China deepens agriculture cooperation with BRICS nations

Photo taken on Jan. 18, 2021 shows Longping High-Tech Brazil, a Chinese-invested company owned by Longping Agriculture Science Co., Ltd., in Cravinhos, Brazil. [Xinhua]

CHANGSHA -- It is still harvest season in Mato Grosso, Brazil, but farmer Eleonor Ogliari is already reserving corn seeds from the China-Brasil Agriculture Science Industrial Park, ready for the next planting season.

Mato Grosso is the largest corn-producing state in Brazil, with an annual output of about 40 million tonnes of corn, a large part of which is used for export.

Since 2019, Ogliari has been planting corn varieties provided by Longping High-Tech Brazil, a Chinese-invested company owned by Longping Agriculture Science Co., Ltd. During this time, the planting area has expanded massively, now covering some 50,000 mu (about 3,330 hectares).

The industrial park where the seeds are stored was established in 2019 by Longping Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., with the aim of integrating emerging markets globally and a strong emphasis on BRICS countries.

The park is expected to promote the integration of precision agriculture, field monitoring and mapping and other advanced agricultural technologies, creating new development opportunities for agricultural trade and investment, and radiating them out to developing countries.

"After purchasing corn seeds, the park will track the whole production process and the planting situation, and provide planting guidance and follow-up maintenance services, which is very intimate," Ogliari said.

With the corn varieties from Longping, the yield per mu exceeded 640 kg in 2021, bringing about 50 million yuan (about 7.4 million U.S. dollars) in income, the farmer added.

BRICS countries are important producers and consumers of agricultural products and play an important role in the global food system.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said, "I highlight agricultural cooperation as one of the essential measures among the various discussion topics at the BRICS meeting. The success of these measures may result in achieving food self-sufficiency and balancing trade between countries."

Hunan Province, an important agricultural base in central China, established an international commerce platform in October 2019 to promote Hunan's produce within Russia.

Lei Shaoxiang, chairman of the platform's operating company, said that, based on deep cooperation with large Russian supermarket chains, the platform has established a cross-border e-commerce trading platform, built several standardized overseas warehouses, and organized its own logistics fleet.

As of the beginning of 2022, the export value of agricultural products of the platform's partner enterprises had exceeded 30 million U.S. dollars.

Tang Xiaoyang, director of the international relations department at Tsinghua University, said that, with the expansion of economic and trade exchanges between BRICS countries and other multilateral mechanisms, BRICS countries can establish their own food trade mechanism, which not only promotes the prosperity and development of agriculture in these countries, but also provides a wide range of high-quality food for their people. 

Farmer Eleonor Ogliari checks corns in his field in Mato Grosso, Brazil, Aug. 9, 2021. [Xinhua]