On pages 22 and 23, Professor Gerry Boyle, the director of Teagasc, reports on a visit there, a visit fully justified by the worldwide reputation that Brazilian agricultural research has established for itself. There are real lessons for Ireland and Europe.

The progress in their agricultural output over the last 40 years has been extraordinary. They have gone from food scarcity to being a world leading exporter of beef, soya and sugar. They are now practically fully self-sufficient in dairy production as a result of focussed research to develop a type of cow to suit their climate, and grass varieties to suit their soil and weather.

The focus on pasture-based systems that delivers milk at a cost roughly comparable with or even less than Ireland should serve as a warning that we cannot be complacent on future profitability in dairying. The recent falls in the value of the Brazilian currency have increased the competitiveness of all of Brazil’s agriculture but especially beef and milk. There are still traceability and quality control issues but we cannot afford complacency in either enterprise.

The lessons for Teagasc and the Irish government should also be clear. National progress in agriculture depends on continuing to push out the knowledge boundaries, to set clear objectives for research programmes that meet real needs and to question rigorously and take action if objectives are not being met.

Meanwhile, we should not let up on our monitoring of Brazil’s quality standards and its aspirations to do a farm trade deal with Europe should be resisted strongly.