Transparency in agriculture consolidates Brazil’s leadership in food production, says JBS Global CEO in Article
27 | 12 | 2024
In an article published in Folha de S.Paulo this Friday (20), JBS Global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni emphasized the importance of the Agro Brasil + Sustentável Platform and the National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffalo, launched this week by the federal government. According to him, these initiatives represent a milestone for Brazilian agribusiness.
The Agro Brasil + Sustentável Platform is regarded by the CEO as an example of innovation in public service. He believes the tool will give visibility to sustainable practices already in place in the country, while also encouraging more producers to adopt them. Moreover, its main feature is universality, enabling use by small, medium, and large producers alike.
The National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffalo, aimed at improving and enhancing animal traceability, will allow for the monitoring and registration of the history, current location, and trajectory of each identified animal. This measure will strengthen animal health programs and enhance response capabilities to epidemiological outbreaks, as well as reinforce Brazil’s commitment to meeting international market sanitary requirements.
The full text follows.
Article
Transparency in agriculture consolidates Brazil’s leadership in food production, says JBS Global CEO in Article
Platform will highlight sustainable practices and attract rural producers of all levels
The world is facing two colossal challenges: while 2.3 billion people experience moderate to severe food insecurity, the population continues to grow.
Two initiatives launched by the federal government this week have the potential to elevate Brazilian agriculture to an even higher level.
The Agro Brasil + Sustentável Platform and the National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffalo will increase transparency in the production chain and add even more value to national production. Brazil, already a global leader in the production or export of soybeans, corn, oranges, beef, chicken, and many other products, will be able to further expand its access to the most demanding markets on the planet.
The Agro Brasil + Sustentável Platform is an example of innovation in public service. The system integrates various government databases to enable rural producers to provide information such as origin, production methods, sustainable practices, and certifications. On the other end, buyers of these products will also have access to the information.
The platform will function as a kind of national validator, with official status and less reliance on criteria that often fail to respect Brazilian legislation. It will give visibility to sustainable practices already adopted in the country, encouraging broader adoption by producers. Its main characteristic is universality, meaning it can be used by small, medium, and large producers alike—granting them access to all information about their property in one place, from the Rural Environmental Registry to Ibama’s environmental compliance data.
The platform’s launch coincides with the National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffalo. These two initiatives from the Ministry of Agriculture crown decades of development that have made the country a reference in scientific research and rural income generation. Brazilian farms host some of the most productive hectares in the world.
Traveling through Brazil, I have had the opportunity to visit farms harvesting three crops per year and achieving neutral or even positive carbon balances. Foreigners who joined these visits expressed surprise at finding environmental cutting-edge agricultural production in the Brazilian countryside.
The world faces two gigantic challenges: while 2.3 billion people experience moderate to severe food insecurity, the population keeps growing. In this context, Brazil is in a privileged position to become the world’s main food supplier. According to UN projections, we will have an additional 1 billion mouths to feed by 2037, and another billion by 2050.
With increased transparency in the production chain, consumers worldwide, including Brazilians, will be able to consume foods produced in the country with the assurance that they meet the highest sanitary and environmental standards. For instance, the meat industry has, for over a decade, adopted a sectoral protocol that blocks cattle purchases from farms engaging in illegal deforestation or occupying protected areas or indigenous lands, among other criteria.
At JBS, beyond monitoring, we have been deeply involved in the production chain with programs that support rural producers in adopting best agricultural practices. The Green Offices program, for example, has already assisted 14,000 producers by offering support for environmental compliance and technical assistance for more efficient production. It’s a “win-win” scenario, as we make rural areas more sustainable and productive while reintegrating these producers into the supply chain.
Increasing transparency is in the best interest of agriculture, and the participation of representatives from various production sectors in the development of both the Agro Brasil + Sustentável Platform and the National Plan for Individual Identification of Cattle and Buffalo is proof of this.
I am confident that these two launches represent a new milestone in the success story of Brazilian agriculture and will receive full support from our sector for rapid adoption and dissemination throughout the value chain.
Escrito por: Oxigenweb