Project Portfolio
Ecologically-Based Production Systems
Healthy, sustainable and pesticide-free food
Photo : Ednaldo Araújo
Sustainability and technology
Ecologically-based production systems have proved to be a sustainable alternative to agriculture, eliminating the use of non-renewable external inputs that cause environmental and, consequently, also social and economic impacts. The demand for organic or agro-ecological products is also growing among consumers and, therefore, leverages the sector, which expands the cultivated area intended for this production every year.
In 2019, organic production systems totaled an area of 72.3 million hectares cultivated in the world, moving values of the order of 106 billion euros in the market. In Brazil, the area for organic farming covers 1.3 million hectares. Research conducted by the Association for the Promotion of Organics (Organis) showed that an increase of 4% in the consumption of organic products was recorded between 2017 and 2019. Data from the latest IBGE Agricultural Census show that, from 2006 to 2017, the number of agricultural establishments with Organic Production Certification grew over 1,000% in Brazil, jumping from 5,106 to 68,716.
Despite that, there are still obstacles to the increase in the number of organic systems or in agroecological transition, many of them linked to the need for the generation of new knowledge and technologies and subsequent dissemination to farmers. It is in this sense that this portfolio operates, with the aim of generating or improving technological solutions in agroecological or organic food production systems
Click here to download the portfolio booklet (content in Portuguese)
Innovation challenges
In line with its 2020-2030 Master Plan and with the Sustainable Development Goals established in the UN 2030 Agenda, Embrapa defined a strategy to organize its research, development, and innovation projects with the purpose of attending to the priority challenges related to ecologically-based production systems:
- Expanding the supply of fertilizers from renewable sources for use in organic production systems or in agroecological transition;
- Expanding the supply of genetic materials of vegetables, fruits, and grains that are suitable for organic production systems or in agroecological transition;
- Management of areas of traditional agricultural systems in the Amazon biome without the use of fire;
- Technifying the conduct of manual management practices in family farming areas that are submitted to organic management or in agroecological transition;
- Developing strategies for the management of spontaneous plants that are adapted and occurring in organic production systems or in agroecological transition;
- Enabling new biological inputs, practices, and agricultural processes that promote plant growth, phytosanitary management, and ecological balance in organic production systems or in agroecological transition.
Portfolio Management Committee
The Portfolio Management Committee works to define innovation challenges and oversee the portfolio of projects.
Chairperson:
- Jose Antonio Azevedo Espindola
- Embrapa Agrobiology
Executive secretary:
- Amaury da Silva dos Santos
- Embrapa Foods and Territories
Partnerships and Business
Embrapa's Innovation Model focuses on open innovation, which relies on partnerships since the beginning of each project for the sake of the market insertion of new assets. Find out how to jointly invent with Embrapa technological solutions that add value to business and enable innovation in the agricultural production sector.
Access the web page for the Business and Technology Showcase