EN 
PT_BR 
This Wednesday (06.08), at Cenarium Rural, in Cuiabá, the Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of Mato Grosso (Aprosoja MT) began the 5th Technical Symposium, with the theme “From the Field to Storage: Sustainability and Autonomy for the Rural Producer”. With a packed auditorium, the first day of the event brought together more than 600 participants, including producers, specialists, exhibitors and representatives of the agricultural sector to discuss production bottlenecks in the state, with a focus on the storage deficit.
According to Lucas Costa Beber, president of Aprosoja Mato Grosso, the Symposium reaffirms its role of fostering relevant debates and proposing solutions to the main challenges facing the production sector. "Once again, the auditorium was packed with the presence of several producers, exhibitors, partners, and the press. The Symposium always aims to discuss bottlenecks in our sector, especially given the current instability, in which scientific research is a key ally. We also have the issue of storage, which, by developing solutions for it, goes beyond ensuring producer profitability and efficiency; it also ensures food security," he emphasizes.
The opening ceremony featured former Minister of Agriculture Antônio Cabrera, who delivered a lecture entitled "Storage: A Bottleneck in Food Prices." During his speech, Cabrera highlighted the urgent need to expand storage capacity to keep pace with growing agricultural production. "Ultimately, a lack of storage means waste, and the government is a key player in this storage issue. We know that Brazil is a young country, so as long as we continue this expansion, we will have storage problems, but what we cannot do is reach stratospheric levels with a storage deficit of over 100 million tons. So we need to do something, and we hope this event can shed some light on this," he stated.
In the afternoon, the program continued with technical panels focused on corn cultivation, presenting challenges and opportunities for the upcoming harvest. Additionally, researchers from the Aprosoja MT Technology Centers (CTECNOs) presented updated results on micronutrient management and the influence of production systems on crop production efficiency.
For Fernando Ferri, the organization's southern vice president and coordinator of the Agricultural Defense Commission, the event broadens understanding of the strategic role of storage in production planning. "With technological advancements, producers are producing more, which is where the storage deficit is most pronounced. Traditionally, in Brazil, producers have been advised to invest in productivity and technology, never in storage. However, we have observed over the past few years that storage provides the greatest financial return, as they have a product to sell in the off-season with added value. Therefore, the organization is presenting production and storage techniques at the Symposium, seeking to solve many of the problems faced by producers," he highlights.
Representing the Mato Grosso State Government, Chief of Staff Fábio Garcia acknowledged the importance of decentralizing grain storage facilities, which are concentrated in trading companies, and bringing them to rural properties. "Mato Grosso is the world's largest grain producer, but unfortunately, our storage capacity is still small compared to our production, and it's located far from the production units and farms. This storage is in the hands of large traders, which imposes enormous costs and greater risk on producers. Producers have to harvest wet crops and store them at steep discounts, preventing them from getting the best possible use and profitability from their crops," he emphasizes.
Participating in the event for the second time, Bruno Tolotti, the coordinating delegate of the Nova Xavantina branch, emphasizes the initiative's importance as a learning experience. "As always, we thank the organization for making this Symposium possible, which aligns with farmers' needs. It's crucial for us to understand and explore storage alternatives, enabling us to remain in business. So, we came here to learn, develop, and see how we can improve every day," he says.
The event continues this Thursday (August 7th) with a panel on sustainability in agriculture. In addition to keynote speeches with technical content, this edition features a space for exhibitors from partner companies and institutions, such as Riosoft, Sicredi, Kepler Weber, AGI, Lifetime Investimentos, BTG Pactual, among others, promoting integration between producers, technological solutions, and services.
