Julius Kühn Institute and Brazil's EMBRAPA cooperate in future on research issues in bioeconomics

At the GreenRio trade fair, the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants called JKI and its counterpart in Brazil, EMBRAPA signed a "Declaration of Intent" to forge a transnational research alliance in the bioeconomy sector.

On 24 May, on the fringes of the bio-economy fair "GreenRio", the two agricultural research institutions from Brazil and Germany - EMBRAPA and JKI - signed a declaration of intent for closer cooperation on research issues. Both federal institutions are affiliated with the respective Ministry of Agriculture, the BMEL (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) on the German side and the MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply) in Brazil. For the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMPRAPA), its Secretary General for Science and Strategic Affairs, Rita Milagres, and for the German side, the President of the Julius Kühn Institute, Prof. Dr. Frank Ordon, signed the declaration of intent.

"The signing of the declaration of intent at GreenRio is a further step towards forging a transnational research alliance," emphasized JKI President Ordon after his return to Germany. "EMBRAPA's function is exactly the same as ours as a researching federal authority, so it is only logical that we should exchange ideas, try to define common goals and initiate cooperation," Ordon continued. Especially at a time when the potential of the bioeconomy with all its facets is high on the political agenda, we want to learn from and profit from each other.

The work of both institutions is aimed at the sustainable production of crop plants, which can be achieved, for example, by adapting plants and cultivation systems to climate change and developing new environmentally friendly crop protection strategies. Similar expertise in plant genetics, plant production, alternative crop protection, soil health, precision agriculture, automation and biotechnology offers ample starting points for joint research projects. Both sides will draw up a list of possible topics for cooperation by the end of June 2019.