Africa Up Close

Portuguese Translation of the Week

The Brazilian government signed an agreement with Senegal and Zimbabwe, as part of the More Food Program, in which it agreed to provide the funding necessary for the export of Brazilian machinery and equipment through the Export Financing Program (Proex).

O governo brasileiro assinou um acordo com os países africanos Senegal e Zimbábue dentro do Programa Mais Alimentos Internacional que prevê o financiamento das exportações brasileiras de máquinas e equipamentos agrícolas por meio do Programa de Financiamento às Exportações (Proex).

This article has been translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original version on Automotive Business, Brazil.

The memorandum was signed on Thursday, August 29^th at the Expointer Agricultural Show, by Ricardo Schaefer, the executive secretary of Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Amandou Kane, the Minister of Finance of Senegal, and by Thomas Bvuma, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Brazil.

“These agreements promote significant trade with the African Continent which in turn enables us to have dominance in these markets. There is great convergence. We assist in the development of these sister countries, with which we share a common destiny, and at the same time, we help develop our machinery industry,” said Schaefer during the signing of the agreement, also mentioning that the Brazilian government plans on expanding the capabilities and resources of the program over the next few years.

The Minister of Agrarian Development (MDA), Pepe Vargas, said that given the achievements obtained thus far, the More Food Program has become well known internationally and other countries are looking to adopt similar systems in which they import Brazilian machinery to modernize their agricultural activity.   “In this way, it is possible to increase technology and productivity on the field,” he commented.

According to Amandou Kane, Senegal’s minister of finance, his country bases its agribusiness on the Brazilian model and seeks to implement improvements in the areas of seed quality and cultivation, irrigation, and field mechanics. “I am sure that Brazilian equipment and machinery is the best for Senegal because they have the technology that fits our country’s agricultural landscape.”

Article translated by Anna Cardenas, Staff Intern for the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center.

Photo attributed to Africa Renewal on Flickr Commons.