The Tropical Belt: "Nations for one Planet, one Health”
Publicado em 24/01/2025
Divulgação
The Tropical Belt
Brasil + Tropical Belt Nations for Global Health - 3rd Seminars in Nantes, France in February 2025
Published on 20th Jan.2025
* José Luiz Tejon for Radio Eldorado/Estadão S.Paulo
Disclosure: The Tropical belt nations: "One planet, one health”
We will hold three seminars at the Audencia Academy campus in the city of Nantes, France, and also at the “Paris Agricultural Salon” involving international students, academics and leaders to discuss the vital importance, for the future of humanity, of the tropical belt of the planet, between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. This approach is not new, and I had already heard passionately about the subject, in the words of leaders such as Mr. Ney Bittencourt de Araújo, then president of Agroceres (a young company, 70 years old, an exponent in Animal Nutrition, Swine Genetics, Corn Seeds, etc.) and its researchers and geneticists, with whom I had the honor of working for 15 years. I also spoke directly with the former Agriculture Minister, Mr. Cirne Lima, who shared insights about his contributions to the early development of Embrapa (Brasilian Agricultural Research Corporation) in 1970.
And I always hear from Mr. Roberto Rodrigues, an Agroeconomist at the Agribusiness Centre of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in São Paulo, in all his conferences and, in the same way, I heard personally from the excellent late Mr. Alysson Paolinelli, (Minister of Agriculture) an eternal symbol of the transformation of Brasilian Agriculture, the following phrase: “What brought the world this far was temperate climate Agriculture and it will be will be tropical Agriculture to carry it from now on ”.
With these three significant mentions, I´d like to include hundreds of other Brasilians experts who shared and keep sharing the strategic importance of food, energy, environmental, social security and also for the dignity of human life, of the need for coordination and cooperation among the nations located in this part of the planet.
Brasil has achieved magnificent scientific and technological knowledge, generating on “Tropical Belt of the Earth” the only country that has risen to the status of 4th largest agricultural country in the world, the largest producer in several categories, the only country on the planet holding the capacity to double its Agriculture in the next 12 years, without cutting down a single tree and, in addition, develop cooperation with all the nations along the Tropical Belt, enabling effective actions against hunger, misery, poverty, unworthy illegal immigration and still working towards the achievement of the 17 SDGs – UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In this way, we follow the current concept that takes over the developed world: “One Planet One Health” because Agribusiness has become synonymous of “Health” in a broad principle of the word.
We have typical examples of cooperation from Embrapa, universities, agronomic institutes, companies, and cooperatives, but we need much, much more!
During the seminars in Nantes, we´ll show the world map with its Polar and Subpolar, Temperate, Subtropical, and Tropical regions. These areas can be easily googled or on a printed map, where is clear the importance of this strip that we call the “Tropical Belt.” The Earth, being a flattened sphere at the poles, therefore denser on its central area, hence the origin of the name “belt.”
The surveys reveal: Tropical Zones concentrate the largest arable area, essential to feed the world in this 21st century and beyond.
The planet Earth accommodates about 39% of its area in the tropical belt, while the remainder, including the subtropics (also influenced by tropical knowledge), includes the frozen polar areas.
The Earth's Tropical Belt has the largest forest cover (more than 36%) on the planet, the masterkey to mitigating the climate changes that threaten our world.
Countries in Latin America and Caribbean account for more than 25% of fruit production in the world, and more than half of global population growth by 2050 will occur in tropical countries, mainly in Africa and Asia.
To emphasise this, countries along the Tropical Belt hold 31% of the planet's fresh water!
If we look at planet Earth over its tropical and subtropical zones and exclude the polar zones, it´s very easy to recall the words of afore mentioned Mr. Alysson Paolinelli: "Those who brought the world this far were the temperate countries; from now on, it will be the Tropical ones."
It's simple, super simple, just stop and look at the world map.
Therefore, we will hold these three seminars in France in February, to raise the level of dialogue in favor of the sustainable future of humanity, in addition to elucidating, more consistently and differently from the polarised dialogues between BRICS and Trump's USA,, I mean North versus South Geoeconomics.
It will be: The Tropical Belt Nations, for One Planet One Health.
The cooperation of the tropical and subtropical nations of the planet for the legitimate security of life on Earth!
We hope to hold, sooner than later, a global Tropical and Subtropical Convergence in Brasil to raise the realistic level of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and security of life on Earth in every sense.
For now, we're gonna kick off these seminars at the Audencia Academic Campus in Nantes and at the Agricultural Show in Paris.
Au revoir, a Bientot. Ceinture Tropicale!
*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 37 books. Agro Personality Award 2023. ABAG. Former director of Grupo Estadão, Agroceres and Jacto S/A.
