Key facts
- Brazil and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop and apply AI for family farming.
- The agreement establishes the Brazil-China Cooperation Center for AI Application.
- The partnership includes joint research, researcher exchange, and pilot centers for smart agricultural machinery.
Brazil's family farmers, responsible for a significant portion of the country's staple food production, are set to benefit from a new cooperation program with China focused on artificial intelligence. The five-year initiative, agreed upon in September, aims to modernize operations and provide smallholders with AI tools to combat a decade of declining employment and limited access to affordable technology.
Embrapa, Brazil's agricultural research corporation, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four Chinese institutions: Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sinomach Digital Technology Corporation, and the International Association for People's Cooperation. This agreement establishes the Brazil-China Cooperation Center for AI Application and includes provisions for joint research, researcher exchanges, and the creation of pilot centers for smart agricultural machinery in Brazil.
Embrapa President Silvia Massruhá emphasized that the partnership is crucial for digitally including small and mid-scale farmers, preventing a widening gap with larger agricultural operations. The focus is on co-developing and adapting AI solutions to Brazil's specific agricultural realities.