‘It’s not a question of being late, it’s a question of getting started’, says Marcos Pontes about edicts for the development of the Amazon

Gabriel Abreu and Priscilla Peixoto – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Marcos Pontes, launched on Friday, 4, in Manaus, two notices for proposals in the area of Bioeconomy and Digital Transformation in the Amazon, whose goal is to promote sustainable economic and social growth of the population living in the Brazilian Amazon.

The launch takes place at a time when the alert data of deforestation in the Legal Amazon, in January, were the largest ever recorded for the month since the beginning of the historical series, according to data from the Institute for Space Research (Inpe). It was 360 km² last month, according to measurements of the Deforestation Detection System in Real Time (Deter).

When questioned about the late investments in the region, since Science and Technology can help combat deforestation in the Amazon, Minister Marcos Pontes said there are yes, on the part of the federal government, resources being sent to the seven Northern States.

“The investments have been made. Walk around a little more with the Brazilian Army that you will see that there is normally a very big development in this sector. This deforestation happens in specific areas, and if you follow the data from Inpe, they point out that only one work needs to be done. So, it is not a question of being late, but the question is to start and do it effectively and that is what we have been doing”, the minister pointed out.

Notices

The public call will allocate R$ 30 million in Economic Subvention resources for Innovation projects in the headings – Bioeconomy and Digital Transformation – to be developed by companies based in the North region, which comprises the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins.

Companies of all sizes are eligible. Although Science and Technology Institutions (ICTs) can only integrate projects as service providers or co-executors, their participation is a favorable factor in the evaluation of the proposals.

The governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima (PSC), remembered that this is the right way for the federal government, states and municipalities to unite to develop the region that has important resources for the development of the Amazon.

“A path that is important and that we have been working on for this to effectively happen is the union between these environmental assets that we have with industry. These resources are managed directly by the federal government, by the Ministry of Technology through Sinep. The interested parties will write the projects in these areas offered by the Ministry”, highlighted the governor.

Two rounds

The Finep/MCTI Amazon Program, as the public notice is being called, will be executed in two rounds, as a strategy to expand the opportunity for companies to structure their projects. The first round began on Tuesday, March 2, with a value of R$15 million and a deadline for receipt of proposals is March 18. The second round, with the same amount of resources, receives applications from July 8 to 29.

According to Finep’s Innovation Director, Otávio Augusto Burgardt, “with the launch of the Finep/MCTI Amazônia Program, we are advancing in the integration of the National Innovation System and in the reduction of regional asymmetries. The support for projects in the Bioeconomy and Digital Transformation themes has the capacity to promote sustainable economic and social growth for the population living in the Brazilian Amazon”, detailed the director.

Themes

Under the Bioeconomy theme, the call for proposals seeks projects based on the innovative and sustainable use of natural resources to create products, processes, and services in areas such as human and animal health, agriculture, livestock, industrial processes, cosmetics, chemistry, energy, and biotechnology, among others. Its application may range from the improvement of agricultural production to the development of drugs and phytotherapeutics, biomaterials, perfumery, etc.

In Digital Transformation, the selection will focus on innovation projects that use at least one of the Enabling Technologies – a set of key technologies involved in the digitalization process of companies. Examples are Big Data and Analytics, autonomous robots, Internet of Things, augmented reality, cloud computing, etc.

Digital Transformation products can be applied in areas such as Education, presenting new solutions for teaching practices, for example. In Health, in the improvement and migration from mass care services to personalized services, optimizing costs, and in Sanitation, in increasing the efficiency and quality of services and facilities for water supply, sewage, urban cleaning, among other examples.

Selection

The selection of the themes for the call was the product of a previous work to identify gaps and potentials in the companies of the region. As explained by Rodrigo da Silva de Lima, manager of the Regional Department of the North and coordinator of the preparation of the call for applications, “this program was the result of Finep’s articulation with important local players and consolidates the regional office’s performance as a company’s instrument in the articulation of public policies for Innovation with a specific focus on the singularities and unique competencies found in the Amazon”.