<\/p>\n

Few months into the role, Massruh\u00e1 has already visited Arab countries, where she noticed a high need for cooperation in food security, and she is aware of the crucial importance of Brazil for the global agriculture.<\/p>\n

Sustainability<\/strong> projects are some of the priorities of her administration in the following four years at Embrapa, but the experience she amassed in technology will also be key in her leadership. Massruh\u00e1 wants more traceability<\/strong> in farming, and the productive and digital<\/strong> inclusion of the Brazilian small and midsized farmer.<\/p>\n

She spoke of these in an exclusive interview with ANBA.<\/p>\n

Professional career<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massruh\u00e1 has studied in the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, S\u00e3o Paulo state\u2019s Unicamp university\u00a0 Unicamp, and Brazilian space research agency INPE, and she started her professional career at Embrapa in 1989 together with the first team of researchers hired by the corporation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been at Embrapa for 34 years. Back then, they were already thinking about hiring not only veterinarians, agronomists and zootechnicians but also people from exact sciences<\/strong> like computer sciences, electrical engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, to figure out a way to work in a multidisciplinary<\/strong> manner to help solve the farming problems. [Embrapa] was far-sighted back then, as it already had this kind of professional and researcher teamm working side by side with agronomists and veterinarians,\u201d she told ANBA.<\/p>\n

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The priorities of the president include sustainability and digital inclusion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time, the Embrapa Inform\u00e1tica Agropecu\u00e1ria, now called Embrapa Agricultura Digital<\/strong>, was established in Campinas. Massruh\u00e1 has worked there her entire life, then moved to Bras\u00edlia to take over as president.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always worked in computer science. My master\u2019s was on dairy herd improvement and farm management, while my PhD dealt with AI<\/strong> twenty years ago \u2013 everyone is talking about it now, but it was quite disruptive at the time. I focused on plant disease diagnostics using AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At Embrapa Agricultura Digital, Massruh\u00e1 coordinated projects in the various scope areas of the 43 units of Embrapa, including Embrapa Pantanal, where a sustainability index <\/strong>was created by using AI at the Fazenda Pantaneira Sustent\u00e1vel. \u201cThey had different indexes for the three dimensions \u2013 economic, environmental and social \u2013 so I worked to combine them in an app<\/strong> for the farmer to know where there\u2019s room for improvement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

From 2015 to 2022, Massruh\u00e1 was the head<\/strong> of Embrapa Agricultura Digital. \u201cIn the thematic units [like Agricultura Digital], we have the chance to work in partnership with 42 other units, so I got to understand how digital technology<\/strong> could be important to add value<\/strong> to production systems, regardless of the productive chain itself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Shortly before she became president, Massruh\u00e1 worked as the researcher in charge of the project of Center of Science for Development in Digital Agriculture (CCD-AD\/SemeAr), a partnership with S\u00e3o Paulo state government’s research foundation Fapesp aiming to create ten technological districts across Brazil to foster digital technology for the small and midsized farmer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Presidency of Embrapa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Silvia Massruh\u00e1 spoke of the invitation to take on the challenge to become the president of Embrapa. \u201cIt\u2019s a great honor for me because Embrapa\u2019s career researchers like me have a great passion for what we do, since our research can help put the food on the table of people, which is so rewarding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Massruh\u00e1 signs the presidency book of Embrapa besides its chairman Guilherme Soria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She knows that she took on a very big responsibility on the occasion of the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of Embrapa. \u201cIt was established to ensure the food security <\/strong>of our country, as back then [in the 1970s], we imported 30% of our food,\u201d she said. The work was focused on developing technologies and adapting agriculture<\/strong> to the tropical climate. This was also done later with respect to Cerrado and other Brazilian biomes.<\/p>\n

The situation is now different. Brazil stands now as a major food producer and exporter to the whole world. \u201cLooking at the world now, we\u2019re working with the vision of the agrifood system, centered on food, fibers, energy \u2013 all these in an integrated, multidisciplinary manner. There\u2019s the matter of growing healthy, nutritious food based on sustainable practices, and sustainability is not only related to the economy but also to the environment and society. So how can we bring these metrics and indexes to sustainability<\/strong>? That\u2019s a challenge, that\u2019s the new vision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

All these are also tied to the nutrition transition<\/strong>, Massruh\u00e1 said, which includes new diet models, with consumers more concerned with nutrition, health, and the origin of food. \u201cSo how can we bring this transparency<\/strong> to the production process? Here comes another term in line with sustainability that\u2019s traceability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The sustainability<\/strong> metrics and indexes are important at an international level<\/strong>, too. \u201cIt has been often questioned whether the Brazilian agriculture <\/strong>is actually sustainable. Over the past 50 years, our agriculture has expanded 140% in area, from 61 million acres of planted area to 161 million acres, up 100 million acres. And productivity has grown 580%, so the production per acre has increased thanks to technology, which is the landmark of our agriculture<\/strong>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Brazilian delegation met with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Being a competitor on the global stage, Massruh\u00e1 says, it\u2019s not enough to say that Brazil\u2019s agriculture is sustainable. \u201cWe have to show it with numbers<\/strong>. This is our challenge, helping improve this communication<\/strong>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Traceability <\/strong>has also helped improve communication and the international image. \u201cIf you bring this transparency to the production process, there isn\u2019t what to question<\/strong>,\u201d she pointed out.<\/p>\n

Besides sustainability and traceability, Massruh\u00e1\u2019s third priority in her administration is the social and digital inclusion<\/strong> of the small and midsized farmers which helps them enhance their income, incorporate their business model, and narrow the gap between big farmers and small and midsized farmers.<\/p>\n

Public agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massruh\u00e1 pointed out that Embrapa is a public agency affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil. \u201cWe must strengthen Embrapa<\/strong>,\u201d she said. The president said the global leading role that Brazilian agriculture now plays is due precisely to the investments in science and technology and pointed out the people<\/strong> are the most important asset of the research process.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as Embrapa was visionary when hiring people like me in 1989 and sent researchers across the world to bring temperate climate technologies to adapt to our reality in 1973, we now have to hire this new generation<\/strong> To do research, people are the main capital, the human being, the researchers, technicians, analysts, assistants, so this training is needed,\u201d said Massruh\u00e1.<\/p>\n

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Massruh\u00e1 met with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another crucial factor for strengthening the state-owned corporation is funding and investment<\/strong> to implement research projects, with investments in infrastructure such as upgrading laboratories.<\/p>\n

The president said the new growth acceleration plan, known as PAC<\/strong>, launched by the federal government will have invested by 2026 some BRL 1 billion (USD 200 million) in the infrastructure<\/strong> of Embrapa. \u201cBRL 850 million [USD 174 million] are for 43 research centers, while BRL 145 million [USD 30 million] will be for state research centers that are partners of Embrapa at the National Agricultural Research System (SNPA),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Embrapa has approximately 1,000 projects<\/strong>, 25% of which are public-private partnerships (PPPs). \u201cWe want to ramp up these partnerships, but we also have to improve our PPP business model, as out of these 25%, only 5% is private, which means very little private investment<\/strong> in Embrapa, and the royalty cheque is really small. It\u2019s not enough to feed our research. We need a model that\u2019s more of a win-win,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

International mission<\/strong><\/p>\n

Figures from the United Nations show that by 2050 the global population will reach 9 billion people, and the global food production is expected to increase by 70%. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of peace, as if there\u2019s no food, there\u2019ll be war. Approximately 40% [of the food produced globally] is expected to come from Brazil,\u201d said Massruh\u00e1.<\/p>\n

With this huge responsibility for the global food security, the president said a mapping has shown that Brazil has approximately 400 million acres of grazing land, of which approximately 100 million acres with agricultural aptitude are degraded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSo instead of expanding into new areas to increase the production, we could use these degraded lands, recover these areas<\/strong> by planting or even improving their grazing model, using several technologies by Embrapa like direct planting, bioinputs, crop-livestock-forest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Arab countries<\/strong><\/p>\n

In late July, Silvia Massruh\u00e1 traveled with Agriculture and Livestock minister Carlos F\u00e1varo to Saudi Arabia<\/strong> and the United Arab Emirates<\/strong>, as well as Japan and South Korea. In the two Arab countries, they had meetings with officials from their ministries of Agriculture and Environment, private companies, and investment funds. The project of recovery of degraded grazing lands<\/a> was presented then.<\/p>\n

Massruh\u00e1 noticed how important the subject of food security<\/a> was for the Arabs. \u201cFood security is a concern for all Arab countries, which are now very dependent on other countries. They want this partnership with Brazil and see Embrapa as a reference in tropical agriculture and a major partner to help develop their agriculture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Other topics discussed were the exchange of researchers<\/strong> to improve agricultural practices, fertilizers and Brazil\u2019s reliance on them, the impacts of climate change<\/strong>, and management of natural resources like soil, water and biodiversity.<\/p>\n

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Massruh\u00e1 met the UAE\u2019s International Cooperation minister Reem Al Hashimy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Potential exchanges in food security and environment were discussed with the governments. \u201cSaudi Arabia showed some interest in the interchange of date<\/strong> growing. We have\u00a0Embrapa Semi\u00e1rido in Petrolina<\/strong> (Pernambuco), which has a similar biome. Now it\u2019s less active, but we could reactivate it, so it could be a partnership in genetic improvement<\/strong>. There\u2019s also a large demand for alfafa growing, which could be an interesting interchange,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Massruh\u00e1 also highlighted her visit to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. Embrapa has been its partner since 2020<\/a>. The agreement aims for the development and joint spread of technologies related to the use of salt-rich waters. \u201cWe want to rev up this partnership and knowledge interchange,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Woman at the top<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massruh\u00e1 acknowledged the relevance of being the first woman to preside over Embrapa. She was also the first female head of Embrapa Agricultura Digital. \u201cThroughout my career I never stopped to reflect much about that. Being a woman has never intimidated me<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve always worked in two male-dominated fields \u2013 technology and agronomy, but my focus has always been in education<\/strong>, equipping myself to become a better professional. Education and persistence made a difference in my career, with a clear focus,\u201d said the great-granddaughter of a Lebanese great-grandfather.<\/p>\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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