Brazil: Overcoming is the word of the Nation.
Publicado em 16/05/2024
Divulgação
Mr. Gedeão Pereira, The president of Farsul
Published on Rural Business Magazine
*José Luiz Tejon
Regarding the climate tragedy that happened in the south of the country, to face such a serious dramatic situation requires courage and determination to be overcome. Brazil is a nation that has faced suffering along its history, and we can find it registered throughout the country.
However, we all know that living on Earth has always been and will always be an exercise where courage, cooperation and creation must prevail.
Roberto Rodrigues, a virtuous leader of Brasilian Agribusiness, himself a reference for cooperativism, once told me "We need to face the 4 nowadays Horsemen of the Apocalypse:
Food insecurity, energy insecurity, social inequality and climate change".
Therefore, at this very moment, where the world is politically polarised and divided, we need to "reset" life on Earth, to a mindset where the agri-food system becomes: ""a health system in every sense, from human health to the health of our planet, I mean, a system of citizenship and anti-polarisation, a global reunification", as recently defined by the creator of the agribusiness concept in the world, Professor Ray Goldberg,
Now, at this very moment, it is fair to focus all of our attention and help on the humanitarian tragedy that has befallen Rio Grande do Sul.
The president of FARSUL (Rio Grande do Sul State Agriculture Federation) Mr.Gedeão Pereira, said: "This isn´t time for ideologies, we need to embrace all help to support the Governor, receive all federal help and also from all states".
I spoke with the Brasilian Rice Industry Association (Abiarroz) and the Federation of Rice Producers' Associations of Rio Grande do Sul, (Federarroz), entities acting at the same sector, about rice, an essential item in the Brasilian's basic food basket, having the state of Rio Grande do Sul being responsible for around 70% of production.
From both of them I heard that, even under that terrible circumstances caused by the uncommon floods, there is no forecast of product shortage.
And in this sense, it makes no sense to proclaim that Brazil will import rice, at the exact moment we are seeing rural producers fiercely fighting for what they can still harvest and protecting their silos containing the product already harvested and stored. News published in a hasty manner will only push discourage to these producers who, in desperation, have even harvested underwater.
The impact of the tragedy in the South certainly hurts and scars the entire Brasilian nation.
Regarding Agribusiness, we´ll inevitably feel the effects on prices, logistics operations, and inputs. What we can do and should expect, is nothing more but strong and continuous action of the leaders of production chains in search of national strategic planning united and integrated with Science, to face and overcome a global problem where Brazil, even in the face of such a catastrophe, gather all the conditions to be the protagonist of the solution to the 4 Nowadays Horsemen of the Apocalypse, already mentioned: food and energy insecurity, social inequality and, mainly, about climate change.
These 4 nowadays Horsemen of the Apocalypse, referring to Roberto Rodrigues, already mentioned in this article, must be faced and can be defeated exactly through the keyword that is now highly present, and calling us, in a loud voice, to embrace our brothers from the South: Overcoming, is the word of the Nation.
Overcoming is born from courage, from the ability to quickly adapt to a new and unexpected situation and requires the creation of solutions to transform chaos into a new creative power.
For this to happen, however, cooperation and trust will be of vital concern to achieve success.
So, in the future, looking back over these immense and sad challenges, certainly we´ll have the honour to state: "Our suffering and efforts weren´t in vain".
Ariano Suassuna, a great Brasilian writer, always inspires me with the legacy of his intelligent phrase which says: "The optimist is a fool, the pessimist is boring! I´m a Hopeful Realist!"
Therefore, inspired by legitimate warriors, those real-life heroes who come up exactly in the most difficult times, able to change the world for the better with words of wisdom, I'm left with Suassuna's "Hopeful Realist".
After the tragedy that struck the State of Rio Grande do Sul, none of us will be the same.
Solidarity and the creation of the new, after chaos, will be the inspiration for all Brasilians, along with the hard mission of building a strong national feeling of character.
Let's evolve because "Overcoming is the word of the Nation".
All our love to the people from Rio Grande do Sul, at such hard times which will be overcome.
*José Luiz Tejon - PhD in Education-Universidad de La Empresa/Uruguay; Master's degree in Art Education and History of Culture - Mackenzie University; Journalist and Publicist - Harvard, MIT and PACE/USA / Insead in France Specialisation Academic Coordinator of Master Science Food & Agribusiness Management at Audencia in Nantes/France and FECAP/ Brazil. Managing Partner at Biomarketing and TCA International. Professional Head at Agro Anefac. Writer author and Co-author of 35 books. Agro Personality Award 2023. ABAG. Former director of Grupo Estadão, Agroceres and Jacto S/A.
