Agribusiness is being rediscovered by society. It is interesting to note that a sector that employs, in São Paulo alone, more than 700 thousand people directly, still needs to work on its visibility in the country.

Campaigns and actions are still needed to show how important agriculture is for the food security of our population, combating historical distortions that are still found in textbooks today. The sector, in which technology has transformed Brazil into a production reference for the world and which accounts for a significant part of the Gross Domestic Product, São Paulo alone, 40%, and the Brazilian trade balance surplus, is still studied as retrograde, late.

We know that Brazilian agriculture is one of the strongest in the world, with recognition from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Research, technological advances and the instrumentation of producers, through courses and consultancy, have transformed Brazil into a great breadbasket. These advances put an end to the food insecurity that affected the country in the 1950s and brought about a diversification of cultures. The studies helped to identify regions more favorable to certain crops and the best techniques for each production. Today, the Human Development Index is higher due to the agricultural sector.

The strength of the sector, however, does not always translate into a response to those who produce. There is a lack of logistics proposals that involve more robust investments and a long-term State program that can meet the day-to-day needs of production chains. A practical example is the opening to imports of powdered milk from Uruguay and Argentina, which left the milk production chain in a critical situation. Producers had already been suffering from the reduction in the price paid for liter of milk, while at the same time experiencing increased production costs.

Another example: crop failures, due to climate issues, which lead producers to depend on resources to maintain the land, without broad insurance coverage. Many of the advertised features take a long time to arrive. Months that could mean non-payment of loans taken to improve the quality of planting or modernize the crop. This insecurity of rural producers, who always live in expectation of the Harvest Plan, needs to end.

I believe that, given the importance of the sector, this is a time when we need to join forces in favor of something new. Within this wake of the rediscovery of agriculture, it is essential to work towards the construction of a National Plan that serves farmers not only in a timely manner, but with goals, programs and disbursements. The United States Agricultural Law, Farm Bill, is voted on in Congress every five years and involves insurance and financing programs for producers, in addition to measures involving investments in nutrition and other government programs aimed at low-income families.

We need here, in Brazil, policies and actions that strengthen infrastructure and logistics, with emphasis on transport and storage; investment in research, technology and innovation; agricultural defense; connectivity in the field; availability of financial instruments (credit) and risk management (insurance); greater access to markets with the prospecting of new destinations and consumers; security in the countryside by combating invasions of private properties and granting ownership titles to producers; sustainability with balance between production and conservation of biomes; diversification and integration of production, in addition to adding value; and improving the scope of business. Today, the environment is still bureaucratic, does not privilege private initiative nor does it offer simple and objective labor, tax and environmental legislation.

But the construction of this Plan will involve many hands. This clamor demands the meeting of confederations, federations, unions, cooperatives, commercial and industrial sectors, services and a fertile ground for debate and the formulation of policies that can expand the horizons of rural producers. It is necessary for it to be able to plan investments to improve its performance, mainly developing production arrangements to make small and medium-sized agribusinesses sustainable, purchasing machines, when applicable, and investing in technology to increase productivity. This, however, will only happen if he realizes that there is security to change the future.

We work to ensure that the sector modernizes with the tools available. In the state of São Paulo, we have the governor's perception of emergencies, and whenever we raise a demand from the countryside, represented by the 237 rural unions, there is special attention. We were called to participate in the Working Group to release accumulated credits from the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services for the sector. The result was, last week, the announcement of 600 million reais for animal protein producers and the production of agricultural machinery and equipment. And, according to the promise of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, new resources will arrive to stimulate investment in infrastructure and logistics, as well as health security.

And, to contribute to the security that producers deserve, we, from the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock system of the State of São Paulo and the National Rural Learning Service of São Paulo and Rural Unions, are working on collecting data directly with the owners rural people on their properties.

We want, soon, to have a real x-ray of the São Paulo sector and, with this information, help in the formulation of tools that stimulate the development of cultures and agriculture in São Paulo and in guiding research, strengthening technical training, efficiency and the strength of agriculture, including nationally. There are two projects under construction that I highlight: the sugarcane center of excellence, in Ribeirão Preto, and the technology, big data and artificial intelligence center, in São Roque, which will be offered for the use of all producers within the scope national.

Regarding the campaign to make agribusiness a Brazilian heritage, as well-known as football, I see it as an important step. Not only to overturn those historical distortions, but also to show that the sector has faces, stories, achievements, awards. We are not recognized worldwide for our production capacity and quality of our products on a case-by-case basis. The story of millions of families is mixed with that of the construction of a self-sufficient country and that of Brazilians and immigrants, who made this their homeland and with their work contribute daily to the success of the countryside.