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Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

Website: http://www.embrapa.br/

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa is one of the largest national agricultural research organizations in the world, with forty research units and two thousand researchers spread throughout Brazil. Two of these research centres, one in Fortaleza (Northeaster) and other one in Rio de Janeiro (Southeaster) are devoted exclusively to food post-harvesting and processing, with focus on quality and safety.

From the very beginning, on April 26, 1973, Embrapa has generated and recommended more than nine thousand technologies for Brazilian agriculture, reduced production costs and helped Brazil to increase the offer of food while, at the same time, conserving natural resources and the environment and diminishing external dependence on technologies, basic products and genetic materials.

Embrapa coordinates the National Agricultural Research System, with the participation of regional research organizations, universities, foundations, technical support and rural extension groups, cooperatives, farmers associations, non-governmental organizations, private companies and over seven thousand researchers.

Embrapa formally develops scientific and technological cooperation and exchange activities with more than 150 research institutions and international organizations, located in about 50 countries. Its researchers maintain a close professional relationship with professors, researchers and technicians from an even greater number of institutions, including universities, research centres, laboratories and private companies.

Embrapa maintains projects in International Cooperation in order to perfect knowledge of technical and scientific activities or to share knowledge and technology with other countries.

In South America, Embrapa participates in cooperative programs with national research agencies from Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay (Southern Cone) as well as Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela (South America tropics).

In Latin America and in Africa, Embrapa has been providing assistance and technical support to governmental institutions from Bolivia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in the design and execution of development programs and projects for the agricultural sector.

From 1998 onwards Embrapa has established a pioneer way of international partnership through the installation of Virtual Laboratories Abroad, LABEX, first in the United States (Washington D.C.) and secondly (2002) in France (Montpellier).