By IANS,
Rio de Janeiro : Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has unveiled a $16 billion plan to encourage companies to invest in technological innovation.
The government will allocate 32.9 billion reals ($16.6 billion) in the next two years for research and development by companies under a program dubbed “Innovate”, reported Xinhua.
The programme is the result of collaboration between private and public sectors, Rousseff said Thursday, adding innovation was a government strategy to spur development.
Brazil needs to add more value to its products, otherwise it is merely a commodities producer, she said.
The programme will target seven main areas: agribusiness, energy, oil and gas, healthcare, defence, information and communication technology, and environmental sustainability.
A state-controlled company, the Brazilian Industrial Research Corporation (Embrapii), will be established to boost productivity in the industrial sector and promote cooperation between private companies and state-owned research institutions.