Ministry of Agriculture creates committee to monitor effects of coronavirus on agricultural supply and production

The Ministry of Agriculture created on Tuesday (31) a crisis committee monitor and propose strategies in order to minimize the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on agricultural production and food supply to the population. The objective of the group, which involves ministry officials, the National Supply Company (Conab) and researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa), is to propose actions to avoid supply bottlenecks in the country. Daily, the committee will prepare a report so that Minister Tereza Cristina can make technical decisions. The head of the working group will be the Secretary of Agricultural Policy, Eduardo Sampaio. According to the ordinance, published in the "Official Gazette", the group will act in the monitoring of retail trade, which includes supermarkets and distribution networks; agricultural houses; transport networks; varejões and fairs; chemical distribution network; and animal nutrition distribution networks. In the case of industry and distribution, monitoring will be through associations and will involve activities of production of basic or intermediate inputs for use in the industrial activities that feed the sector; agricultural inputs and final product activities. The committee should also promote dialogue with federal government agencies, states and municipalities in order to enable actions and strategies of solution for the maintenance of food and beverage supplies to the population.