China and Brazil work to transform the agriculture sector

teleSUR English

*The China-Brazil agreement signed in 2022 has allowed a technological-agricultural exchange *Small-scale farming has played a fundamental role in China in ensuring food security *Agrarian Reform in 1949 and 1950 eliminated large landlords and distributed all land to farmers *China provides clear legal and political support for the development of mechanization *In 2004 China subsided purchases of agricultural machinery increasing agricultural mechanization from 33 to 61% *The inauguration of the demonstration unit in Brazil is scheduled for February next year

Transcript

00:00 In the ever-changing landscape of global agriculture, China and Brazil have come together in a groundbreaking

00:05 partnership to revolutionize their agricultural sectors.

00:08 This agreement, forged last year, has paved the way for unprecedented cooperation and

00:12 modernization in both countries' farming practices, with a shared goal of meeting the

00:17 basic food needs of their populations.

00:20 This collaboration has already begun to yield promising results.

00:22 Join us as we dive into the story of this remarkable partnership and the impact it is

00:27 having on the agricultural landscape of China and Brazil.

00:31 A shipment of Chinese agricultural machinery is on its way to Brazil.

00:37 Equipment such as microtractors, brush cutters, seeders and planters will be headed to family-run

00:42 farms in Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, including settlements of

00:48 the Landless Rural Workers Movement, also known as the MST.

00:52 This is the result of an agreement signed in 2022 by the Northeast Consortium in Brazil,

00:57 Baobab, the China Agricultural University and China's Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers

01:03 Association.

01:04 The Brazil-China Agricultural Machinery Demonstration Unit will be installed in the municipality

01:09 of Apogi, which will be used to test and study the use of the machinery on northeastern soil.

01:16 The northeast region of Brazil only has less than 3% of the organization rate.

01:20 Nationally, this level doesn't reach 14%.

01:24 And in the southern region, family farming mechanization levels are close to 50%.

01:29 So this partnership will enable us to advance in the technology of family farming in the

01:34 northeast, which represents 50% of the total family farming in Brazil.

01:39 There are many similarities between family farming in Brazil and small-scale farming

01:43 in China.

01:44 There are also many opportunities for cooperation in the field of agricultural mechanization

01:48 and agricultural modernization.

01:51 China's development model for peasants, which uses social services as a strategy to

01:55 boost communities, as well as China's small and medium-sized agricultural machinery products,

02:01 have certain adaptability to Brazil.

02:04 China has many mountainous areas.

02:07 I have been to Brazil twice, and there are also many mountainous areas in Brazil's

02:11 farmland.

02:12 Therefore, I believe we have many opportunities for cooperation, and this cooperation has

02:16 already started.

02:17 A study published last year by the Hunan Agricultural University and Hunan University of Science

02:23 and Engineering countered the view that agricultural mechanization only generates benefits if it's

02:29 implemented on a large scale.

02:31 The researchers showed that the application of machines to small-scale farming has played

02:35 a fundamental role in China in ensuring food security and eradicating poverty in rural

02:41 areas.

02:42 Next to cooperatives and SOEs, peasants represent more than 80 percent of agricultural production

02:48 in China and cultivate more than 70 percent of the country's arable land, according

02:54 to the latest agricultural census carried out in 2020.

02:58 On average, each peasant owns less than one hectare of land and most own half an hectare.

03:04 In 1959, as part of the Great Leap Forward development campaign, leader Mao Zedong asserted

03:09 that the fundamental way out of agriculture lay in mechanization.

03:14 As we all know, China carried out Revolution and then an agrarian reform in 1949 and 1950,

03:21 which eliminated large landlords and distributed all land to peasants.

03:25 Based on this agrarian structure of small production units, China gradually industrialized

03:30 its economy by producing machines for this type of peasant.

03:35 There are 8,000 tractor factories here.

03:37 In Brazil, we have four large tractor factories, all multinational and all directed towards

03:42 large properties, large machines.

03:45 Here in China, it is the opposite.

03:48 All factories with a tractor, harvester or farming implements are always aimed at small

03:53 units.

03:54 Under these production conditions, with so many small-scale farmers, we can also achieve

04:00 food security in China.

04:02 Total cereal production has remained above 650 million tons in the last eight years,

04:08 satisfying the basic food needs for the Chinese population.

04:12 For the development of mechanization, China provides clear legal and political support.

04:17 This includes operational subsidy policies and subsidies for the purchase of agricultural

04:21 machinery.

04:22 Furthermore, there is a solid research base, as well as a well-established industrial system.

04:28 Starting in 2004, China began granting subsidies for purchases of agricultural machinery.

04:34 From that year until 2015, the country allocated 120 billion yuan to subsidize the purchase

04:41 of more than 35 million machines.

04:45 During this period, the level of agricultural mechanization in China increased from 33 to

04:50 61 percent.

04:52 Currently, the figure has reached 73 percent.

04:56 After the policy began, the government made adjustments to the system and began to directly

05:00 subsidize farmers and no longer companies or financial institutions.

05:06 If subsidized funds were allocated directly to businesses, there would be the possibility

05:10 of precise seeking between businesses and government departments.

05:14 However, by advocating for payment for machinery purchases, subsidized funds are given directly

05:20 to farmers, allowing them to truly benefit from the national policy.

05:25 The three shipments of machines are scheduled to arrive in Brazil between November and December.

05:30 The inauguration of the demonstration unit in Apuji, as well as the start of use of the

05:35 machinery in other areas, should take place in February next year.

05:39 In addition to the importance of mechanization, there is another fundamental component that

05:44 this partnership will enable.

05:46 It is an exchange of knowledge and an exchange of knowledge in relation to public policies.

05:52 China has recently been a reference when it comes to the process of ensuring that public

05:55 policies reach communities.

05:58 So this approach will enable us to increasingly learn from the Chinese, and the Chinese will

06:04 also learn from the Brazilian experience with regard to threatening family farming.

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