Several business owners from Lugo concluded a commercial prospecting mission in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná—Brazil’s primary agricultural and livestock region. The mission involved visits to various locations across Brazil and the Republic of Paraguay, aimed at exploring new business opportunities for the province’s agri-food sector. This internationalization initiative was organized by the Galician Agri-Food Foundation (FAGA) under the “Lugo, Agri-Food Value” (“Lugo, valor agroalimentario”) program, with funding provided by the Provincial Council of Lugo (Diputación de Lugo).
More specifically, in Brazil, a group of business leaders—led by Jaime López, Secretary General of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Lugo (CEL) and President of the Lugo Chamber of Commerce, and Carlos Cebrián, President of the Galician Agri-Food Foundation (FAGA)—engaged in various institutional meetings, a working agenda with the University of Paraná, and visits to agricultural and livestock operations.
Among other activities, the group met with representatives and technical staff from the Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná (FIEP) at its International Business Center. They were received by Caroline Pinheiro, the Center’s coordinator; Naschelli Pacheco, International Relations Manager; Mari Aparecida, an economist and manager of Economic and Social Development; and analyst Rosângela Veloso. The group held a multi-hour working session with them, focused on identifying potential suppliers, distributors, and customers in the country for products from Lugo, as well as exploring potential partners or collaborators in the logistics and industrial sectors.
Additionally, the group held meetings with technical staff and representatives from the Agriculture Federation of the State of Paraná (FAEP) and visited several livestock farms.
University and Innovation
The agenda also included technical meetings with the Federal University of Paraná to continue the development of an international technological cooperation project involving various entities from Spain and Brazil. Specifically, the project includes the Federal University of Paraná, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and companies from Lugo—such as Innogando and Medrar Smart Solutions—with public funding from both Portugal and Spain (in the latter case, provided by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation, or CDTI).
The project entails the development of a low-cost “gadget” or technological solution designed to monitor the position of animals (whether they are lying down or standing). This allows for the highly accurate analysis of data related to factors such as feeding behavior and heat stress, providing valuable new information for management and decision-making on livestock farms.
In this phase of the R&D project—which focuses on implementing ICT solutions for high-precision livestock farming—the devices are already being installed on Spanish farms, with installations on Brazilian farms set to begin in the coming months.
