Sample Article
2023-06-20

Study suggests converting agri-food waste into feedstock to leverage circular bioeconomy

Study suggests converting agri-food waste into feedstock to leverage circular bioeconomy - Portal Embrapa Agri-food losses and waste generated in massive volumes from agroindustrial operations and consumption could be transformed into several products with high added value, such as bioplastics and advanced materials, to boost the so-called circular bioeconomy. This is shown in a joint study conducted by researchers from Embrapa, the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), and institutions from Finland, Austria, and Canada.

Sample Article
2023-06-20

Sowing cooperation for farmers in the South

On the morning of 8 September 2022, the sun began to rise in Recife, Brazil, and illuminated the Government Palace of Pernambuco. Fifteen thousand kilometres away, the same sun was setting in the afternoon in Beijing, over the China Agricultural University. Both places were the scene of an important moment for Brazil's northeastern family farmers. Chinese and Brazilian authorities there signed the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in agricultural mechanisation and energy.

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2023-08-22

Food production and fair trading

The production, processing and commercialization of food produced by peasants is an issue of strategic importance for the peoples. Who and how food production, distribution and sales, along with the strategic orientation of production, are central elements of food sovereignty. In this article, the Commercialization Front of Brazil’s MST shares with ROOTS the movement’s experience on the processes of commercialization for the production of the People's Agrarian Reform.

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2023-10-24

The illegal city: solving by knowing

In this article, the author details the Brazilian experience and points out that the relationship between habitat and violence is given by territorial segregation. Entire regions are occupied illegally, which coexists with illegality in conflict resolution: there is no law, no formal judgements, no state. This illegality is not the result of a confrontational attitude towards legislation, but rather the result of a lack of options. Solving this issue constitutes an important step to mitigate Brazilian social inequality in urban spaces.

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2023-11-28

November, black awareness month in Brazil

The month of November is known as "Black November" in Brazil because of Black Consciousness Day, celebrated on the 20th. It's a time when the fight against racism, the struggle for land, the feminist struggle and in defence of human rights are reinforced, while at the same time the profound social inequalities are highlighted, particularly due to racial issues. In Brazil, more than 56 per cent of the population claim to be black or brown, according to IBGE data from 2022. Despite the low representation in all layers of government and in senior positions in the public and private labour market, the work of black Brazilians has been gaining more prominence nationally and internationally. In this article, we provide a brief historical context for the important date of 20 November, briefly exposing racism in the country and telling you a little about black representation in Brazil.

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2023-12-19

Brasilia University and MST advance in cooperation for the creation of a Brazil-China family farming research center

With the collaboration of the International Association of for Popular Cooperation, Baobab, the China Agricultural University (CAU) develops alliances with the University of Brasilia and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in the areas of bioinputs and agricultural machinery for family agriculture. In 2015, China launched a plan to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers (by 2022, it had fallen by 15% to 50 million tons).

Sample Article
2024-02-06

Chinese university representatives visit UnB to learn about agricultural development technologies

In September 2023, an MoU establishing a cooperation for a Brazil-China center for research, development, and technology production in mechanization of family agriculture was signed by the University of Brasilia (UnB) and China Agricultural University (CAU).The International Association for Popular Cooperation, Baobab, has established a broader agreement between the countries for economic development and technological collaboration, which includes this particular activity.

Sample Article
2024-04-16

National Day of Struggle for Agrarian Reform in Brazil

17 April, which has become known in Brazil as the National Day of Struggle for Agrarian Reform, marks the massacre that took place in Eldorado dos Carajás in 1996, when military police from the state of Pará carried out a brutal act against 1,500 families of landless rural workers who were marching to demand the expropriation of land in the region.

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2024-11-20

Black Awareness Month and the debate on Environmental Racism

In Brazil, the month of November became known as “Black Awareness Month”, based on “Black Awareness Day” (November 20), which from 2024 will become a national holiday in the country. The concept of “environmental racism” is recovered in this context, where issues of class and race are related to the biggest victims of climate change.

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2025-05-07

National Agrarian Reform Fair

From May 8 to 11, 2025, São Paulo will host the 5th National Agrarian Reform Fair, organized by the MST. Ten years after its first edition in 2015, the event showcases agroecological products from landless workers across Brazil, while promoting food sovereignty, agrarian reform, and social justice.

Sample Article
2025-07-16

When Chinese Agricultural Machinery Arrives in Brazil, It Sows More Than Just Seeds

On the vast lands of Brazil, about 77% of agricultural production units are family farms, with tens of millions of farmers bearing the responsibility of feeding the nation. Unlike the highly mechanised agro-industrial systems, around 70% of the food on Brazilians’ tables is produced by smallholder farmers. Yet, these farmers have long faced multiple challenges: outdated farming tools, labour shortages, and stalled land reform. For them, using agricultural machinery is not only a matter of improving productivity—it is also a pursuit of social justice, a form of daily resistance and perseverance. This makes new cooperation and transformation especially urgent and necessary.

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2025-07-30

China in Three Acts: Science

We present an excerpt from the article ‘China in Three Acts’ written by Suzi Huff Theodoro, professor in the Postgraduate Programme in Environment and Rural Development at the University of Brasilia (UnB).

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2026-01-21

MST Adopts Bioinputs as a Strategy to Advance the Massification of Agroecology

Driven by the need to advance the agroecological transition and scale up ("massify") a model of agriculture anchored in agroecological practices and techniques in balance with nature and preserving the life of all living beings, the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) has spent the last five years deepening its mastery and articulation of traditional wisdom, ancient knowledge, and new technologies to advance the Popular Agrarian Reform project across the country.

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2026-01-29

IARAA: Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement Launches AI tool to Support Agrarian Reform

Drawing on Chinese technology, the AI is fundamentally built by Brazilian popular movements. A new technological tool aims to transform agricultural production in Brazil by combining cutting-edge computing with the traditional knowledge of popular movements. The platform, called IARAA, is an artificial intelligence system launched at the 14th National Meeting of the MST: "The fight against imperialism is central today" in Salvador, Bahia.