The Virtual Lab of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Brazil was officially launched on Wednesday, August 8, by the Ministers of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, Mendes Ribeiro Filho, along with the Science and Technology Ministry of China, Wan Gang. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) in Brasilia.

The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Chinese research institution and Embrapa. Mendes Ribeiro congratulated the partnership between Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (Embrapa) and CAAS as a way of exchanging experiences in the agricultural area to increase production. "The advances in those researches with the purpose to increase the food supply and food security is in the interest of Brazil," he said. He also pointed out that from 1991 to 2012, the Brazilian production of grains increased 173%, while the crop area grew by only 52%.

Wan Gang recalled the necessity of the Asian country to increase productivity from the use of technologies, especially to meet their local demand. "We have approximately 22% of the world population in our territory. In the past nine years, we managed to expand production thanks to industry research, and Embrapa is fundamental in this process," said the Chinese Ministry.

According to the President of Embrapa, Pedro Arraes, the main goal for the partnership with Brazil is the exchange, characterization and evaluation of plant genetic resources to support the enhancing programs of the two countries. In turn, the Chinese institution intends to strengthen the exchange of research efforts in the area of advanced Biology, in themes such as molecular biology and transgenic.

The Virtual Laboratory of the CAAS results from the bilateral scientific cooperation between Brazil and China. In April 2011, the President Dilma Rousseff inaugurated the Virtual Lab of Embrapa (Labex China) at the headquarters of CAAS, in Beijing. In August, the researcher Damares de Castro Monte starts activities in Labex.

 

Source:
Ministry of Agriculture