Brazil’s national IoT strategy gets the green light

The Brazilian government plans to start implementing a national IoT plan, according to the country’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Communications (MCTIC).

The plan seeks to advance Brazil’s IoT ambitions across the four verticals of smart cities, agriculture, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Brazil’s IoT aspirations

Brazil certainly has big ambitions in the field. So much so, that last year the country’s development bank, BNDES, commissioned a study with MCTIC to determine which areas held the greatest potential for tech-focused economic growth.

The study, turned into a national action plan by management consultants McKinsey and innovation group Fundação CPqD, suggested that widespread IoT adoption could add $200 billion to the country’s revenues by 2025.

Last week Brazil’s President Michel Temer signed a decree to green-light the plan, with the aim, according to the document, to “accelerate the implementation of the Internet of Things as a tool for sustainable development of Brazilian society… One that is capable of making the economy more competitive, strengthen the nation’s productive chains, and promote improved quality of life.”

A cornerstone to seeing that prediction become a reality is Brazil’s Internet For All programme, a government-backed, low-cost broadband connection strategy to “democratise access to the internet for social inclusion.”

Brazilian agriculture to receive IoT boost

As recently as 2015, agricultural products accounted for 46.2 percent Brazil’s total exports and 21.5 percent of GDP. The potential of this industry alone in a better-connected Brazil is clear.

Ricardo Rivera, head of Brazil’s Department of Information and Communication Technology, told the Futurecom audience late last year that the farming industry is set to benefit from more investment in technology.

“The easiest environment is the rural environment,” he said, “as we have verified that IoT solutions in this segment are already growing very rapidly.”

The IoT action plan estimates that adoption could lead to a productivity increase of up to 25 percent in Brazilian farms by 2025, not to mention a drop of up to 20 percent in the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers.

Internet of Business says

The value of national or regional plans to stimulate growth, focus investment, and transform society from the ground up – literally in the case of smart agriculture – cannot be overstated. In this regard, Brazil joins Portugal, Australia, and many others that are forging ahead with centrally led ‘big picture’ programmes.

In the UK, AI, robotics, and the IoT are part of the new Industrial Strategy, but the UK still lacks both focus and world-class investment to back its ambitions.

For evidence of the core problem, compare Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Communications with the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. The UK’s strategic error is right there in the name: broad, muddled, bizarre, and needlessly complex, versus clarity and focus from Brazil.

It’s time for a change of tack.