Embrapa turns 49 today, April 26, as it is changing its structure through the project Transforma Embrapa while remaining strongly focused on contributing with solutions for Brazilian agriculture. One of the latest measures, which was scheduled last year and then gained more relevance due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, is a strategy to reduce the impact of the high cost of fertilizers: Embrapa FertBrasil's Caravan, which will visit regions across Brazil, offering effective alternatives to enchance production. “Embrapa will always lead with science as a response”, states Celso Moretti, president of the corporation, referring to its nearly five-decade-long trajectory, which was founded on Brazil’s investment in research and which has elevated the country to the position of being one of the top world players in food production and a scientific reference in agriculture. The solemn session in honor of the anniversary will feature the findings from the Embrapa's Social Report 2021, the update to the Vision for Agriculture document (which outlines future trends for Brazilian agriculture), the launch of new technological solutions, and the signing of new strategic partnership agreements. It will be held at 3p.m. on April 27 at Embrapa's headquarters in Brasília, DF, in the presence of government dignitaries, congresspeople, national agricultural leaders, and partners. Access the special page for Embrapa's 49th anniversary and follow activities and product launches. The Brazilian context in which the company works is even more strategic today – and not only due to the current economy, given agriculture’s 27.4% share of the Brazilian GDP, but also in light of the future. In the case of the fertilizers, for instance, Celso Moretti says it is possible to increase efficiency from 60% to 70% this year, resulting in a billion dollars in savings for Brazilian agriculture, based on rational use. “To be combined to that, there is a set of technologies that can contribute to reducing dependence on fertilizer imports, such as the fertilizer BiomaPhos, which works on the phosphorous present in the soil and makes it available to plants, thus reducing the use of phosphate fertilizers and manure,” he explains. According to Moretti, the expectation is that by 2030, as the adoption of alternative sources of fertilizers progresses, the need for imports is cut by 25%, or 10 million tons. Brazilian imports currently total 43 million tons. Also in the scenario marking the company’s 49th anniversary is the prospect that science can support domestic self-sufficiency in the supply of wheat, one of the most essential ingredients in the foods Brazilians most consume, such as the indispensable daily bread. “We were successful in developing a wheat variety here that has not produced in any other tropical region,” the president celebrates. Out of Brazil's annual demand of 12.5 million tons, he recalls that 7.5 million tons were produced within the country and the rest can be offset by using Cerrado regions, thanks to Embrapa technology. Currently, 200,000 hectares in the Cerrado are already growing tropical wheat crops. “In addition to the domestic market, we can also help reduce hunger in other countries around the world,” he adds. For Moretti, the good perspectives that Embrapa’s research brings to the country by developing wheat in Cerrado regions as far as in Roraima will be crucial for national agriculture. “While studies in that sense have been conducted since 2012, the advances in the past three years are actually changing the production sector,” he says. He referred to recent tests of three cultivars for the region, which have already shown cultivation potential, especially due to their cycle length, as they took only 66 days to reach harvest point, and a yield of three tons per hectare, which allows for two wheat harvests in the winter. “Through this study, Embrapa has played its role of helping Brazil be more than just self-sufficient in wheat,” he asserts. “We have already mapped the Cerrado and have more than two million hectares of consolidated area available for cultivation, which will allow current production to grow three times, and elevate Brazil to the rank of one of the top ten wheat exporters in the world,” he assured. Links to sustainability With regard to the Brazilian image inside and outside the country, the president defends that sustainability is a priority in national agriculture. ““We need to consolidate and better communicate what is actually being done and the results from such efforts so that the world understands that Brazil has always endeavored to reconcile agricultural production activities and environmental consertation,” he states. Upon completing nearly half a century of research, he recalls Embrapa’s featured contribution that have drawn attention in international scientific forums. “Agroforestry systems (AFS), Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems (ICLFS), no-till farming, integrated pest management (IPM), biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and pasture recovery are just some of the technologies we have presented that have reverberated abroad,” he comments. Last November, Moretti participated in two weeks of panel discussions and roundtables with global representatives, during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), in Glasgow, Scotland, where he had the opportunity to underscore the sustainability of Brazilian science. History of positive impacts In Embrapa's trajectory, reports of positive impacts on the economy, the environment and Brazilian tables are abundant. Brazil today has a leading place in the international forage market, thanks to the brand: 90% of the cultivated area in the whole Brazilian territory uses Embrapa varieties, which have been adopted in over 64 million hectares, to the benefit of over 44 million head of cattle. Technology and innovation in cloning, the largest gene bank in Latin America, research on breeding and genetic improvement, the Carbon-Neutral Beef brand's potential, digital and precision agriculture, incentives for startups, and the development of software and mobile applications have already become references in the international scientific community and motivated the interest of partners in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Middle Eastern and African countries. The President underscores that a lot of this history has been written thanks to partnerships: “Throughout history, we have maintained cooperation with universities, research institutions and different segments of the production sector, such as cooperatives and farmer associations, which have added to the efforts to ensure that so many deliverables for society were possible,” he comments. Each year, the company signs an average of 86 new agreements and contracts with national and international partners, and executes contracts signed in previous years. “Even during the pandemic, when it was necessary to adapt the corporation's entire business profile, targets were not compromised,” the president recalls, stressing the adaptability and effort by employees at the headquarters and in all decentralized units. In 2021, Embrapa executed 564 contracts aimed at fostering research and the provision of services, and focused on cost-sharing, team interaction and accelerated obtainment of results. As he recalled the latest innovations in agricultural research, the president mentioned the development of the bioinput BiomaPhos; the Crystal bioinsecticide and its efficiency in caterpillar control; new rubber tree, soybean, guarana, cassava, cotton, wheat and irrigated rice cultivars; and Flex I and Flex II, the first non-transgenic gene-edited sugarcane cultivars, which facilitate (first- and second-generation) ethanol production and the extraction of other bioproducts. A pesquisa com o café robusta, que agrega valor e promove transformação social na Amazônia, a plataforma Aquaplus, reunião de tecnologias de soluções inovadoras para produtores e empresários voltadas à melhoria de manejo e genética de espécies aquícolas, o banco ativo de germoplasma de peixes nativos do Brasil e ainda as cultivares que mais geraram royalties para a Embrapa (BRS Piatã, BRS Zuri, Soja BRS 284, Arroz BRS Pampa CL e Trigo BRS 264) também entraram para o rol de resultados de maior impacto para o agro nacional. Rethinking the internal organization In parallel with the continuous effort to contribute to overcoming current challenges, internally Embrapa has been involved in the setup of a new operating model within the organization. “The purpose of the Transforma Embrapa project is to make the corporation more modern, agile and effective in its target achievements, with more productive and efficient teams, and reduced costs,” explains Celso Moretti. The result of the work of Falconi Consulting, on the initiative of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa) with the support of CNA, OCB, Sebrae and Funarbe, the project aims at boosting the corporate sectors of innovation and business, personnel management, governance, and digital transformation. The new structure establishes that five secretariats will be replaced by directorates of Personnel, Services and Finance; Governance and Management; Business; and Research, Development and Innovation. “The forecast is that the new institutional design will save around R$222 million a year in short-, medium- and long-term expenses, as the measures range from cutting current expenses to centralizing corporate operations and optimizing human resources.” The extinction of the Secretariats and implementation of the Directorates alone will save an estimated R$1 million annually,” comments Moretti, as he defines the new strategy as a reflection of the maturity of the company’s management.