Valerio Pillar (CC)

 

Cattle in the fields

Entities related to agriculture rejected on this Thursday (27) the idea that the sector is one of the biggest responsible for the global warming and showed ways for a durable agriculture, which contributes to the reduction of gas emission of greenhouse effect.

According to the participants of a seminar about the subject on the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry, Supply and Rural Development, Brazil has the conditions to reverse this situation, if governments, institutes of research and small and big agriculturists get involved to that end.

Losses
According to the researcher Eduardo Assad, of Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), instead of an “enemy”, the agriculture may become the victim of global warming, with big losses if nothing is done to minimize the effects of weather changes. “The rise in temperature is disastrous for plants, because it affects its cycle and reduces productivity”, said Assad.

Therefore, he said that the country may lose 40% of soy production until 2070, in case the current situation does not change. The loss would be R$ 7.6 billion.

The adaptation of plants to global warming would require genetic improvement. The time estimated for such work, according to the Embrapa researcher, would take 10 years.

Eduardo Assad declared during the debate that food security is compromised, if there no action is taken to prevent the rise of carbon emissions.

Production system
Another strategy would be to work on the carbon absorption during the agricultural process, starting in the soil handling. The direct planting is a common soil handling, in which the chaff and other vegetal residues are kept on the soil surface, assuring cover and protection against harmful processes, such as erosion.

As for husbandry, the solution should be based on the adoption of the agrosilvopasture system, that is, the integration of farming and livestock. The benefits would be the reduction of the opening of new areas of pasture and less emissions of greenhouse effect gas, because of the retention of carbon by the vegetation.

The obstacle for the adoption of such device in the country, in Assad’s assessment, is that it is not common to finance production systems. “We finance farming and pastures. Production systems are trickier yet in a long-term they are highly profitable. We have to stop to think as an industry, and start as a system”, declared.

The Vice-President and Secretary of International Relations of the National Confederation of Agriculture's Workers (Contag), Alessandra Lunas, reinforced the thesis that the production systems are left in the background in Brazil. She stated that, oftentimes, to get official financing, the producer has to be tied to the husbandry.

“The process is still being elaborated in a conventional way. There is a huge trouble so that the support happens in practice. A lot of policies do the contrary of what we are trying to discuss”, he declared.

Rural Policy
The technical advisor of the Committee on Environment of the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), Rodrigo Justus de Brito, declared that structural policies of the government to the sector are missing. He said that the rural activity must be valued by the contributions done to the environmental preservation.

“It seems that Brazil is embarrassed about the agriculture sector when it is going to negotiate with other countries. The agriculture is considered the enemy. The problem is that we have to decrease the distance between our several Brazils. There are producers with none work condition, emitting gases by lack of information. We have to change all the country into an ecological and efficient production system, but defending the national interests”, declared Brito.

The CNA advisor said that it is not the Brazilian agriculture the responsible for 30% of the global warming, but the whole world’s agriculture.

The seminar of the Committee of Agriculture was suggested by Deputy Beto Faro (PT-PA).

Gas Emission
The extraordinary ambassador for Weather Change, Sérgio Barbosa Serra, from Itamaraty, declared that the position of Brazil on international negotiations about global warming, does take into account the national interests. But it also has as a fundamental guidance what is advised by science.

He recognized that Brazil still did not achieve any rate of reduction of greenhouse effect gas and that this will be discussed among the different Ministries.

“What is demanded is that the developed countries adopt until 2020 reduction aims between 25% and 40% and that countries in development reduce the increasing curve of these emissions. We are prepared to get at Copenhagen with numbers that represent the reduction”, explained the ambassador, referring to the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference, that will occur in December, in the capital of Denmark.

Proposal
Deputy Luiz Carlos Setim (DEM-PR), who held the audience, said that the results of today’s meeting would suit the Chamber to the elaboration of a proposal to be presented in Copenhagen.

Reporting – Noéli Nobre
Edition – Pierre Triboli