China donates more machines to Brazilian family farmers

Brasil de Fato

Fifty family farming machines from China have been donated to Brazil under an agreement between the China Agricultural University (CAU, in English), the University of Brasilia (UnB, in Portuguese) and the International Association for People’s Cooperation.

Machines such as harvesters, planters and fertilizers, among others, will be tested at the University of Brasilia’s Água Limpa Farm and in settlements of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST, in Portuguese) under the Cooperation Agreement for Testing and Management of Agricultural Machinery of the Brazil-China Science and Technology Residency.

China’s rate of arable land per capita is 0.08 hectares, well below the world average. By comparison, the figure for Brazil is more than three times higher: 0.27, according to 2021 data from the World Bank. Along with the agrarian reform carried out at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China, starting in 1949, the low amount of agricultural land boosted the development of machinery for small-scale farming. 

Current cooperation also involves the Brazil-China Science and Technology Residency, through which Brazilian citizens will study in China and vice versa.

CAU’s vice president, Du Taisheng, says partnerships are based on the fact that Brazil and China have common questions about the future.

“Who will be planting in the future?” asks Du, saying that this is a central concern at the CAU. He believes the question probably applies to Brazil too, as new generations may be less inclined to engage in traditional, labor-intensive farming practices. “Without modernization, agriculture may attract fewer and fewer people over time.”

Recently, the China Agricultural University held an event as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the People’s Republic of China, with guests such as Brazilian universities, social movements and government officials.

Cooperation Agreement for Testing and Management of Agricultural Machinery of the Brazil-China Science and Technology Residency Program between UnB, BaoBab and CAU. Beijing, China / Chen Juan

The Brazilian ambassador to China, Marcos Galvão, attended the event. He said that, in addition to the possibility of investment and cooperation due to Brazil being back on track for reindustrialization, cooperation to adopt machines in family farming has an important social aspect.

“It would not only increase the productivity of family farming, which is an important basis of food for Brazilians, but it would also have an impact on the well-being of families who dedicate themselves to growing food,” said the ambassador.

The ambassador, in post since 2022, says mechanization makes family farming much less of a burden.

Factories and agricultural machinery experience in Brazil

The Brazilian delegation also took part in China’s International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition from October 26 to 28 in Changsha, China, the largest trade fair in Asia.

“We’re here to try to work together so that we can either produce some of these machines in Brazil or perhaps have an import mechanism to expand the presence of these machines in the Brazilian food production sector,” said Beá, a member of MST’s Production Sector.

For Débora Nunes, from the National Coordination of the MST, the fair, attended by more than 2,000 Chinese agricultural companies, is an example of how China prioritizes policies for the country’s peasant population. “We’re here to learn about the experiences of policies for rural agriculture,” says Nunes.

Reducing the drudgery of work is one of the main concerns among the organizations that were in China. This is even more worrying in the case of peasant women from Brazil’s northeastern region.

Mechanization in Brazilian family farming production could have a positive impact, especially for rural workers in northeast Brazil, where the mechanization rate is among the lowest in the country – less than 3%.

“We don’t even talk about double shifts. We now talk about intensive working hours, because you can’t separate the work at home from that at the farm: you’re planting and making lunch; you’re looking after the children and chickens, managing the small-scale production,” explains Conceição Dantas, an activist with the World March of Women.

Thus, looking at the example of machines that make flowerbeds, harvest fruits or help with the fertilization process, “is fundamental to reducing the harshness of women’s work on farms,” says Dantas.

Family farming as a milestone for the next 50 years

China’s internal approach to agriculture involves scientific cooperation between researchers, science and technology entities and government agencies. On the other hand, companies are seen as essential partners in supplying and improving machinery. The process is carried out in constant talks with food-producing farmers food, who present their demands.

Both sides think that partnerships of this kind will transform the character of Brazil-China relations over the next half-century.

“For the next 50 years, I believe we are entering another golden age,” says Du Taisheng, who says he is also very optimistic about the prospects for China-Brazil cooperation in the agricultural sector.

He said his university is committed to strengthening ties and cooperation with Brazilian universities, companies and rural communities.

Débora says the exchanges are important because “historically, Brazil-China relations have always been based on agribusiness, with an agriculture model that has caused many problems for Brazil”.

“We believe that the next 50 years must prioritize and strengthen family farming (…) because it guarantees the fight against hunger and inequality,” she says.