b'And then theres climate change. While the contribu- people like you and me, with many local and national tion of Latin America and the Caribbean to causing climateroutes and different trajectories linked in all types of change has been very small, today, Latin America and theinteractions.Caribbean emits about 10 per cent of global greenhouseFortunately, innovators like Celso Luiz Moretti, presi-gases. dent of Embrapa (the state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Many parts of this region are very vulnerable to cli- Research Corporation) are helping move the region into mate changes. If the current trends are not brought underthe future. Brazil is moving from being a food insecure control, by 2070, all of the continental mass of Latincountry to a net importer of food, fibre, and bio energy, America and the Caribbean will be under a temperaturehe noted.regime that is two degrees higher than today. That is aIf you can imagine back to the 1970s, we imported horror story for agriculture and for people living in ruralbeef from Europe, we imported milk from the U.S., we areas, Berdegu said. imported beans from Mexico. We do so much more right here at home now. The importance of investments Working for the Common Good in science, technology and innovation through public For a region that is very important for contra-season seeduniversities and the private sector are transforming Brazil production for countries like Canada and the United States,to become one of the agricultural powerhouses in the Berdegus warning was a stark one. Because the transfor- world, he said.mation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustain- Three pillars are responsible for this transformation, he able agri-food systems will require an immense effort ofsaid. The first pillar was the transformation of poor acidic innovation unlike anything farmers have seen in the 10,000soils into fertile land. The second pillar was adapting years since crops and animals were domesticated, a con- plants and animals to tropical conditions.certed effort is needed to reverse current trends. We brought soybean from China, we introduced soy-This transformation will not be a big bang happeningbean in southeastern Brazil, and then through breeding, overnight, Berdegu said. Nor will it be a single, unifiedgenetic improvement and adaptation now we are grow-or centrally planned process. It will require everyoneing soybean above the equator, he said. He noted wheat working in sync to create systems that work together toproduction in Brazil is on the rise.mutually benefit one another. The third pillar was the development of a sustainable It will be the sum of many actions and decisions byplatform of agricultural practices in Brazil like no-till.SEPTEMBER 2022GERMINATION.CA 33'