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From Agriscience to Agribusiness pp 429–444Cite as

The Role and Impact of Public Research and Technology Transfer in Brazilian Agriculture

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Part of the book series: Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management ((ITKM))

Abstract

The public sector played a pivotal role in transforming a traditional agriculture in Brazil into a modern one by leading the agricultural research and development (R&D) network in the country and by providing the majority of funds to R&D activities. The spillover effects arising from agricultural R&D were not restricted to the primary sector. A vibrant agricultural sector creates sizable markets for industrial and service sectors if they can deliver quality products at competitive prices. More broadly, the success of this science-based agriculture in Brazil provided the means for ample improvements in food and nutritional security; expanded opportunities for employment and income generation in agricultural (and associated) value chains; a more positive balance of trade; and a substantial attenuation of inflationary pressures. In the coming decades, the value of Brazilian agriculture to society will eventually be even bigger, as the so-called bio-economy gets strengthened. However, it is imperative to encourage a more intense engagement of the private sector in agricultural R&D activities in Brazil.

Successful technological scaling-up will depend upon multi-stakeholder approaches. Knowledge exchange, capacity development and strengthening, technology transfer, extension services, and well-functioning input and market chains, to minimize detrimental effects of market imperfections on technology adoption, are key components to foster the adoption of technologies. In particular, a more widespread and inclusiveness technological adoption in Brazilian agriculture will depend on successful approaches to minimize market imperfections’ effects.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Despite those incentives, it is important to note that the overall level of incentives to Brazilian agriculture has been low compared to other countries. For example, considering the metric provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the producer support estimate (PSE), Brazilian farmers received incentives averaging only 1.6% of total gross farm receipts from 1995 to 2014. The corresponding values to the farmers in the USA and Europe in the same period were 13.5% and 28.3% of the total gross farm receipts, respectively (data available at https://www.oecd.org/tad/agricultural-policies/producerandconsumersupportestimatesdatabase.htm)

  2. 2.

    More precisely, Embrapa was created by the federal law 5851, from December 1972, and effectively installed on April 26, 1973. When Embrapa was created, it incorporated the former research structure of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, the “Departamento Nacional de Pesquisa Agropecuária.”

  3. 3.

    Based on ASTI-IFPRI’s database on agricultural research (available at www.asti.cgiar.org/data). Values based on constant 2011 PPP dollars

  4. 4.

    Please see Embrapa’s 2015 social balance, available at http://bs.sede.embrapa.br/destaques.html (information accessed on April 10th, 2017).

  5. 5.

    Such a social return is very impressive to the overall Brazilian economy. For example, in 2016, the gross value of agricultural (crops + livestock) production totaled ca. R$ 552 billion, according to Brazil’s Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA 2017). Thus, Ceteris paribus, Embrapa’s returns to society would potentially generate such an innovation flow that would eventually be translated into doubling the size of agriculture’s annual gross value of production every quarter of a century.

  6. 6.

    Available at http://bs.sede.embrapa.br/1998/tdtsoc4.htm (information accessed on April 10, 2017)

  7. 7.

    These estimates were based on the USDA-Economic Research Service’s database, assumptions, and methods. This work is led by USDA-ERS’s researchers Keith Fuglie and Nicholas Rada. Data available at www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/international-agriculture-productivity

  8. 8.

    http://www.cepea.esalq.usp.br/br/pib-do-agronegocio-brasileiro.aspx

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa, Brasilia, Brazil

    Geraldo B. Martha Jr & Eliseu Alves

Authors
  1. Geraldo B. Martha Jr
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  2. Eliseu Alves
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geraldo B. Martha Jr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes

  2. Department of Information Systems and Technology Management, GWU School of Business, Washington, DC, USA

    Elias G. Carayannis

  3. School of Production Engineering & Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Crete, Greece

    Evangelos Grigoroudis

  4. Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation, IUNG-PIB, Pulawy, Poland

    Stelios Rozakis

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Martha, G.B., Alves, E. (2018). The Role and Impact of Public Research and Technology Transfer in Brazilian Agriculture. In: Kalaitzandonakes, N., Carayannis, E., Grigoroudis, E., Rozakis, S. (eds) From Agriscience to Agribusiness. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67958-7_21

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