Brazil-China Laboratory: future of family farming

The mechanization of Brazilian family farming represents one of the most complex structural dilemmas in the national economy. While large-scale agribusiness operates with levels of mechanization comparable to those in developed countries, the reality of family farming is markedly different. **Data from the Agricultural Census (IBGE, 2017) — the most recent and comprehensive source on the topic — reveal that only 28% of family farming establishments used tractors, in contrast to 59% on other properties. This technological gap is even deeper when digital technologies are considered: at the time of the Census, only 21.8% of family establishments had access to the internet, and a tiny percentage used any type of precision agriculture (IBGE, 2017).

This scenario of technological exclusion is paradoxical given its economic and social contribution. According to the same Agricultural Census, family farming is responsible for 23% of the total value of agricultural production in the country, occupying only 23% of the total agricultural area. This model produces the majority of beans (67%), cassava (84%) and milk (55%) consumed internally, highlighting its crucial role in food security (IBGE, 2017).

The conventional modernization paradigm, inherited from the Green Revolution and focused on large machines, high cost and capital-intensive operation, has historically proven to be incompatible with the reality of small properties. The result is a persistent technological gap, which not only limits production, but also contributes to the rural exodus, as work in the field remains excessively arduous and unattractive for new generations.

Lula and Luciana Santos: A vision of valuing family farming

It is important to highlight that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has reinserted family farming at the center of the national development agenda, recognizing its strategic importance for food sovereignty and income generation in the interior of Brazil, when he incorporated a priority axis for family farming into the Nova Indústria Brasil (NIB) program, the centerpiece of Brazil’s industrial policy. Within this axis, NIB establishes clear goals for mechanization, including increasing the density of tractors per hectare, the nationalization of critical components and the promotion of sustainable technological solutions adapted to different biomes and property sizes. Therefore, Lula chose the “Technological Revolution in Agriculture” as a fundamental pillar for national development.

Additionally, heading the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI), Minister Luciana Santos, has presented a keen vision for the transformative potential of international cooperation in science and technology. Under his management, MCTI is not just a financier, but an active coordinator of partnerships that put technology at the service of social demands and national sovereignty. His ability to see cooperation with China as a unique opportunity to accelerate innovation for family farming was crucial in giving substance and credibility to projects that connect science to national development, such as the Brazil-China Laboratory of mechanization for family farming. Its actions are in line with President Lula’s vision, translating a political direction into achievable state action.

The Chinese case: A lesson in inclusive and mass mechanization

It is in this context that the Chinese experience becomes a strategic beacon. China faced a similar challenge, how to feed a huge population with a land structure based on small properties (on average, less than 0.7 hectares, according to the World Bank). The country’s response was a massive and planned investment in mechanization adapted to small properties.

The results are impressive. According to China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the integrated mechanization rate for grain cultivation, sowing and harvesting exceeded 73% in 2023. The country is the world’s largest producer of tractors, manufacturing millions of units annually, with a significant focus on small and medium power models affordable to its millions of small producers (National Bureau of Statistics of China). This vibrant market for compact machines, powered by thousands of local manufacturers, has made technologies accessible to a broad base of Chinese farmers. China has proven that the transition to “inclusive mechanization” is viable through targeted industrial policies, procurement subsidies and technological development focused on the real scale of its agriculture.

Global perspectives and the technological frontier

Disparity in mechanization is a global feature of agriculture. In the United States, the average farm property has around 445 acres (approximately 180 hectares), and mechanization is almost universal, however, the model is inaccessible to family farming in other countries, since to meet this immense scale requires investment in high-cost machines, such as harvesters and large tractors. In India, another agricultural giant with a predominance of small properties, the rate of mechanization is heterogeneous. The Indian government implements programs such as “Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization” (SMAM) to subsidize the purchase of equipment for small farmers, with the aim of increasing productivity and addressing rural labor shortages (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, India). In the European Union, rural development programs, such as those of the European Agricultural Fund (EAFRD), often include financing for the acquisition of efficient and low-impact equipment by small properties, aiming at the sustainability of the rural environment and its producers (European Commission, 2022).

However, the new technological frontier, based on artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing, soft robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), is redefining the possibilities of mechanization on rural properties. It is estimated that the global market for agribots (agricultural robots) is expected to exceed US$25.6 billion by 2028, according to consultancy Markets and Markets (2023). It is in this context that the paradigm that combines automation, sustainability and democratization of access to technology in rural areas was born, with machines that are, by nature, smaller, cheaper, modular and intelligent.

The Brazil–China Laboratory: Overcoming the technological gap

It is precisely in this global environment of unprecedented transitions that the creation of the Brazil – China Laboratory of Mechanization and Artificial Intelligence Applied to Family Farming assumes a transformative role. This joint initiative, supported by MCTI, is not a mere scientific cooperation project, but a State policy for the construction of technological sovereignty.

Cooperation with China offers Brazil the opportunity to accelerate its technological inclusion process by decades. The Laboratory will be a direct channel to adapt and develop the solutions that have made China a powerhouse in small-scale mechanization, incorporating the latest frontier of AI and robotics. In addition to generating new technologies, it will have an essential training role, qualifying masters and doctors to reduce technological dependence and strengthen national innovation capabilities.

At a time when the world is looking for sustainable solutions to ensure food security, initiatives like this show that the mechanization of the future will be intelligent, connected and inclusive. The laboratory therefore symbolizes a new chapter in Brazil–China cooperation, guided by the joint construction of knowledge. More than machines, it is about promoting an agricultural development model based on science, equity and sustainability — in which each innovation is designed to strengthen work, preserve the environment and, ultimately, heal the historic technological gap that limits the potential of Brazilian family farming.

It is important to highlight that this effort, however, will not be carried out without the key part of this ecosystem, the national agricultural machinery and equipment industry. With a decades-long history of developing solutions for tropical agriculture, the sector has the essential practical knowledge to transform laboratory prototypes into robust, marketable products. The Brazil-China Laboratory, therefore, must be understood as a call for joint national development. This is a call for Brazilian institutions, such as universities, research centers, the government and industry to unite around a common objective, among them, to internalize innovations, dominate the smart agriculture value chains and, thus, ensure that the next generation of tractors, sensors and digital platforms, serve in an exemplary way our country’s family farming, therefore, the internal market, but gain international contours, especially in countries in the global south, as this feat strengthens our technological sovereignty and generates high quality jobs.

**(Note: The Agricultural Census is carried out approximately every 10 years. The 2017 one is the last one published. The next edition is scheduled for 2025-2026, which will highlight the evolution of this scenario).

Sources:

1. IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). 2017 Agricultural Census. (It is the most current and complete source available. The next Census is scheduled for 2025-2026).
2. World Bank. “Agricultural land (sq. km) – China”. (Provides context on average property sizes in China).
3. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China (MARA). “China’s comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvest exceeds 73% in 2023”. (Official communication on mechanization rates).
4. National Bureau of Statistics of China. (Provides annual data on industrial production, including tractors).
5. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, India. “Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)”. (Details the Indian government’s mechanization program).
6. European Commission. “CAP Strategic Plans 2023-2027: A closer look at eco-schemes and rural development interventions.” (Explains financing mechanisms for equipment in the EU).
7. Markets and Markets. “Agricultural Robots Market by Type… – Global Forecast to 2028”. Report ID: 246121575. (Source of agribots market projection).
8. BANCO MUNDIAL. Agricultural land (sq. km) – Brazil. [S. l.]2021. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.K2?locations=BR. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
9. EUROPEAN COMMISSION. CAP Strategic Plans 2023-2027: A closer look at eco-schemes and rural development interventions. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2022. Available at: https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/document/download/1d018063-913d-4e36-9e5e-7c9e4c5f4826_en?filename=analysis-of-cap-strategic-plans-2023-2027-eco-schemes.pdf. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
10. IBGE. 2017 Agricultural Census: Definitive Results. Rio de Janeiro, 2019. Available at: https://censoagro2017.ibge.gov.br/templates/censo_agro/resultadosagro/index.html. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
11. INDIA. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM). [S. l.]2024. Available at: https://agriculture.gov.in/schemes/programmes-for-mechanization. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
12. MARKETSANDMARKETS. Agricultural Robots Market by Type (UAVs, Milking Robots, Driverless Tractors, Automated Harvesting Systems), Farming Environment (Indoor and Outdoor), End-Use Application (Dairy Management, Harvesting & Picking) and Region – Global Forecast to 2028. [S. l.]2023. Available at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/agricultural-robot-market-246121575.html. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
13. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS OF CHINA. China Statistical Yearbook 2023. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2023. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/enGliSH/Statisticaldata/AnnualData/. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.
14. XINHUA. China’s comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, harvest exceeds 72 pct. XinhuaNet, Beijing, July 23. 2022. Available at: http://www.news.cn/english/2022-07/23/c_1310651257.htm. Accessed on: 02 Nov. 2025.