Paving the Way for Digital Agriculture – “Final CoPADi Seminar” Held (April 2026)
On April 2, 2026, the "Final CoPADi Seminar" took place in a hybrid format at Japan House in São Paulo and via Zoom (online). Bringing together representatives from Mapa, JICA, Embrapa, private sector partners, and academic institutions, the seminar showcased the achievements of the CoPADi Project—including technical platform developments, field demonstration results across three agricultural verticals (Crop, Livestock, and Agroforestry), and the operational proposal for the CoPADi Consortium.
1. Opening Remarks: Celebrating Cooperation and Sustainable Agribusiness
The seminar opened with welcoming words from Mr. Alaércio (Mapa), who highlighted the project's background and Mapa's active role. Mr. Miyazaki, Chief Representative of JICA Brasil, expressed deep gratitude to Mapa, Embrapa, counterparts, and private sector partners. Reflecting on the project's launch during the COVID-19 pandemic, he commended its progress and emphasized that digital technologies are vital for realizing Brazil's immense potential as a sustainable global food producer. Mr. Miyazaki reiterated JICA's commitment to continuing its co-creation partnership with Brazilian agricultural stakeholders.
2. Project Overview and Digital Infrastructure: The CoPADi API and Consortium
Project Overall Framework (Mr. Hiroshige, JICA Project Team):
An overview of global trends in precision and digital agriculture was presented, alongside the challenge of fragmented producer data. The project addressed these bottlenecks through four key outputs: developing an innovation ecosystem, building a digital platform, conducting On-Farm Experiments (OFE), and transferring knowledge.
CoPADi API Architecture (Dr. Speranza, Embrapa Digital Agriculture; DMX Design):
Modeled after Japan's WAGRI framework, the CoPADi API was built to integrate with Embrapa’s AgroAPI to store, process, and share agricultural data. Featuring APIs for agricultural data ingestion and custom adapters for external machinery monitoring plaforms (such as Jacto Ekos and Agri Info Design), the platform provides small and medium-sized farmers with a secure and transparent environment that preserves data ownership. Mr. Douglas and Mr. Ruan (DMX) provided a live demonstration of the platform and map generation capabilities.
The CoPADi Consortium (Dr. Inamasu, Embrapa Instrumentation):
To ensure long-term operational sustainability, Dr. Inamasu presented the governance and incubation model for the "CoPADi Consortium". By bringing together public institutions, AgTechs, and cooperatives to share infrastructure costs and rules, the consortium aims to lower market entry barriers for AgTechs and empower producers with safe data sharing.
3. On-Farm Experiments (OFE): Demonstration Outcomes Across Three Verticals
Field demonstration results from Japan-Brazil private sector collaborations were presented across three key verticals:
【Crop Vertical】Agri Info Design
Dr. Hamada (Agri Info Design) detailed field demonstrations in Paraná conducted in partnership with the Integrada Cooperative, where AgriBusGMiniR devices installed on machinery transmitted operational data to the cloud and connected with AgroAPI. In addition, Dr. Daniel Kaster (CIA-Agro / UEL) also introduced the Paraná Module supported by the Araucária Foundation, uniting regional universities, research centers, and cooperatives (Integrada, LAR, C-Vale) into an integrated agricultural data ecosystem.
【Livestock Vertical】Yokogawa Electric:
Mr. Ogawa (Yokogawa Electric) presented a contactless cattle weight estimation system using 3D cameras and proprietary algorithms. Conducted in collaboration with Campanelli Farm and Embrapa, the field trial achieved an average error rate below 6%, enabling frequent weight monitoring without complex infrastructure and improving feeding management KPIs.
【Agroforestry Vertical】Fruta Fruta:
Mr. Noro (Fruta Fruta) shared collaboration with CAMTA (Agricultural Cooperative in Pará). Fruta Fruta introduced Scope3Neo, a sustainability matching platform designed to quantify CO2 reductions and trace environmental impact. Ongoing efforts aim to connect Scope3Neo with Embrapa’s AgroAPI to support future carbon credit certifications.
4. Pannel Discussion and Closing Vision: Interoperability and Democratization
During the discussion, Mr. Carlos Halmann (John Deere) noted the importance of aligning data standards with international ISO efforts. Mr. José Loyola (AgGateway) stressed the critical need for cross-company collaboration to democratize digital agriculture for small and medium producers who need it most.
In the closing remarks, Dr. Marconcini (Embrapa Instrumentation) thanked all partners for navigating a complex multi-year cycle and expressed confidence that the joint foundation laid by Japan and Brazil will continue to drive digital and precision agriculture forward.
