Family farming in Brazil will offer good products to Europeans, says Teixeira | Brazil

“We have a very powerful family agriculture in Brazil, which will certainly offer the best products to the European Union,” he declared after the first meeting of the Mais Alimentos Council, at the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (Mdic).

The European Parliament approved this Tuesday (16) an additional safeguard that facilitates the temporary suspension of reduced tariffs on the entry of agricultural products from Mercosur. In practice, there could now be a temporary suspension of tariff preferences on agricultural imports from South American bloc countries, if these imports harm European Union producers.

MEPs approved, by a large majority, additional safeguard measures to protect European farmers. Of the 662 parliamentarians present, 431 voted for, 161 against and 70 abstained.

With this decision, it is expected that the biregional agreement will be signed on Saturday, in Foz do Iguaçu, after 25 years of negotiations.

Regarding family farming technology, the minister said Brazil has exceeded the 40% target, reaching 47% this year. Mechanization reaches 27%. “It is therefore a more technified, more mechanized family farming. The mechanization and technicalization of family farming were very low,” he underlined.

After the meeting of the Mais Alimentos Council, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep) launched a notice aimed at the Technological Challenge for the development of a small, low-cost tractor, adapted to the reality of family farming, in addition to a set of agricultural tools, worth BRL 60 million.

A technical cooperation agreement was also signed between Finep and the National Union of Cooperative Solidarity Organizations (Unicopas), with the aim of expanding the access of cooperatives regularly linked to Unicopas to Finep’s financing lines.