18 October 2013 – CABI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) to stimulate the development of new lines of cooperation. The first phase of technical cooperation will focus on Plantwise and the transfer of plant health technology across Mato Grosso, Brazils largest state.
The partnership and agreement of technical cooperation were formalised at a signing ceremony in Brasilia, which took place today. Representing CABI was CEO, Dr Trevor Nicholls, Executive Director for International Development, Dennis Rangi, and Regional Representative for South America, Yelitza Colmenarez. Embrapa signatories were Executive Director of Administration and Finance, Vania Castiglioni, Agrosylvopastoral Researcher, Flávio Fernandes Júnior, and Luciano Nass of the International Relations Office.
“Our agreement with Embrapa is an exciting development, which will help both organisations broaden the reach of their efforts to improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers,” said Dr Nicholls. “We expect to establish more technical cooperation projects in other Brazilian states and to facilitate Embrapas programme of technology transfer in Africa. In the long term, we hope that Brazil eventually becomes a member of CABI.”
CABI is developing new lines of cooperation with Embrapa in Acre and in Roraima the most westerly and northerly states in Brazil respectively and Embrapa Temperate Climate based in Brazils Rio Grande do Sul state in the east of the country. CABI will continue to deliver against the MoU via a Plantwise technical cooperation project in Mato Grosso, the third largest state in Brazil with around 40 per cent open pastureland.