Representatives of 13 companies from the Agritech sector in Canada visit Embrapa Instrumentation (São Carlos, SP) on Wednesday, 3, as they are interested in learning about technologies developed for tropical agriculture, discussing partnership opportunities and establishing closer ties with researchers from the institution. The mission, which is going to stay in Brazil until May 5, is also going to visit Agrishow and the University of São Paulo “Luiz de Queiroz” Agricultural College (Esalq). The delegation will be welcomed by the general head of the unit, João de Mendonça Naime, who is going to make a presentation about the lines of research developed at the research center, such as nanotechnology, precision agriculture, and optics and photonics, which are at the frontier of knowledge, as well as environmental technologies, such as social technologies for basic sanitation in rural areas. The group, intermediated by the Consulate of Canada in Brazil, comprises 24 people, including company presidents, vice-presidents, and CEOs, and a representative of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), which promotes Brazilian products and services overseas and attracts foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy, and of the Canadian consulate itself. According to the consulate's representative, Marcio Francesquine, the companies' interest varies from trade to partnerships for the validation of technologies and joint research. For the general head of Embrapa Instrumentation, João de Mendonça Naime, the visit of the Canadian delegation represents an opportunity to identify complementary skills for the development of technologies that have the potential to become innovative products. “We are going to discuss points of interest and company aptitudes, hoping that the meeting will result in cooperation activities that promote the sustainable development of Brazilian agriculture”, he states. Companies The companies belong to the following areas: seed test labs; biological inputs; agricultural software and apps to identify and monitor disease outbreaks; agricultural aircraft applications for precision agriculture; drones; biotechnology; information technology; soil mapping; and microbiological analyses and research. Translation: Mariana Medeiros