Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Minnesota Announces Agricultural Partnership With Brazil

  • 05/26/17

MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota (UMN) and Brazil are joining forces to tackle problems of viable productivity growth in agriculture, sustainably. The Labex-Flex-UMN partnership will bring together Brazil and Minnesota to address many shared agricultural problems between both entities, such as pests, disease, soil management, climate and other weather risk challenges. 

“Streamlining research collaboration between agricultural research powerhouses, such as Embrapa and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), accelerates science-based sustainable productivity growth in local and global agriculture,” says Phil Pardey, CFANS applied economics professor and director of the International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (InSTePP) Center. Both Brazil and Minnesota are important global agricultural regions, and will mutually benefit from strategic collaboration in research and development.”

Labex-Flex-UMN, located on the UMN St. Paul campus, represents the first of a new form of virtual Embrapa laboratories linking Embrapa to a research university. The partnership, including the Supercomputing Institute and CFANS, will use big and small data to identify agricultural problems and work to develop actionable solutions. In addition, it will connect the University of Minnesota to Embrapa, the Brazilian equivalent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to extend and reimagine rapidly expanding local, national and international public-private research partnerships.  Embrapa’s Labex Program consists of a series of virtual laboratories staffed by Embrapa scientists located in selected sites throughout the world. 

The partnership was officially announced on May 30. Embrapa President Mauricio Lopes, as well as other Brazilian dignitaries, local food and agriculture CEOs and CFANS private industry research partners detailed how this endeavor will help farmers and food-system industries produce more food with fewer inputs while anticipating and adapting to agricultural production, climate and research realities worldwide.

Featured

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Barbara Vick Western Branch has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.