In a bid to strengthen bilateral relationship between the Brazil and Pakistan, Brazilian government has offered 24 training courses to Pakistani officials under the Brazilian Technical Co-operation Programme. According to details, the permanent representation of Brazil to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Rome-based Agencies presents its compliments to the Embassy of Pakistan.
The decision has been taken on the occasion of the 'Brazilian Technical Co-operation: Agriculture, Food Security and Social Policies' event held on June 24 in Rome, a co-operation programme was proposed, composed of 24 training courses of short duration and offered by 20 Brazilian Institutions of excellence in design and implementation of public policies on issues related to agriculture and fight against hunger.
The courses, to be offered from September 13 to July 21, 2012 will encompass agriculture, environment, fisheries and aquaculture, rural extension, school feeding, policies on fight against hunger and gender equity. Such courses to be held in Brazil are offered to developing countries. The selected candidates for the course will have their air ticket provided by the Brazilian Government, as well as a daily allowance to cover expenses with lodging, food and transportation.
The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) letter no.62 (6) ACS/BrazilG/2011 has been issued to various ministries and their credentials invited to attend the courses. The courses include coconut sustainable production systems and fruits and vegetables quality classification; training for technology transfer in agriculture protection; agriculture as a driver of economic and social development; management and processing of cocoa cultivation; management and sanitary control of seed; public policies of credit and technical assistance to strengthen family agriculture and rural development; the national food and nutrition security system; public participation and social control in assuring the right to adequate food: Brazilian experience; sustainable school feeding programmes-principles and organisation; social technology of the Brazil Cuisine SESI Programme-Food and Nutrition Education and other programmes.
It is interested to note that the government departments did not pay any attention to the earlier offers made by Brazilian Government for sending agriculture and social sector experts as part of technical assistance. But EAD has shown its willingness to send the government officials to Brazil to learn about Brazilian experience in these sectors.
The Brazilian Embassy in Islamabad had written a letter to Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Social Sector in February 2011, offering assistance for social sector, but no response has been received despite lapse of more than five months. The offer was made by Brazilian Ministry of External Relations on behalf of the National Council on Food and Nutritional Safety of the Presidency of the Republic (CONSEA), Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Ministry of Agrarian Development and the National Food Supply Company of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries to Pakistani authorities.
Brazilian zero-hunger programme has been declared a successful social safety net programme. They have linked the income support with enrolment of children in schools. If a child drops out of school, his family is no more entitled for the income support offered by the government. Pakistan could share the Brazilian success story in the area of economic development achieved through the implementation of "Real Plan" introduced in 1994 to tame inflation and stabilise the economy. He said Brazil has converted itself from borrower to a lender economy. Brazil was the first commercial partner of Pakistan in Latin America, and bilateral trade was about 400 million dollars.