The Importance of Global Connections: Visit to Brazil

Sean Mullins shares his experience at the Global Agricultural Technology South America Summit

Last month, Shawn Mullins, director of foreign direct investment at the World Trade Center St. Louis, visited Brazil as part of a delegation focused on raising St. Louis' profile in agricultural innovation. At the Global Agricultural Technology South America Summit in São Paulo, the delegation promoted St. Louis as a bridge between Latin America and North America in agri-food innovation and worked to strengthen existing relationships.

Below is an interview with Mullins about his visit.

What was the purpose of the trip?

As called for in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Plan, the World Trade Center St. Louis has been nurturing agricultural and food technology relationships internationally, especially with Latin America, for many years. Last year, through the strong leadership of the Danforth Plant Science Center and other supporting organizations such as WTC, BioSTL, Yield Lab, Greater St. Louis, Inc., and 39 North, we created the Cultivar STL initiative to further strengthen these relationships to foster mutual economic growth and address food security. Cultivar STL strengthens economic ties through trade and investment, with a particular focus on agricultural technology, an area in which St. Louis and the state of Missouri excel. Interest in agricultural technology is increasingly merging with an interest in geospatial, and a visit to Brazil aimed to explore Latin America’s agricultural technology and geospatial offerings.

Who was on the visit and who did you meet?

The St. Louis group consisted of Danforth Plant Science Center, Taylor Geospatial Institute, T-REX, and BioSTL. We were also joined by the CEO of HabiTerre. Our main objective was to participate in the World Agritech South American Summit, which was attended by around 700 people from South America and abroad, where we shared information about ourselves and the trends in the region. We met with startups, SMEs, large corporations, and venture funds. We also visited Cubo Ita, a co-working space for startups and a non-profit with a special agtech initiative called Cubo Agro.

The last days of the trip included a visit to São José dos Campos to see the Technological Innovation Park, which covers an area of ​​almost 2 million square feet and serves around 300 companies. During our stay, we also participated in another agtech conference, Agriculture of the Future (O Agro Do Futuro), where we had discussions with experts from key market players in Latin America and North America, as well as our own Cultivar panel discussion. We also toured Visiona, a joint venture between Embraer Defence & Security and Telebras, which focuses on the integration of space systems and satellite-based services.

What was your biggest takeaway from the visit?

There is considerable agtech development taking place in Latin America. In particular, we learned about the scale of Brazilian soybean production and Brazil's dominance in soybean exports. Brazil has significant economies of scale with large family-owned farms that are generally larger in both acreage and labor than comparable farms in the United States. Because South America is a major producer of crops that feed the world, it is critical for St. Louis to pay attention to the players and companies there. Latin America is where the potential buyers for St. Louis agtech products and services are, and can also benefit from their innovations in agricultural production.

How did this visit impact you and STL as a whole?

St. Louis and Missouri are global leaders in agtech. Missouri is home to approximately 90,000 farms, and agriculture in Missouri is a $94 billion industry with over 456,000 workers. A 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River is known as America’s Agricultural Coast, as so much agricultural produce is shipped from the St. Louis region on river barges. But to stay competitive and remain globally relevant, we must constantly be mindful of how we can improve our productivity. To reduce inputs and improve yields, going digital is essential for the industry in the future. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, blockchain, and geospatial are driving innovations around the world. Looking at the needs, talent, and technology availability, especially in Latin America, we cannot help but spread the message that international relationships are highly valuable to efficiently improve agricultural production and build the resilience of our respective economies.

Why was this visit important to the World Trade Center?

WTC, along with regional partners, spent significant time and effort with the Brookings Institution in 2016 to develop the first-ever St. Louis Metropolitan FDI Plan, with a special focus on agtech as an industry sector in St. Louis that is highly attractive to international investment. With strong support from regional partners, WTC helped sustain and drive the recognition that St. Louis and Missouri should be at the top of the list among Latin American agricultural companies considering where in the world they can find strong agtech partners.

What are your next steps after this visit?

On the final day of the Global Agricultural Technology South America Summit, the Danforth Center, BioSTL and The Yield Lab LATAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as part of Cultivar STL. The MOU defines the main activities as follows:

Connect start-ups with corporate partners and build potential business development linkages Facilitate early adopter farmer/producer exchanges and learning opportunities Enhance curated support for start-ups wanting to take their business across regions Facilitate ecosystem learning, sharing and capacity building including cross-regional delegations/visits

WTC stands ready to support all these activities, especially by supporting companies looking to do business across regions and by supporting inter-regional delegations and visits.

For more information, please contact Sean Mullins.

[email protected]

314.614.5319

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