31 results for tag: Brazil
Rock Dust to the Rescue for Brazil During Europe’s Geopolitical Crisis
A soy plantation in western Bahia, Brazil. Image by Fernanda Ligabue/Greenpeace.
As the invasion of Ukraine by Russia threatens to cut off fertilizer shipments, forcing Brazil to search for new fertilizer suppliers, further expansion of rock dust application in the South American country offers a solution, according to Remineralize the Earth executive director Joanna Campe.
Joanna Campe speaking at the II Congresso Rochagem in Brazil.
“Rock dust is the cornerstone of a sustainable and profitable future,” Campe pointed out in response to the tragic circumstances. The geopolitical reality will encourage Brazil to look for alternative ...
REMINERA: How A Stonemeal Startup Arose During A Time Of Pandemic
It was the beginning of the pandemic. My colleague, Nayara Mesquita, and I had recently defended our geosciences masters theses at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), and I was still figuring out my ‘next steps’ in life.
Always the multitasker, Nayara was already doing an MBA on leadership and sustainability, along with social entrepreneurship and environmental activism. She warmly invited me to join her and start studying stonemeal, food security and carbon sequestration.
We had heard about stonemeal just once or twice at university, and so it was still a relatively new field for us. It did not take much to fall in love with the ...
IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem: Highlights from the Presentations in Portuguese
(Clockwise from top right) Dr. Magda Bergmann, Prof. Suzi Huff Theodoro, and Dr. Antonio N. Zamunér Filho.
“I was converted,” confessed agronomist Antônio Bizão. Listening to Bizão’s skepticism of stonemeal was the highlight of the IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem (which translates to “IV Brazilian Congress of Stonemeal”). Bizão talked of his intention, years ago, to denounce professionals who defended the use of silicate rocks for agriculture, before conducting experiments himself and obtaining replicable positive results. We were listening to a stonemeal Saul of Tarsus and the moment allowed me a glimpse of a community of farmers ...
IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem: Highlights from the Presentations in English
Since September 2009 Brazil has held a conference on rochagem (rock dust) every 3 years. The Brazilian Conference on Rochagem highlights Brazil’s role as a leader in scientific research and policy creation around the use of rock dust as a sustainable fertilizer. The Congress creates a forum for researchers, the general public and private interests to discuss the scientific advances, effective policies and future rock dust potential. Past conferences have steadily advanced the importance of rock dust as a fertilizer to enhance food security and promote environmental health in Brazil. Despite pandemic difficulties, the IV Congresso Brasileiro de ...
Remineralization’s Success in Brazil Draws Ire
At the moment there is a very strong clash within Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, which recently released a policy clarification memo saying that there was no proof of the effectiveness of the use of rock powders. The use of remineralizers is growing rapidly among medium and large farmers. The fact that more and more people are using remineralizers, including conventional farmers who produce thousands of hectares, has put the chemical fertilizer producers on alert. This is particularly true because Brazil is not included in the global elite who control the production of fertilizers despite being the fourth biggest consumer ...
Call for Papers for the IV Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem
(Photo from the III Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem in 2016 conference.)
Translated from Brazilian Portuguese. Original version available here.
The Event
The third millennium began with an unprecedented recognition of the importance of the use of natural resources. Environmental issues have gained in visibility and share importance along with economic issues. As a result, there is a greater concern with food security and socio-environmental and economic development, without losing sight of the preservation of biodiversity and the well-being of the human species.
In this scenario, Brazil is a protagonist, as it holds a large part of the world’s ...
RTE’s New Research Database Director Spreads Word about Remineralization at Australia-Brazil Conference
Above: Multidisciplinary team of researchers at the Australia-Brazil Alumni Conference.
The 4th Australia-Brazil Alumni Conference was held in São Caetano do Sul, at the Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, from May 17th - 18th. Aiming to engage former scholarship recipients from Australian and Brazilian government programs, the two-day conference brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and students to explore ways to strengthen the scientific bonds among the two countries, stimulating international cooperation.
From biologists to lawyers, participants had the opportunity to give a presentation in the TED Talk format and show others ...
Documenting Reasons for Optimism: Mitigating Climate Change through Soil Restoration
It is important to document reasons for optimism, focusing on the future we want to achieve. Several trends, in particular trends regarding soil regeneration, support optimism about the environment. We need to build upon these positive trends, while resisting the negative ones.
For years while I was in Geneva, Switzerland, I published and edited the Worldwatch Institute’s World Watch magazine and annual State of the World report. Worldwatch was founded by Lester Brown, who also founded the Earth Policy Institute, and it has done a remarkable job monitoring the environmental crisis and promoting solutions to it. It promoted ...
Rochagem Congress Part 4: ‘Rocks for Crops’ in the World
Peter van Straaten and the Rocks for Crops multi-cultural collaboration with Lombok University, Indonesia.
Dr. Peter van Straaten spoke at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress in November 2016 (which we have previously featured in a series of articles: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). In his presentation, which was based on the article reprinted below, he challenged the audience to not only include geologists, soil scientists and agronomists in agrogeological research and development but also include farmers as equal stakeholders. Farmers are important as they can direct our efforts to a practical and sustainable ‘down to earth’ approach, so ...
Rochagem Congress Part 3: Dr. Clenio Pillon on Agricultural Advances for Food Sovereignty in Brazil
Dr. Clenio Pillon, Lead Researcher at Embrapa’s Temperate Climate Center in Pelotas.
Miranda Chase, the director of RTE’s online research database, gave a presentation and represented us at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress. You can read more about the conference in our previous articles here and here.
“Brazil is one of the largest food producers in the world, but at the same time, it is highly dependent on the importation of fertilizers, with a direct implication on the costs and competitiveness of agriculture.” This is how The III Brazilian Rochagem Congress describes the issue it seeks to address. Remineralization offers a ...
