A mission from the Czech Republic visited the headquarters of Emater-MG in Belo Horizonte in January to assess the possibility of technological cooperation, focusing on the use of geospatial data intelligence to strengthen coffee farming, environmental sustainability, and territorial planning in the state.
The Czech ambassador to Brazil, Pavla Havrlikova, highlighted that Brazilian coffee is widely known in her country and emphasized that the work developed by the Community Platform of the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) can contribute to sustainable development in other regions.
“We came to evaluate the possibility of collaboration in scientific projects in the areas of agriculture and the environment. The University of Life Sciences has experience in several projects in this field. The Community Project, for example, already involves other Latin American countries,” she said.
The initiative, already implemented in Colombia and Chile, integrates satellite data and territorial information to support decision-making in agriculture, water management, and climate risk mitigation. The proposal is to offer producers and institutions a more accurate and accessible view of the territory, contributing to productivity gains and resilience.
“After the experience with rural producers in Colombia and Chile, the Community Platform is now assessing how these solutions could support Brazilian institutions and rural communities in facing challenges such as coffee diseases, water stress, wildfires, and soil erosion,” said João Ricardo Albanez, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Minas Gerais.
Coffee Mapping
As part of the presentations, Minas Gerais detailed initiatives already developed in the state. Emater-MG presented the mapping of Minas Gerais’ coffee park, launched in 2016 using satellite imagery, followed by field validation in 460 producing municipalities.
The project, created in partnership with several institutions, involves the collection, processing, systematization, storage, and availability of information on coffee farming through a geoportal.
The mapping enables greater precision in state production data, improves crop estimates, and makes it possible to identify the location of specialty coffees and their relationship with production territories.
The Selo Verde MG platform was also presented — a free public tool that enhances traceability and certifies the environmental compliance of production chains. Developed by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in partnership with the Minas Gerais government, the platform indicates that more than 90% of coffee farms in the state are not associated with deforestation.
At the end of the meeting, Emater-MG Technical Director Gélson Soares Lemes announced the creation of a working group involving state institutions, universities, and representatives of the Community Project to discuss how the partnership can be implemented.
“Many methodologies were presented that can help us work on climate change and the sustainability of coffee crops and several other agricultural products,” he said.
