Japanese agency and Embrapa discuss opportunities in agriculture 4.0 - January 2020

A delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is visiting Embrapa's research centers this week to discuss partnership opportunities in digital agriculture for food security and sustainable rural development. On Tuesday (14), at Embrapa's headquarters, the Japanese were received by Sibelle Silva, advisor to the Directorate of Innovation and Technology (DEIT), and Daniel Trento, secretary of Innovation and Business (SIN).

The Japanese agency has been operating in Brazil for 60 years and has maintained a close relationship with Embrapa since the 1970s. To start a new phase in the relationship, President Celso Moretti's presentation at the 4th edition of the Brazil-Japan Dialogue, held last year in São Paulo (SP), with the presence of Japanese authorities such as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Takamori Yoshikawa, was essential.

During the event, Moretti presented Embrapa's actions aimed at agriculture 4.0, citing the submission to JICA of the project “Development of Sensors and Platforms for Precision Agriculture in support of Sustainable Agriculture” by Embrapa Instrumentation researcher Ricardo Inamasu. The submission - which was approved “exceptionally, considering the importance of the topic” - was made via the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and articulated with the support of the International Strategic Relations Management (Grei/Sire) and DEIT.

The details of the project's actions are the reason for the visits by JICA experts to Embrapa units. At the meeting with DEIT, the director of Jica's Rural Development Department in Japan, Kota Sakaguchi, recalled the historical joint action in the development of the Cerrado and the agency's initiatives to disseminate Embrapa technologies in Latin American and African countries.

“Now, we want to strengthen Embrapa's relations with Jica and Japan to jointly participate in the agricultural revolution through digital transformation,” said Sakaguchi, referring to the relevance of Brazil's natural resources for the country and the world.

The resumption of negotiations to set up a Labex in Japan was highlighted by Sakaguchi as an important initiative at this time, when Jica is implementing its Smart Food Chain (SFC) policy with a focus on developing co-creation and digital transformation strategies, presented at the meeting in Brasilia.

Open innovation

The Secretary for Innovation and Business, Daniel Trento, gave an institutional presentation on Embrapa. He highlighted points of the Innovation Macroprocess, such as the use of the TRL scale to classify the technologies developed and under development, the open innovation model being adopted by the company and, in the context of the scarcity of public resources, the role of partnerships with national and international research institutions and the private sector and the promotion of events to bring startups closer together.

Regarding the inclusion of family farming in digital transformation strategies, the manager replied that it is necessary to create networks to discuss and present solutions to the complex challenge of connectivity on farms located in regions that still lack internet access, such as the North and Northeast.

Trento also highlighted the work of Embrapa Territorial (Campinas-SP) in collecting data to monitor deforestation and crops, which is relevant to the development of public policies related to infrastructure for transporting production.

For advisor Sibelle Silva, the meeting highlighted synergies and partnership possibilities beyond the project approved by JICA. “We must move forward in working in areas of common interest for co-creation in the digital area with a view to food safety, sustainable development and the transfer of technology and the market,” she said.

The Japanese mission visited Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril (Sinop-MT) on Wednesday (15) and will visit Embrapa Informática Agropecuária (Campinas-SP) on Friday (17). In addition to director Sakaguchi, the delegation includes Jica's agricultural advisor in Japan, Yutaka Hongo; the representative of Jica's office in Brasilia, Yutaro Tanaka; the project coordinator at Jica-Brazil, Nobuyuki Kimura; the private sector representative, Isao Dojun; the agricultural consultant from Chuo Kaihatsu Corporation; and the agency's training officer, Tadasu Kondo.

Embrapa-Jica

The first phase of technical cooperation between Embrapa and JICA, called the Technical-Scientific Support Project for the Agricultural Development of the Cerrados, in partnership with Embrapa Cerrados (Brasília-DF), began in 1977 and lasted until 1985.

Among the main projects that marked the partnership with Jica in the form of technical cooperation were those developed with Embrapa Cerrados, Embrapa Hortaliças (Brasília-DF) and Embrapa Amazônia Oriental (Belém-PA).

Also noteworthy are the triangular cooperation projects in Mozambique and the technical-scientific cooperation with Embrapa Soja (Londrina-PR). Nobuyuki also highlights the importance of the training course for third countries, aimed at Portuguese-speaking Latin American and African nations, developed with Embrapa Hortaliças, Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura (Cruz das Almas-BA), Embrapa Amazônia Oriental and Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical (Fortaleza-CE).

Foto: Valéria Cristina Costa

Written by Valéria Cristina Costa and published by Embrapa on January 16 of 2020. Translated by the JICA Project Team. Source: https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/49491299/agencia-japonesa-e-embrapa-discutem-oportunidades-em-agricultura-40