Brand Agro do Brasil wants to awaken national passion, like football

In 1968, a newspaper report “The State of S. Paulo” warned: “Brazil will have to multiply its current food production tenfold, or it will be forced to stop the outbreak of industrialization due to lack of currency to pay for the growing volume of food imports, according to a report presented by Brazilian delegates to the IV Conference Latin American Food Production Conference, which took place in Buenos Aires”.

Half a century passed, and Brazil, in addition to becoming self-sufficient, became a source of food security for other countries, leading world exports of beef, chicken, soybeans, oranges, coffee and sugar cane, standing out also among the largest producers of cotton, corn, pork, tilapia, fruits and milk. Agriculture accounts for 27% of the country’s GDP, 20% of the employed population and 47% of total exports.

“50 years ago we were in an imminent situation of food insecurity. For a country, 50 years is nothing, it’s a generation. It’s like we won the hexa. We beat France, the United States, we beat everyone. And Brazilians need to know that. We need to tell this story to make agriculture a national passion, like football”, argues Ricardo Nicodemos, president of the Brazilian Rural and Agro Marketing Association (ABMRA).

Brand Agro do Brasil will showcase achievements that are undervalued

Nicodemos is heading the Marca Agro do Brasil project, which should be launched in the coming months and will have as its main objective “to awaken Brazilians’ feelings of admiration and pride for their country’s agriculture”.

A survey carried out in 2022 on Brazilian perceptions of agribusiness showed that the sector still has a lot to tell and myths to deconstruct. Despite being among the most admired sectors in the country, a warning light was raised by the fact that 30% of the population declared themselves unfavorable to agriculture, and of these, 51% were young people between 15 and 29 years old.

“In other words, it is the population that makes the most noise, that is most active on social media, that will be leaders tomorrow. We won’t be able to change this key overnight, this is gradual. But it is the sector’s responsibility to position itself and carry out this construction. We are going to carry out a brand building project, with actions at school, in the shopping mall, in the square, in the supermarket, on TV, on the radio, in external media”, highlights Nicodemos.

The idea is to work with information, objective data and visits to properties and agribusinesses to demystify deep-rooted stereotypes, whether it be the image of the character Jeca Tatu, by Monteiro Lobato – a miserable, passive and lazy farmer – or the other extreme, more recent fashion , which portrays the farmer in music videos as rich, throwing money around and showing off in luxury pickup trucks.

Tell the story of millions of small and medium producers

“It goes from eight to eighty. Another image is created that does not consider that we have around 5 million properties in Brazil, that more than 95% are small and medium-sized producers, and that they face great difficulty in providing food on a daily basis. But this does not reach society. We need to tell stories of overcoming. That guy who lived in a little mud and thatch house, and who now lives in a simple three-bedroom house, but managed to send his children to school, has a more comfortable life, but is not rich. He’s the one who produces the lettuce that you eat on your burger, while you’re working your ass off in the field,” explains the publicist.

The Marca Agro do Brasil project intends to produce content that also serves an external audience, from other countries, who are even more unaware of the foundations of national agriculture. The advisor for Climate Change, Environment and Energy at the European Union Delegation in Brazil, Laurent Javaudin, was introduced to the project during a conversation with journalists and members of ABMRA.

Javaudin pointed out that the image of Brazilian agribusiness in Europe is closely linked to the discourse of groups, activists, environmentalists, magazines and television channels that only focus on deforestation and fires in the Amazon.

Sustainability of Brazilian agriculture is still unknown

“Nobody talks about the Forest Code, about the conservation efforts of Brazilian producers, who have between 20% and 80% of their areas conserved. These policies are not explained to European citizens. I’ve been living in Brazil for two years, and now I understand. But it takes time, reading, lectures, talking a lot with producers. Furthermore, there is a lot fake news, partial information”, notes Javaudin.

The European advisor suggests a joint campaign, Europe and Brazil, aiming to smooth out rough edges and demonstrate the sustainability of Brazilian agriculture. “The fact is that Brazil is the world leader in exports, which means that in other parts of the world we can eat thanks to Brazilian producers. Brazil’s role in the world food system is not to create an organic farm, it is to allow the world with 9 billion people to eat”, he says.

On the other hand, says Javarudin, “I would really like the Brazilian government to help us explain well the rules we have prepared for our market, so that the value chains can continue and continue without problems in the coming years”.

The Marca Agro Brasil project intends, according to Nicodemos, from ABMRA, to help fill this gap. “As soon as we launch the platform in Brazil, it can be launched in Europe, the United States and other countries. Because it was designed as a global brand. It’s as if we were working with an international brand. The agro must not have color or splits. You must have self-sufficiency to create your narrative and take control of your story”, he concludes.