Family Tradition Not Enough: Brazil Sends Its Dairy Farmers to School

BRAZIL - The region of São Luiz dos Montes Belos, in the mid-western Brazilian state of Goiás, is becoming a reference in terms of workforce specialized in agribusiness. Ever since the establishment of the Milk Production Cluster (APL), in 2003, two technical courses in Milk Culture were created.

Two higher education courses were also started in the Goiás State University: Agribusiness Management and Dairy Technology.

Also implemented was a Technological Milk Center (CTL) at the University Farm School, in the city of São Luís de Montes Belos.

The establishment of CTL is being managed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Milk Cattle unit, and its structure includes a milk farm-school scheduled for inauguration in September.

"The center is going to train milk farm workers and create new milk derivatives, such as cheeses and yogurts," according to Jesus Camargo da Silva, president of the Association of Milk Producers of São Luís de Montes Belos and Surroundings (AproLeite).

According to Camargo, courses specializing in agribusiness are the solution to one of the main problems facing producers: the shortage of specialized professionals to provide quality to the local production.

"We are still producing milk the way we learned from our parents, who in turn have learned from our grandparents. In order to grow, we need specialized technicians to help professionalize our production," said Camargo. He believes that the courses are one of the best results achieved to date by the APL cluster.

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Source: Brazzil Magazine

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