by ISAURA DANIEL
Frademir Saccol is Brazilian and, until late 2008, lived a peaceful life in the city of Guaíba, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, working on agricultural financing projects in the region. Saccol is still working in agriculture, but now, instead of Rio Grande do Sul, he lives in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in Africa.
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A similar movement took place earlier, around forty years ago, heading to countries in South America, like Paraguay. Now, with opportunities in neighboring countries almost finished and due to the expensive land, Brazilian agriculture has started showing up in Africa, here and there, but promising to grow.
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“The government provides concessions for use, for up to 50 years, with possible extension for another 50,” said Vale. For this, however, it is necessary to present and get approval of a project with the government.
Pinesso Group, from Mato Grosso, also aims to start producing in Mozambique, according to director Gilson Pinesso. The company already plants soy, corn, cotton and beans in Sudan, another African country that has received Brazilians interested in cultivating its land with open arms.
The crops Gilson uses in Sudan, for example, belong to the government, are offered to him for free. The group also received local financing, from Sudanese banks, for the purchase of machinery, tractors and seeds.
But what are the advantages of producing abroad? Those who traveled to Africa show many, each related to the reality found. “The land is better, richer in phosphorus and potassium, with 80% clay. In Brazil we have very acid land, and much cost goes into lime,” said Pinesso, regarding the cultivation area in Sudan, the Blue Nile region.
“We are also closer to the consumer market, the Asian,” he said. According to him, the production cost is 50% lower, the price paid for the product is higher and logistics is cheaper. Production this year will be shipped to Asia and the transport cost there is US$ 40 lower, per ton, than it would be if shipment was from Brazil.
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