“ReImaginar a Agricultura” Webinar

Posted by The Lisbon MBA on 11 Jan, 2021 12:41 pm

“ReImaginar Portugal” – Agriculture: how can Portugal accelerate its recovery through this resilient sector?

 

Following the ReImaginar Portugal initiative launched by The Lisbon MBA Alumni Club, the webinar on the topic “ReImaginar a Agricultura” took place last Friday, December 11th. This online conference had Consulai as a partner and the support of Confederação dos Agricultores de Portugal (CAP). The event highlighted the theme of resilience and counted on the participation of the Minister of Agriculture and a group of decision-makers in the agri-food sector.

 

The debate panel included Eduardo Oliveira e Sousa, President of CAP, Pedro Santos, General Director of Consulai, António Corrêa Nunes, CEO of Tremond, João Gomes da Silva, Sogrape Board Member, Nuno Pereira, Managing Director of The Summer Berry Company Portugal, and Maria José Amich, Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA.

 

The Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, highlighted the sector’s resilience and pointed out the growth of agri-food exports in a year of pandemic, also presenting her strategic and updated vision for the national agricultural evolution. The Portuguese minister praised the resilience and work capacity of farmers, the excellence of national products, the recognition in third markets and the support of Portuguese consumers to the national agri-food production sector. Maria do Céu Antunes mentioned as one of the priorities handing over agriculture to new generations and highlighted the importance of the strategic plan for Agriculture – Innovation Agenda for Agriculture | 20 | 30 – with the purpose of “growing the sector, innovating it and handing it over to the next generation, without leaving anyone behind. This agenda seeks to make citizens more aware of the impact of the food they eat, the urgency of protecting the planet and the conservation of natural resources”.

 

The bet on talent and on new generations is also reinforced by the President of CAP, who highlighted the close connection between the agricultural sector, schools and universities. Referring to the sector’s resilience and capacity to overcome major crises, Eduardo Oliveira e Silva mentioned that despite the impact that the pandemic had on the Horeca channel, new business opportunities in Portugal were also created, namely of very intense online delivery and marketing systems and exploration of new international markets, which put the country on the path to “hypermodern agriculture”.

 

The recruitment and retention of talent for the evolution of the national agricultural sector is also reinforced by Nuno Pereira. The Managing Director of The Summer Berry Company Portugal highlighted that the pandemic context brought an absorption of labor from other sectors to the agrifood, defending the qualification and academic training associated with the recruitment and retention of young talent as a central issue making the country competitive in relation to any other geography.

 

On the other hand, the new mechanisms for connecting with the consumer and technological acceleration (e-commerce) are highlighted by João Gomes da Silva, Director of Sogrape, who highlighted the ability to innovate, the agility and the adaptation of the wine sector to overcome the crises of the Hospitality and Restaurant sectors, as well as the national consumption associated with the tourism decline.

 

In addition to these issues, the agricultural sector’s constraints due to natural resources (climate, soils, irrigation) and the areas of investment of the community funds, which were exposed by the General Director of Consulai, were also highlighted. Pedro Santos argues that it is necessary to “define a strategy for Portugal” and take as an example, other successful countries such as the Netherlands. According to Pedro Santos, rethinking agriculture means “intelligence, greater training for the sector, the ability to create added value and interconnection of interprofessional structures”.

 

Giving an example of resilience, António Corrêa Nunes, explained how Tremond was launched in the middle of a pandemic and the pillars that make the company competitive. Tremond’s CEO highlighted the need for organization in some underdeveloped agri-food sectors and stressed that “the country has scientific and university knowledge, a good command of English, a strategic position in terms of geography, adaptability, stability and security, which are very attractive aspects for investors “, concluding that a self-provisioning strategy is needed to overcome any crises that may arise in the future.

 

The conference was closed by Maria José Amich, Executive Director of The Lisbon MBA, who highlighted the importance of talent as an accelerator of competitiveness: “Agriculture is an important pillar in our economy, and The Lisbon MBA has the purpose of training managers, investing in talent so that the agriculture sector becomes more productive and sustainable for all”.

 

ReImaginar a Agricultura is the first sectorial event within the scope of the ReImaginar Portugal initiative promoted by The Lisbon MBA Alumni Club, the community of former students of The Lisbon MBA and the previous MBA programs of Católica-Lisbon SBE (School of Business & Economics) and Nova SBE (School of Business & Economics), launched publicly this year.

 

 

The recording of the full “ReImaginar a Agricultura” webinar is available here.

 

You can download the full ReImaginar Portugal digital document, with all 30 contributions here.

 

X