Brazil and Saudi Arabia are creating an inter-governmental working group focused on a pasture recovery programme in the South American country.
The partnership was confirmed by Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Favaro, who is currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Brazilian government wants to attract international investment to support the intensification of sustainable production.
This includes the recovery of low productivity pasture land in order to boost food production in Brazil without the need for deforestation, while also increasing the carbon capture of soils.
Brazil
The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) is currently on a campaign to secure international financial backing for what it describes as “the largest sustainable food production programme in the world”.
Saudi Arabia, which is seeking to secure food supplies while diversifying its economy away from a reliance on oil, has now agreed to create a working group with Brazil.
This group will structure and implement a joint partnership in the agricultural sector and agricultural inputs.
Saudi authorities will also work with the Saudi Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and companies in the sector country’s private sector to join the initiative.
For its part, SALIC has confirmed its interest in participating in the programme.
The company will create and coordinate a second working group to continue negotiations in the private sphere, identifying Saudi companies interested in the proposal.
The project developed by MAPA aims to recover and convert up to 40 million hectares of pastures, which would potentially double the food production area in Brazil without deforestation.
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has pledged to end deforestation by 2030.
The left-wing politician who came to power at the start of this year has made the issue a central part of his government’s environmental policy.
2,649km2 of rainforest was lost in the first six months of this year, down from 3,988km2 in the same period of 2022, according to the Brazilian government.