We Made It…
February 26, 2010
Flying into Brasilia
We’re here!!
The day has been long, but good. The flight from Chicago was on time, but we had very little time to make our connection from Sao Paulo to Brasilia. All of us finally arrived but four were on a later flight due to customs and security.
The US Embassy briefing was held in our hotel one hour after we were supposed to arrive… So there was no time to check in, yet! We met with Joao Silva Ag Specialist and Jeffrey Zimmerman our Ag Attaché. We also heard from our Environmental Consulate Rick Driscoll. It was very nice that they could fit us in to their hectic schedule. They mentioned they were very busy preparing for Secretary of State Hilary Clintons visit next week! Finally at 18:00 local time we were able to check in the hotel, SHOWER and travel via bus to our evening at CNA. CNA is very simliar to our Illinois and American Farm Bureau Federations.
Claasmembers at CNA
Our evening was filled with incredible bits of information that really opened our eyes to how the Brazilian organizations view their own agriculture. For example…
- 36% of Brazil’s exports are agriculture based. Their crop year beings July 1 and ends June 30. Instead of having a Farm Bill like we do theirs is reevaluated yearly.
- SENAR is the educational aspect of CNA and doesn’t charge for the education they provide to not only the farmers, but the farm workers and their families as well. They say it’s because they represent the producers who pay taxes which in return funds their budget.
- SENAR’s 4,400 educators are paid by hours of the class.
- And finally – their biggest challenge to becoming a global leader lies in their infrastructure… or lack there of.
Our host for the evening was Carlos Rivaci Sperotto, Director de Comercio Exterior and three of his staff: Rosemeire Dos Santos – Who spoke on the Economics of Brazilian Agriculture, Rodrigo Alwin – who addressed the Dairy Industry, Omar Hennemann – SENAR (which is their Professional Learning sector of CNA) and Antenor Nogueira – and he spoke about the Brazilian Cattle Industry. With the advancement in technology our speakers were able to present in Portuguese and we could hear via headsets in English (and vice versa when we had question). One other interesting fact that we picked up from the US Embassy – the potential ramifications of the first cross sector retaliation awarded by the WTO in the Brazil vs. US Cotton case.
Shwew… That’s a whole lot for a first day! Local time is now 12:25am 25 Feb 2010. Check back tomorrow to find out more about Brazil 2010.
Thursday, February 25th
February 25, 2010
It’s been a whirlwind so far! With a little jet lag, a flight delay, and a late (but tasty) dinner last night this morning came really early. We started off by checking out of our hotel, loading the bus, and arriving at the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture for an overview of agriculture in Brazil. It’s similar to our USDA.
In the 50s and 60s agriculture began to spread across the country as a way to spread population and advance technology in the different regions of Brazil. They used the best resources they had, and today Brazil has a very successful Agriculture industry. Our speakers touched on land use, expansion, percentage of harvested grains, biomes of Brazil, double cropping, harvested area growth, meat production, milk production, coffee, sugar, ethanol, gross value of production, exports, subsidies, ag policy, their problems and challenges, and their goals set in their current agriculture plan. Obviously, we learned a lot!
Some interesting facts we took away…
- Mato Grosso is most important for grain production—the area was chosen for infrastructure and export reasons
- The Amazon makes up 49.3% of land
- 20.2% of ag land is used for pastures
- 35% of crops are double cropped
- 42% of grains harvested are soybeans
- Even though area used for coffee is down, coffee production is up
- Gross ag products value of production is $170 billion (beef makes up 21% of that)
- Total exports make up $64.8 billion (29.3% of exports go to Europe)
- Rural credit comes from private companies
- 60% of crop is transported by road
And this is just to name a few!
We also heard from EMBRAPA, an organization similar to our USDA’s Agriculture Research Service. We have previously heard from them at the January seminar. They have 39 research centers and connections all throughout the world.
Next, we loaded the bus and traveled to the Brazilian Institute on Environment and Renewables (IBAMA) to hear from Vitor Carlos Kaniak, Chief Cabinet. IBAMA is similar to our Environmental Protection Agency. Brazil has very complex and specific laws for the Amazon forest and other protected areas. The Amazon is currently being monitored via satellite. Japan’s new satellite technology has made it possible to see through the clouds that hover over the forest. A major challenge they are currently facing is registering properties. Most people don’t want to be registered with the government. Illegal deforestation is also a major problem. If caught, the state, army and FBI all attend the arrest. People are charged with either high fines or prison time. Their budget is $80 million a year.
From there we went to the National Bureau of Infrastructure Support (DNIT). This is similar to our Department of Transportation. Miguel deSauza, the Director of Planning of Visas, did his best to cover issues regarding the railroad, highways and waterways. It helped the interpreter and computer tech guy were also knowledgeable.
We then flew to Cuiaba, where we met up with Ricardo Silva. Ricardo is a 50 year old farmer. He grew up in southern Brazil and now farms in Mato Grosso with his brother. He was very knowledgeable about the area and shared several facts with us on our way to the hotel. Peter Goldsmith then met us at the hotel. A few of us were happy because he also escorted us to the ATM, and we were finally able to get Reais (Brazilian currency)! Later that night we had dinner with several leaders from agricultural associations. These associations were similar to our Illinois Soybean Association and Illinois Beef Association. Several farmers joined us as well. They shared two informative videos, facts on the area, and personal stories and passion of their professions.
Our Journey Really Begins in Champaign-Urbana
February 20, 2010
IALP CLass of 2010 with Rich Vogen from the College of ACES
Since 1984, the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation has sponsored an International Travel seminar as part of it’s’ leadership development programming (IALP). To date, IALP classes have visited 31 different countries. This year, our Class of 2010 will be following in the footsteps of previous classes from 1990 and 1998 when they travel to Brazil and Argentina for ten days of international studies.
What most people don’t realize is where the journey really begins. Back in January, these young leaders met for two snowy days at the University of Illinois’ College of ACES (Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) in Champaign-Urbana. Programming Director, Rich Vogen and his team, kept our group warm and well fed, while delivering meaningful content to the class during their International Perspectives seminar, a session designed to enhance the experience these motivated young professionals hope to gain from their trip.
Dedicated ACES staff and associates braved the weather and interrupted their winter breaks in order to deliver pertinent and useful information that provided an excellent backdrop on agricultural practices, governments, economies and cultures of the two countries. One of the presenters, Dr. Peter Goldsmith, the Soybean Industry’s Endowed Associate Professor in Agricultural Strategy and Executive Director of the National Soybean Research Lab, helped plan the trip. Dr. Goldsmith will also join the group while they are in Brazil and the soybean fields of Mato Grosso.
Interim ACES Dean, Robert Hauser, has carried on the proud tradition of partnering with the IALP twice during the two-year leadership experience. Last February, the College of ACES hosted this same group for its’ National Ag Policy seminar. The three day event was another preparatory session, targeted toward adding value to our National Travel seminar that took place last March in Washington, D.C.
It is humbling to have a world class land grant university share our mission of meaningful and measurable leadership development that benefits agriculture. The University of Illinois dominates as the alma mater most represented by IALP alumni and active participants, and we are always treated like family when we return to campus. We are to be blessed with such a valuable resource that makes it possible to achieve our educational goals.
