PROFILE
Maurício Antônio Lopes was born
in Bom Despacho and has been ser-
ving as Embrapa president since
2012. He got a degree in Agronomy
from the Federal University of Viço-
sa (MG), a Master’s degree in Gene-
tics from the University of Purdue
(USA), PhD in Molecular Genetics
from the University of Arizona (EUA)
and worked as a researcher for the
Agriculture Department at FAO/ONU
(Rome-Itlay). He worked as a resear-
cher with the Minas Gerais Agricultu-
ral Research Corporation (Epamig);
since 1989, he has been with Embra-
pa. At the corporation, he served as
researcher and was the head of the
Genetic Enhancement Program of
Cornandassistant coordinator of the
Research and Development Depart-
ment (P&D) at Embrapa Corn and
Sorghum and at Embrapa Genetic
Resources and Biotechnology, head
of the P&D Department, P&D Board
of Directors and Coordination of the
Labex Coreia, international coope-
ration program by Embrapa Asia. He
is a member of the Scientific Coun-
cils of the Global Panel in Agricultu-
reandFoodSystems, inLondon, Uni-
ted Kingdom; Global Fund for the
Conservation of Cultivation Diversi-
ty, in Bonn, Germany; and of the Glo-
bal Center for Food, of the University
of California, Davis.
hectares to 59million hectares. The cultivat-
edareadoubled, but productionwent upby
more than 600%. It represents an extraordi-
nary increase inproductivity, whichavoided
the need for opening agricultural frontiers
and reduced the impact of the production
of food on the environment.
“Without any doubt, agriculture-ori-
ented research works fulfilled, in record
time, their fundamental role for Brazil to
climb to a position of self-sufficiency in
agricultural production, equally turning
into a protagonist as a supplier of food to
hundreds of countries around the globe”,
says the president of Embrapa. Nowa-
days, the corporation relies on an agenda
of research and contemporary innovation,
strongly focused on the solution of pres-
ent problems, but equally very focused on
the anticipation of risks, challenges and
opportunities inmore distant horizons.
TheCountry
stopped
purchasingfood
fromabroadand
becamearelevant
producer
STRONGPORTFOLIO
Embrapa ended 2016 with a portfolio
of upwards of 1,200 projects organized
in groups and research arrangements of
multiple focuses. “We shall always con-
tribute towards the production of cheap
and a variety of safe foods for the popu-
lation, besides lending support to Brazil
in its efforts to provide for food and nu-
tritional safety around the globe”, com-
ments Maurício Antônio Lopes. “Our
projects are focused on Brazilian agri-
business efforts geared towards expand-
ing production and productivity, based
on sustainable methods, seeking eco-
nomic and social gains, whilst preserv-
ing all natural resources.”
He insists that soaring demand for
food, fibers and bioenergy will require
technological sophistication that ratio-
nalizes the use of the natural resources
(water, soil, biodiversity) and all the ser-
vices needed for forestry and agricultur-
al production. He also considers it vital to
invest in innovations to add value to the
commodities, creating more opportuni-
ties for Brazilian agribusiness, especial-
ly in more competitive, sophisticated and
profitable markets. “We are equally fo-
cused on the fact that agriculture in the
future has to give its contribution towards
promoting people’s health and quality of
life, offering foods with higher nutrition-
al density and with new functionalities,
helping the world with dealing with the
challenge of nutritional safety”, he notes.
Finally, he maintains that the corpo-
ration is aware of the need to deal with
the ever-increasing stresses of different
origins – pests, diseases, climate relat-
ed events, etc – by virtue of the climate
changes, particularly in Brazil, where the
different environment types are particu-
larly challenging for agribusiness and the
production of food. “If we manage to face
all these challenges, whilst seeking new
opportunities in the future, we cannot af-
ford to forget that science and technolo-
gy are powerful development engines,
and we should never miss our connection
with the frontiers of innovation and tech-
nology”, he emphasizes.
Orlando Brito /Divulgação
89
