|
| A Brazil that knows where it is going |
| SP, August 4th 2008 |
|
I am an optimist by conviction and I am always able to see the best that we have or that exists first. I loved reading the July 20 issue of Veja magazine, which included ample material about rural Brazil – Brazil spelled with a “z” (English spelling) due to the success of agribusiness.
For many, the portrait of the countryside depicted by the magazine may seem like today’s miracle. However, in the past 20 years, Brazilian farmers and producers of fertilizers, minerals for animal feed, feed, vitamins, vaccines, and medicinal products, along with Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), have invested heavily so that we could be where we are now.
We must make it clear, though, that there are still many port and logistic problems, which will make our agribusiness unviable if not resolved. Let us not confuse steel and iron ore with grains and fertilizers, because, for steel and iron ore, we have wonderful ports, railroads that really work, and logistics worthy of any first world country.
In agribusiness, on the other hand, we struggle with small ships, since, in this country, dredging is just a politician’s promise before election time. It is the kind of thing that starts, stops, starts again, stops, so we never really have a completely dredged Port. In addition, there are not enough terminals for solid bulk, liquid bulk, and containers throughout Brazil, as we have a continent for a country.
In order to advance well in the field, we need to create clear policies for land use and occupation of phosphate reserves and policies to guarantee the price of natural gas for long periods; only then will we be able to encourage a full return to growth for more domestic fertilizer producers.
We are on the right track, but we need the Government to make the necessary corrections and investments so that we can finally create the conditions to take our agricultural and livestock producers to the farthest corners of the world.
Despite the setbacks mentioned, I congratulate Brazilian agribusiness for the progress we have had in the past 10 years.
Elizabeth Chagas |
| |
|
|
 Points of View archive: Click here to see the full list. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
