Ministers, Milho, and Meat

We got up and had breakfast as usual, eating cakes, fruits, and pão de queijo. We filed onto the bus and drove an hour away to Embrapa, a large agricultural research company. When we got there, they gave a short presentation about the company and Brazil. The company has 47 research stations all over the country of Brazil. They then filed us on a smaller bus, and we drove across the street to observe some of their research plots. They first showed us the corn and soybeans they were working with. The studies consisted of the effects that nitrogen fixing bacteria had on soybeans versus actually placing nitrogen in the soil. It was a pretty interesting study! They were testing the overall yield that they would produce under each condition. This research is relevant and holds importance to all agriculture in the Cerrado region of Brazil due to the lack of available nitrogen in the soil to grow crops effectively and efficiently.

Next, they took us over to another area where they tested the right and wrong ways to plant mixtures of corn, soybeans and a plant called braccharea. They explained how growing this grass as a cover crop is  great due to how aggressively it grows. Their presence prevents all other weeds from growing. They would plant corn first and then braccharea. Additionally, the vet there discussed how growing it and having beef cattle on top of that was a great way for farmers to make more money in the end since the cattle are only present for smaller amounts of time and the rest of the time can be utilized to grow other crops.

We then left for lunch and ate at a place that was recommended to us by the workers at Embrapa called Fogão Goeano. It was an all you can eat buffet and was very good. There was a great variety of foods, from many different meats to many different fruits. After this, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the Ministry of Agriculture in the center of Brasília.

We first were led to a private meeting with the Secretary of Political Relations. He gave a short presentation about Brazil’s agriculture in relation to ours and then did a Q and A session. They even had their own photographer taking photos of us and for us. We got a photo and went on our way to meet with a individuals in the department of Agropecurarea, or the office that handles agricultural zoonoses and food and drink safety among other things. They each told us about their jobs, all having to do with food and drink safety. We learned that Brazil had completely eradicated hoof and mouth disease in the country. We went to see some important rooms in the building like conference rooms and where the minister would meet with foreign diplomats. We went to the Agriculture museum and saw tons of artifacts from the beginning of Brazil to a plaque that will be dedicated soon for a recent accomplishment. We then headed to the Library of Agriculture and got to see their book systems as well as tons of important documents from even 200 years ago. The book system was made in the United States. The librarian told us that some books were from the imperial age of Brazil. It was awesome!

We then headed up the elevator to the 9th floor, where the minister of agriculture’s office was located. Half of us made it up into his office, but we couldn’t figure out what happened to the others. We got separated taking elevators up to the floor and those of us in his office admired the view of the Congress building and surrounding area while we waited. It turned out that the other half got stuck in their elevator for maybe 10 minutes! Eventually though they made and the minister spoke to us for a time, with Shirota translating. He spoke for a time about his position and how deforestation is not what it seems in Brazil. Additionally, he spoke about the conservation of the native Indians in the Amazon.

Next we left for the hotel. Soon after, we went to dinner at a restaurant called Speed Lunch, which was a typical burgers, stroganoff, and rice and beans. The food was pretty good. We then went back to the hotel and retired for the night! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!