Despite the technological force within rural properties, Brazilian producers still face relevant challenges ““especially when it comes to protection against market risks and access to quality information.
“Agricultural producers are very good from gate in, but from the gateway they are risks that they don’t even know they are running,” said Vitor Gaspar, head of the XP Cayman commodity offshore division, during the panel Supply and demand scenarios in the world grain marketheld on June 5 and 6, at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo.
Gaspar pointed out that farmers still explore the available financial tools, such as derivatives and hedge, who could shield their operations against price fluctuations. “Lack of knowledge about mechanisms that would give business more predictability and liquidity,” he said.
This information deficit also extends to the area of biotechnology. According to Bernhard Kiep, president of the International Alliance of Corn (Maizall), the use of transgenics is still surrounded by myths and misinformation, even fed by political polarization. “There are countries that reject biotechnological products for ignorance. We need to bring scientific information to open these markets, especially in the face of climate change that will require more production with less resources,” he said.
Abramilho’s president, Paulo Bertolini, who measured the panel, stressed the contradiction of the scenario: “It is curious to see how the Brazilian producer quickly adopts technological innovations, but still finds barriers to advance with biological and risk management”.
Despite the gaps, Brazil has been able to respond to the growth of global demand for grains. For the Secretary of Agricultural Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Guilherme Campos Júnior, the sector advances even in the face of important bottlenecks such as storage.
Continues after advertising
Asked about the role of the Safra Plan in the resolution of these obstacles, Campos Júnior recognized the program’s budget boundaries, but defended its effectiveness. “Agro has grown with less resources than necessary, which shows the strength of the sector. Today, the world already sees Brazil as a great player in the field of global food security,” he concluded.
Agro Festival
The panel on the challenges and opportunities for cooperatives in Modern Agro was part of the largest agro culture festival in the world, which brought together 35,000 participants on the two days of the event, which ended on Friday (6).
Considered a meeting place for debate on agribusiness trends, innovations and challenges, the meeting has a program for 35 panels and 100 speakers distributed in three simultaneous stages.
Continues after advertising
Almost 200 companies in the sector were present. In addition to the content of the lectures, the event featured a business, tasting and gastronomy classes and musical shows.
