Literacy and the fight against hunger, priorities of the new Brazilian government

According to the new Ministers of Education and Agriculture, literacy and the fight against hunger will be two of the priorities of the new Brazilian government.

Camilo Santana, the new Minister of Education, and Carlos Fávaro, elected to head the Agriculture portfolio, took office today and explained to the press their objectives for the next four years.

Santana explained that the new government will work to reverse the educational damage caused by the pandemic and that literacy at the right age will be “an absolute priority” for the country.

“The last evaluation shows that barely one out of every three children is literate at the right age in this country.”

“In other words, the majority is illiterate within the school itself, which causes serious repercussions in the life sequence of these minors,” he explained.

He also said he would seek to universalize Internet access for all Brazilian students.

“Approximately 28 percent of elementary school students have access to the Internet. The number is even lower in the northeast, at 17 percent.”

“In high school, while in the south 86 percent have access to the Internet, in the north it is half that in the north. Nowadays, there is no way to think of education without the help of the Internet”, he added.

For his part, Carlos Fávaro was presented as the new Minister of Agriculture and commented that his priority would be the fight against hunger.

“How many Brazilians cannot eat lunch today? And this is the great challenge we have to face in this government. It is the first of the challenges, and agriculture, food production, has a fundamental role,” he said.

Another challenge he will have is rebuilding the international image of Brazilian agriculture.

“Brazil became a disgrace in the lack of respect for deforestation, the environment, and the condition of producing with sustainability. This is the biggest challenge: to rebuild bridges with the international community”, he added.