A team from Emater-MG closed last Friday (3/6) a technical mission to Zimbabwe, Africa. The visit was part of the Project Strengthening the Algodoeiro Sector developed between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Land, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, from the African country.

In addition to the Emater-MG team, the Brazilian mission organized by ABC included researchers from the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (Epamig). In the last stage of the trip, a field day was held at the Cotton Research Institute in the city of Kadoma.

The field day was an action established in the project for the transfer of technologies appropriate to the agronomic and socioeconomic conditions of Zimbabwe and for the training of Zimbabwean researchers, technicians and producers. On site, a demonstration unit was installed to compare the cultivation systems adopted in Zimbabwe and Minas Gerais.

"For us at Emater, this cooperation mission is an opportunity to learn a lot as well. We don't come here just to teach. Cooperation is a two-way street. We bring to Brazil experiences that will be very useful for Brazilian farmers", explained the state technical coordinator of Emater-MG Sérgio Regina.

The head of the Zimbabwe Cotton Research Institute, Washington Mubvekeri, said the agency's mission is to develop and disseminate cotton production technologies that are viable and practical to meet the needs of the country's cotton sector.

"We want these technologies to leave the Institute and play a crucial role in increasing cotton productivity in Zimbabwe. This workshop will be very important to us. The expectation is the creation of articulation and strong mechanisms for transferring technology from research to producers, cotton and other actors in the cotton value chain," Mubvekeri said during the view.

The demonstration unit at the Cotton Research Institute was jointly installed by Emater-MG, Epamig and Embrapa. The reference was the work with cotton developed in Catuti, in the north of Minas Gerais. Three plots were cultivated for comparison. One with the technology and spacing of planting used by producers in the Kadoma region. Another with the technology of the local institute and the third installment with the system used in Minas Gerais.

"The main difference of the technology adopted in Minas Gerais is the greater density of plants in relation to what is used in the Kadoma region. Although the crop has been through bad weather, both due to excess and scarcity of rain, the result was very good for the first year of experiment", explained the regional technical coordinator of Emater-MG Arquimedes Teixeira.

At the end of the experiment, there will be a comparison of the productivity and operating costs of each plot. During the field day, with the presence of local producers and technicians, the Brazilian group made a presentation on soil management, irrigation and good production practices. Cotton is the second agricultural product that contributes the most to Zimbabwe's national income. However, the country's productivity is still low because of rudimentary planting methods.

The Emater-MG team that went to Zimbabwe also had the company's CEO, Otávio Maia, and the technical director, Gelson Soares Lemes. In the first part of the trip, they participated in a seminar on rural extension, in the capital Harare, and presented the works developed by Emater-MG.

Source: Agrolink