The Fertilize 4 Life (F4L) Initiative
F4L began shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on global fertilizer and food supplies. Brazil imports about 25% of its fertilizers from Russia and was concerned about supply chain disruptions. FAS suggested to the Front Office that we reach out to Embrapa to see if we could develop mutually beneficial research on fertilizer efficiency with Brazil. Embrapa, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, is Brazil’s leading agricultural research institute. In March 2022, at the Embassy’s recommendation, Secretary Vilsack called his counterpart in Brazil in a show of solidarity where he mentioned USDA’s work to utilize fertilizers more efficiently.
FAS then recruited Embrapa, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS,) the University of Florida, Institute for Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF|IFAS) and the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) to set-up a series of workshops on fertilizer-use efficiency. In 2022 researchers from these institutions developed four projects: 1) Precision management, big data, and artificial intelligence; 2) Biological products, soil biology, and soil health; 3) New products, including fertilizer and bio-stimulants; and 4) More efficient use of existing nutrient sources. These research projects are projected to continue for four years (2023-2027).
F4L is funded by a grant from the USG’s Global Fertilizer Challenge. F4L was officially launched at a ceremony in Brasilia on April 26, 2023 marking the 50th anniversary of Embrapa. USDA, University of Florida, and Embrapa also signed an MOU on research cooperation at the ceremony.
The Backstory Between the United States and Brazil
The backstory between the U.S. and Brazil plays a vital role in this initiative. After World War II, the key U.S. policy goal towards Brazil was stopping communism in the country. U.S. policy makers believed that agriculture could be a driver for economic prosperity in Brazil that would buffer the country against communism. Brazil; however, until the 1970s was a food insecure country that needed to import most of its food to survive.
Beginning in the 1940s, the U.S. offered significant assistance to Brazil to help develop its agriculture. In the 1960s and 70s, USAID sponsored hundreds of young Brazilian agricultural scientists to obtain advanced degrees at more than 25 U.S. universities. Embrapa was created by the Brazilian government in 1973 to provide a national network for agricultural research and many of these scientists became the backbone for the institute.
Over the next 30 years, Embrapa ushered in an agricultural revolution in the country that made Brazil a world agricultural leader. For example, 25% of Brazil’s GDP is associated with agriculture and food. Today Embrapa is the leading institution in the world on tropical agriculture.
A Closer Collaboration between the United States and Brazil to Fight Global Food Insecurity and Climate Change
Because of these historical linkages, U.S. and Brazilian agricultural scientist have a long and close partnership. LABEX USA, which started in 1998 between Embrapa and USDA’s ARS on research cooperation, is an example of this close relationship. The U.S. and Brazil are two major agricultural powers and account for around 25% of world food production. Therefore, it is only fitting that the United States and Brazil, led by four world class research institutes, should supercharge this close relationship beginning with F4L to tackle the existential threats of food insecurity and climate change.
The outcomes of this collaboration will increase fertilizer-use efficiency, reduce dependency on imports, mitigate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and provide lasting solutions to advance sustainable agricultural systems in Brazil, the U.S., and globally. The F4L initiative is an example of how the U.S. and Brazil are sustainably feeding the world together.
