Global agriculture is changing with new technology opening doors to innovation in ways many farmers and companies haven't considered in the past. That opportunity expands beyond North America. Recently, organizers of Agrishow, a major Brazilian farm show, released information showing how agricultural technology in that country could contribute to higher yields and increased profit in other markets.

Agrishow and Farm Progress are part of the same company – Informa.

The Agrishow release pointed to the 2017 Agricultural Census released in late 2019 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – known as IBGE – reinforcing the country's potential to "contribute to economic and social development in nations with agricultural characteristics similar to Brazil, in particular Africa and Latin America."

The study notes that 77% of ag operations were classified as family farms, which is similar to these other countries. In addition, Brazil can "help increase the various crops in African and American countries. From 2006 to 2017, in almost all crops there was a substantial increase in productivity." The group points to corn rising 57%, rice 60%, beans 46% and soybeans up 30%. Total irrigation use in the country expanded by 47.6% during the same period.

This application of technology can be transferred to other similar geographies, the organizers report. In addition, field mechanization has grown significantly in Brazil, which is a technology area the country can share too. IBGE reported that the number of farms with seeders, harvesters, fertilizers and limestone distributors increased. Tractor use alone rose 50% from 820,718 machines to 1,229,907 machines at work in the country.

This news shows that there are opportunities for the expansion of international public and private programs to encourage Brazilian companies to export their technological capital to other countries. Patricia Gomes, executive director of foreign markets of the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq), which works with Agrishow, points to one example: "The More Food Program…has already provided thousands of farmers in Senegal, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique with access to high-tech agricultural machinery, equipment and implements."

Another example of the way Brazilian technology and methods can be exported is the Green Imperative Project, organized by the Getulio Vargas Foundation. The program aims to implement a technology pact with Brazil to promote sustainability of the Nigerian Agribusiness sector through development of an integrated business plan. The plan includes labor training, financial rationality and greater productivity through field mechanization.

Gomes explains that Brazil has much to offer other countries from what it has developed at home. "In the last decade, Brazil has been able to increase crop yields without increasing the planted area through the use of high-tech integrated equipment and mechanized, automated and managed farmland processes. Therefore, we must export all our achievements, contributing to an improvement in the quality and diversity of food in the world," she says.

The new features for family farming and Brazilian and international agribusiness will be on display at Agrishow 2020 the 27th International Fair of Agricultural Technology in Action. The show runs from April 27 to May 1 in Ribeirao Preto (Sao Paulo). The fair is an initiative of the main agribusiness entities in the country: Abag - Brazilian Association of Agribusiness, Abimaq - Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry, Anda - National Fertilizer Diffusion Association, FAESP - State Federation of Agriculture and Livestock in São Paulo and SRB - Brazilian Rural Society. The event is organized by Informa Markets, the main promoter of trade fairs in Brazil and around the world.

Source: Agrishow. The source is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.