We were greeted by Roberto Rodrigues in his
role as President of the International Cooperative Alliance. Roberto prefaced his remarks
with a look at Brazil’s inflationary trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For
example; in 1989, inflation rates increased 40 percent each month. In his words, "The
farmer is transferring the profits of productivity to the consumer." The "Plan
Real" (pronounced Ree AHL) of 1994 is credited for stabilizing inflation rates at
today’s level of five percent. From Roberto’s perspective, the greatest
challenges facing Brazilian agriculture are adopting technological changes on farms and
through cooperatives, balancing common sense and stewardship through environmental
regulations, and integrating production, processing, and marketing to the end consumer.
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Alberto Portugal, the President of the Brazilian Research Company, EMBRAPA,
discussed the mission and objectives of agricultural research in Brazil. EMBRAPA’S
mission is, "To generate, promote and transfer knowledge and technology for
sustainable agriculture to help the Brazilian economy." Portugal defined EMBRAPA as a
"public enterprise with private rights" to market data and products produced by
research. EMBRAPA’s objectives are: partnerships and joint ventures, systemic
approach, research and development, market-oriented research to meet demand, production
throughout the food chain, sustainability, total quality and process management.
We heard from several trade organizations and special commissions throughout the
morning. Represented were the Government Commission on Biotechnology which establishes
testing procedures and advises on issues such as labeling transgenic products for Brazil;
the Brazilian Seed Trade Association; the Brazilian Fertilizer Association which described
the role of agronomists in writing prescriptions for products before they can be
purchased; the Brazilian Machines and Equipment Industry Association; and the National
Agriculture Confederation, which plays a role similar to the American Farm Bureau
Federation.
Dejandir Dalpasquale, past Minister of Agriculture and current President of the
Brazilian Cooperative Organization (BCO), described the structure of the cooperative
system in Brazilian society. The International Advisor to the BCO, Celso Claro Oliveira,
interpreted for the class. Cooperatives represent approximately 20 million Brazilians.
There are 12 sectors of cooperatives including agribusiness (1 million people), consumers
(1.3 million people), credit, health, housing, education, service and additional
professional and cultural areas. Oliveria said 68 of the 1,449 agricultural cooperatives
are exporting. Soybeans and soybean products, sugar, coffee and cattle are the major
export products, with the European Union as the primary buyer.
Roberto Rodrigues appeared again to speak on the roles of the Brazilian Rural
Society and the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (established in 1993). The primary
function of the Rural Society is to find common ground among three branches in the private
sector that represent farmers’ interests: syndicates - legal representation;
cooperatives - business representation; and associations - volunteer or "civil"
representation.
The Brazilian Agribusiness Association was formed to unite the voices of
agriculture in promoting domestic and international agendas that will benefit the entire
sector. The Association’s "Export Marketing Strategies for the 21st
Century" are: domestic politics and economic stabilization; aggressive and advanced
international trade policies; high quality production at low costs; well supported public
and private research and development; modern real and commercial infrastructure; and
efficient data banking and transfer.
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Rodrigues said the Agribusiness Association was working closely with the Minister
of Agriculture to change the Brazilian public’s perception of farmers and
agriculture. One television channel features agricultural programming. The Association and
Ministry of Agriculture are working with advertisers to include production messages in
consumer product advertising. Rodrigues said legislators are a primary audience for their
image efforts. In his own words, "We love democracy when we win. We hate democracy
when we lose. In a democracy, you have to convince people you are right."
After an extended discussion with Roberto about the challenges and opportunities
faced by leaders in Brazilian agriculture, we met Arlindo Porto, the Brazilian Minister of
Agriculture. Bill and Heather briefly described the Illinois Agricultural Leadership
Foundation and Program to the Minister. We then viewed a video on agriculture in Brazil.
Time was tight as we hurried to lunch – another roderio, which we all enjoyed.
After lunch it was back on the bus to head to the House of Deputies. A lot of action in
the House today. The new President of the Agriculture Commission (equivalent of the U.S.
House Ag Committee) was named a few hours ago. Alberto Ballastra, the new President, Hugo
Biehl, the outgoing President of the Agriculture Commission, and Senator Jonas Pieru, one
of two senators with an agricultural background in the 81-member Senate, welcomed the
group to the House of Deputies. Hugo Biehl discussed the steps the Commission had taken to
stabilize the economy. From his perspective, fiscal policy and access to credit on
reasonable terms are the most important issues facing agriculture. Due to time
constraints, we were limited on discussion with the representatives.
We rushed to the bus to reach the airport on time for our 6:00 p.m. flight. The bus
died as we took the exit ramp to the airport. Red warning lights lit up the entire
dashboard. The driver ground on the ignition and finally the bus responded. We were
creeping along until he tried to shift… Dead again. After a few repeats, we asked the
translator to tell the driver that 15 farmers were on the bus and from their experience
they knew he should stay in first gear.
He took the advice of the farmers and we coasted into the airport. The flight left
late – around 6:45 p.m. |
