Minister Carlos Fávaro Highlights Green Partnership for Agriculture Between MAPA, Embrapa, and JICA

Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro, took part on Tuesday (18) in the presentation of the new International Technical Cooperation Project developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The initiative focuses on diagnosing degraded pastures and monitoring their recovery and sustainable agricultural intensification in the Cerrado biome. 

During the ceremony, the minister emphasized that the project builds on five decades of scientific and technological advances in Brazilian agriculture, highlighting science as the foundation for transforming degraded lands into high-performance, sustainable production systems. 

“Identifying degraded areas through science and financing their recovery—this is exactly what we are formalizing today. This project with JICA reinforces the new model of sustainable growth that Brazil is consolidating,” Fávaro stated. 

The announcement took place during the main panel of the Sustainable Agriculture House at COP30, in the AgriTalks program. The project will develop, test, and implement technologies to monitor, restore, and convert degraded pastures into sustainable agricultural systems in the Cerrado. It integrates advanced data generated by Japanese satellites with soil-health indicators, metrics of sustainable intensification, and economic analyses, providing tools to improve land-use efficiency, reduce degradation, and support public policies such as the Green Way Brazil Program. 

Fávaro reiterated that Brazil can continue to expand agricultural production without increasing land conversion. 

“We do not need to expand over the Cerrado or over forests. Brazil will continue to grow with sustainability,” he affirmed. 

The minister also highlighted the longstanding partnership with JICA, noting that the agency has played a decisive role in the evolution of agricultural innovation in Brazil and continues to be a strategic partner in advancing scientific cooperation. 

A Cooperation Memorandum was signed during the event by Minister Fávaro, Embrapa President Silvia Massruhá, and JICA Vice President Katsura Miyazaki. The document reinforces the shared commitment of Brazil and Japan to a more innovative, resilient, and climate-aligned agricultural model. 

Massruhá emphasized that the partnership strengthens a historic cooperation and consolidates the role of science in restoring degraded pastures and advancing more sustainable agriculture in the Cerrado. She explained that the project combines innovation, satellite data, and public policies such as the Green Way Brazil Program to increase productivity without expanding agricultural land, while supporting Brazil’s efforts to adapt to climate change. 

“We are building a long-term effort that integrates technology, soil health, and system diversification, demonstrating to the world that Brazil has real solutions for growing while preserving. This cooperation is a milestone that advances low-carbon agriculture and prepares us for the climate challenges of the years ahead,” said the Embrapa president. 

The project will run for five to ten years and is scheduled to begin in April 2026. 

Discussions between Embrapa and JICA began in 2024 and have since evolved into a comprehensive cooperation framework. Following a visit by Embrapa Cerrados to JICA’s headquarters in Tokyo, the project was expanded to include field and remote-sensing monitoring of agricultural intensification; the creation of a climate-risk zoning system specifically for pastures (ZARC Pasture); the development of a digital decision-support platform for producers and policymakers; technology-transfer actions; assessments of innovation impacts; and the formulation of climate-risk scenarios for pasture restoration and agricultural intensification. 

JICA Vice President Katsura Miyazaki noted that cooperation with Brazil has deep roots dating back to the 1950s and continues to inspire new initiatives focused on sustainability, climate resilience, and innovation. 

“The challenges we face are complex, but through shared knowledge, mutual trust, and collective action, we can build a more resilient and sustainable future. This new cooperation strengthens our historic partnership and establishes the foundation for an innovative, circular agricultural model capable of responding to climate change,” she stated. 

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