Embrapa

Embrapa is short for Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, or the Brazilian

The Economist: Correspondent's diary 2010

But Embrapa is always looking to find ways for all crops to bloom.

Scientists Help Make Brazil An Agriculture Dynamo 2010

In turn, under a directive from Lula, Embrapa is sending its scientists as near as Venezuela and as far as Mozambique to help improve production.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

In turn, under a directive from Lula, Embrapa is sending its scientists as near as Venezuela and as far as Mozambique to help improve production.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

Opponents include researchers, consumer groups, environmental groups, and even groups that have traditionally been pro-transgenic, such as Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Company, a public entity which has supported GMOs), Farsul (Agricultural Federation of Rio Grande do Sul), and Federarroz (Federation of Rice Grower Associations of Rio Grande do Sul).

Home Verena Glass 2010

In 1973, whipsawed by oil shocks and facing the challenges of feeding the country's burgeoning population, the military dictatorship then ruling Brazil founded Embrapa.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

That has made the Brasilia headquarters of Embrapa, which stands for the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp., an essential stop for foreign agriculture ministers and other dignitaries curious about how Brazil made the Cerrado green.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

Such work can be found at 45 Embrapa labs nationwide, each of which is entrusted with improving the crops common to Brazil's far-flung regions, like the palm oil produced in the Amazon.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

By the 1980s, with hundreds of American-trained Brazilian scientists at work at Embrapa, the Cerrado began its transformation and Brazil went from exporting coffee, cacao and sugar to developing dozens of major products for export.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010

Embrapa administrators knew their endeavor would not be fulfilled overnight, so they started by sending 1,200 young scientists to the best American and European universities for their master's degrees and doctorates.

Brazilian scientists turning nation into an agro-power Juan Forero 2010