MST holds protests and land invasions in reference to “Red April”| Photo: Disclosure/MST

Minister Carlos Fávaro, of Agriculture, criticized this Monday (17) the invasion of a farm belonging to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) in Pernambuco by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), last weekend.

In a post on social networks, Fávaro called the invasion a “crime” and said that the area is dedicated to the development of sustainable agribusiness production techniques.

“Unacceptable! I have always defended that the vocational worker has the right to land. But to the land that is rightfully his! Embrapa, about to complete 50 years, is one of the greatest assets of our country. The agro produces sustainably based on research and all the development work promoted by Embrapa. Attempting to do so is far from being an occupation, struggle or demonstration. Attacking science, against sustainable production is a crime and a crime proper to denialists, ”he said.

Also on Monday (17), Embrapa stated that the invaded unit is made up of “arable land and preservation land in the Caatinga, belonging to the former Product and Market Services Unit (SPM)”.

The site, according to the company, is used for the “installation of various experiments and multiplication of basic genetic material of cultivars”, and that the invasion also reached preservation areas of the Caatinga, “compromising the lives of endangered animals, in addition to research for environmental conservation and sustainable use of the Biome”.

The MST, on the other hand, has classified the area as a “latifundia” and is asking for a settlement project for agrarian reform. About 600 families are camped in the federal area.