According to Brazilian media reports, the government of São Paulo state in Brazil recently plans to sell a plot of land in the state called São José, which is 7 hectares in size. However, this move is opposed by the Brazilian Campinas Agronomic Institute (IAC) and the Association of Scientific Researchers of the State of São Paulo (APqC), all because the plot being sold this time involves IAC's Santa Elisa farm.

Initially, in August last year, the Sao Paulo Secretary of Agriculture mentioned the intention to sell the plots; the government planned to auction some farms and properties with high costs and limited social or economic returns, and later use them for real estate development. According to the IAC board, the government has the authority to sell this area, but there is still no relevant announcement that could provide technical advice for relocating the plants.

It is reported that the Campinas Agronomic Institute (IAC) is the oldest agricultural research center in Brazil and even the world. It was established in 1973 in the state of Sao Paulo. The organization focuses on the conservation, genetic research and breeding of different plants and species including coffee, as well as the promotion and popularization of scientific and technological practices such as experimental cultivation and soil, and has also formed planting bases for a variety of economic crops in Brazil such as soybeans, coffee and sugarcane.

At the Santa Elisa farm involved here, there are unique specimens of various coffee varieties planted by the IAC, including the world's oldest population of Arabica coffee plants; it is the largest coffee germplasm bank in Brazil and one of the largest coffee germplasm banks in the world. The farm's experimental area contains about 5,000 "accessions," representing different coffee varieties, many of which are rare or endangered coffee varieties introduced from around the world over the years.

The Sao Paulo State Association of Scientific Researchers believes that Brazil's ability to become a global agricultural power is thanks to the IAC: since its founding, it has introduced coffee varieties and, through continuous research and development, sought coffee varieties suited to Brazil's environmental and climatic conditions for cultivation. In addition, many varieties grown in other coffee-producing countries were also developed and released by the IAC; it is said that 70% of the world's commercially grown coffee varieties can be traced back to the research results of the IAC institution, a great contribution to the global coffee industry.

In recent years, research at Santa Elisa farm has made breakthrough discoveries, including the discovery of a wild caffeine-free Arabica coffee variety, and research into "naturally decaffeinated" coffee cultivation has now entered a definitive stage; the research by Brazil's IAC will be crucial to unlocking the true market potential of these varieties for the global industry.

In addition, Brazil's coffee production peaked in 2020, but in 2021 Brazil suffered frost and coffee production was severely reduced, and at that time coffee prices soared by nearly 13%. But since then Brazil has continued to be affected by weather disruptions, and by the beginning of this year Brazil suffered its worst drought in more than 70 years, causing Brazil's coffee production to fall again, which pushed coffee prices up once more. But all along, Brazil's IAC has been researching coffee varieties suitable for cultivation in Brazil and able to resist harsh weather

Apart from the research and development of the coffee industry, research on other crops is concentrated on this farm. If the farm's land is sold by the government, much of the research and development would be hindered or halted, which would not be conducive to the future development of Brazil's coffee and other agricultural industries.

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