IAC loses ten agricultural genetic improvement programs

The Institute of Agronomy of Campinas (IAC) has lost ten genetic improvement research programs for agricultural crops over recent decades due to a shortage of researchers. According to a survey by the Association of Scientific Researchers of the State of São Paulo (APqC), research involving rice, cotton, sunflower, sesame, oats, wheat, triticale, soybean, castor bean, and crotalaria has been interrupted.

The decline is attributed to the retirement or death of specialists, particularly genetic improvers, without adequate replacement. Currently, the IAC Grain and Fiber Center, which is linked to the São Paulo Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply, operates with only seven scientists.

Furthermore, seven other programs—including those for corn, popcorn, chickpeas, sorghum, and green manure—are currently being maintained by only a single researcher each. APqC president Helena Dutra Lutgens stated that these research lines are directly related to food production and food security, characterizing the lack of researcher replacement as a “grave negligence of the State with a scientific heritage that belongs to society.”