Brazil's main economic driver in 2017, agribusiness, will be back at the center of debate during the 1st Seminar of Challenges and Prospects for the Brazilian Agribusiness Sector, to be held on March 16, at 9:20 a.m., in Sao Paulo. Held by FGV’s Revista Conjuntura Econômica [Brazilian Economy Magazine] and FGV's Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE), the event will discuss the obstacles and the future of the segment and its impact on other sectors of the economy. The event will be attended by Alan Bojanic, UN representative for Food and Agriculture in Brazil (FAO), and the former Brazilian Minister of Agriculture and coordinator of FGV Agro, Roberto Rodrigues.

According to expert estimates, the Brazilian agriculture GDP could reach 23% considering the values of inputs, agribusiness activities, and services linked to farm activities. “During the event, we will discuss the role of agribusiness, which has the highest productivity rate in recent years, while others recorded losses, shedding light onto the relevance of agribusiness to other economic sectors”, said Claudio Considera, associate researcher of IBRE and in charge of the GDP Monitor.

In the morning session, experts will discuss the commodities market. The roundtable will include Luiz Cornacchioni, Executive Director of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG); Cesário Ramalho da Silva, Chairman of the Board of the Global Agribusiness Forum; Celso Vegro, Technical Director of the Agriculture Economics Institute (IEA); and Fernando Lobo Pimentel, partner at Agrosecurity Consultoria and Agrometrika Informática.

The afternoon session will host three panels. The first will discuss changes in the global economy and its impacts on Brazilian agribusiness, including Alan Bojanic, from FAO; Luís Rangel, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock Defense of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA); Rodrigo Lima, general director of Agroicone; and Lia Valls Pereira, IBRE specialist in foreign trade and moderator of the panel.

The experts will also discuss logistics and infrastructure bottlenecks that hinder efficiency and prevent Brazil from being even more competitive in this particular industry. Besides the absence of rural insurance, the lack of credit and access to new technologies are some of the obstacles holding the country back. Moderated by the coordinator of FGV Agro, Roberto Rodrigues, this panel will also include Edeon Vaz Ferreira, Executive Director of Movimento Pró-Logística (Aprosoja); Evaristo Eduardo de Miranda, head of Embrapa’s Strategic Territorial Intelligence Group (GITE); and Adailton Cardoso Dias, Executive Director of Empresa de Planejamento em Logística (EPL). 

The final panel will focus on future prospects, discussing advances in the field of technology. Moderated by the Vice President of the Brazilian National Agriculture Society (SNA), Tito Ryff, the panel includes Francisco Matturro, Vice President of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG); Rui Machado, head of Embrapa Sudeste; and Plínio Nastari, President of Datagro Consultoria and leader of RenovaBio.

Go to the website to learn more and to register.