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1.2.2 Brazilian agricultural cooperation with other countries

Embrapa’s virtual laboratories programme (Labex) is a mechanism to foster 

international cooperation among developing and developed countries and promote 

agricultural research networks. Senior researchers are chosen by competitive selection 

to promote scientific exchange with other scientists from overseas laboratories, 

for a period of two to three years. Selected researchers participate in teams 

and collaborate on projects of mutual interest, which can enable the creation of 

networks of international scientific research. There are Labex projects in Europe, 

the USA, South Korea and China. Labex China was established in the Chinese 

Academy of Agricultural Sciences

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 (OECD, 2014a). 

Project Cotton-4 aimed to transfer Brazilian technology to increase profitability 

of the cotton supply chain in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. This project, 

developed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and Embrapa, was in the 

spotlight during the World Trade Organization’s 14

th

 Consultation Mechanism 

Meeting of the General Director.

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The Agricultural Innovation Market Place

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 aims to benefit smallholder 

producers by enabling innovation through collaborative partnerships between 

Africa, Latin America and Brazil. Eight African projects were selected in 2011, 

and 12 in 2013.

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1.2.3 Cross-country projects among BRICS countries

China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite: In addition to Labex China, Brazil and 

China also cooperate on space technology. In 1988 a partnership involving INPE 

and the Chinese Academy of Space Technology was signed to develop remote-sensing 

satellites. This partnership continues to date.

The Chinese-Russian University: Moscow State University and Peking 

Polytechnic University signed an agreement to establish a Chinese-Russian 

University in Shenzen. It will begin to operate in 2015.

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1.2.4 Multilateral university cooperations

The University of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a network university which 

combines the educational potential of several universities from Kazakhstan, China, 

Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. The education model is based 

77. See: <http://goo.gl/kWlvaA>. 
78. See: <http://goo.gl/FYE6mb>. 
79. See: <http://goo.gl/YGmEM3>. 
80. See: <http://goo.gl/oj5H0y>. 
81. See: <http://goo.gl/vcmiwD>. 

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on academic exchange, where each student from a joint cooperation programme 

must spend at least one semester in a partner university in another country.

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1.3 Concluding remarks 

Facts and figures presented in this section can be well depicted in the metaphor of 

the glass half empty or half full. BRICS countries improved their performance in 

STI indicators (glass half full), but still lag far behind more developed countries 

(glass half empty). 

The Russian Federation inherited a significant scientific legacy from the 

Soviet era. The Soviets were not only the first ones to send humans into space 

but were also responsible for the world’s first nuclear power station, built in 1954 

(Gokhberg et al., 2009). China has accomplished a large number of technological 

achievements that have been described throughout this chapter, Brazil has the 

third largest aircraft manufacturing industry, South Africa plays a leading role 

in astronomy with its SKA project, and India made history with its recent Mars 

Orbiter Mission. All these successes were possible due to highly skilled 

professionals in their respective areas.

When one analyses the leading STI performance of China among the BRICS 

countries, it is important to consider the structure of the economies. On the one 

hand, R&D is an input for innovation. On the other hand, 

“

high levels of R&D 

intensity are the outcome of industry, economic, and social structures” (Sheehan 

and Wyckoff, 2003: 9). Brazil, Russia and South Africa are resource-rich countries, 

and services account for a relatively high share of India’s economy. China, 

in turn, is the main manufacturing country in the world, and benefited in 

recent decades from productivity increases. These factors help explain larger 

increases in productivity and the share of GERD as a percentage of GDP. 

These considerations are important for countries such as Brazil and South 

Africa, where manufacturing industry’s share of GDP is decreasing.

Increased innovation might be an objective for policymakers involved in STI 

policies, but, for firms, innovation is a way to solve problems and/or increase 

competitiveness. For example, when oil lies some 6,000 metres below sea level, there 

is no other way than to develop all the technologies necessary to extract it safely 

from that depth. When a firm participates in competitive markets such as consumer 

electronics, it has to constantly introduce innovative products to the market. China 

has been more successful than other BRICS countries in creating companies that 

compete in high-tech competitive sectors, including overseas markets.

82. See: <http://goo.gl/Pso7ZJ>.

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China has a use-driven science policy. University-industry interactions are 

characterised by a heavy reliance on scientific research by universities and research 

institutes. On the other hand, industry plays an important role in supporting 

universities with funds, equipment and demands. Patents derived from university-

industry collaborations are increasing (Liu, Lv and Gao, n.d.).

If the accomplishments have been significant, the challenges are also huge. 

While the Russian Federation has a well-educated population, and Chinese stu-

dents from certain eastern cities are excelling in PISA exams, Brazil, India and 

South Africa have very unequal education systems, with a relatively small highly 

educated elite and a large low-skilled population. There are also large regional 

disparities in all BRICS countries. Table 6 lists the distinguishing features, key 

achievements and main challenges (further discussed in Section 3) of BRICS 

countries’ NISs.

TABLE 6

Distinguishing features, key achievements and main challenges of BRICS countries’ 
National Innovation Systems

Brazil

Russia

India

China

South Africa

Distinguishing 
features

•  Late development 
of universities and 
industrialisation
•  Rich in natural 
resources
•  Several promising 
domestic firms were 
acquired by foreign 
enterprises during the 
opening of the economy 
in the early 1990s

•  Deep social, political 
and economic changes 
in the 1990s
•  High-income country
•  Rich in natural 
resources
•  Significant scientific 
legacy from Soviet era
•  Importance of 
government-funded R&D 
institutions in the NIS

•  Rapid economic 
growth in recent 
decades
•  Recognition of 
the importance of 
the service sector, 
non-technological and 
‘bottom-of- the-pyramid’ 
innovations
•  Importance of 
planning (e.g. Five-Year 
Plans)
•  Return of students 
and STI workers from 
abroad

•  High share of manu-
facturing sector in GDP
•  Rapid economic 
growth in recent 
decades
•  Importance of 
government research 
institutions in the NIS
•  Importance of 
planning (e.g. Five-Year 
Plans)
•  Strong drive to 
develop indigenous 
technologies
•  Return of students 
and STI workers from 
abroad

•  Deep social, political 
and economic changes 
in the 1990s
•  Rich in natural resources
•  Recognition of the 
importance of ‘grass-roots’ 
‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’, 
‘inclusive’ innovations, 
and the notion of 
‘innovation for inclusive 
development’
•  In the 1990s, South 
Africa’s S&T policies 
were redesigned in 
accordance with the NIS 
concept, but there are 
problems in implementing 
these policies effectively

Key  
achievements

•  Aeronautical, biofuel 
and deep sea oil drilling 
technologies
•  Increasing agriculture 
productivity
•  Increasing number of 
scientific publications

•  Nano, space, nuclear 
and defence technologies
•  Highly educated 
population

•  Space, nuclear 
and pharmaceutical 
technologies
•  ICT services exports
•  Increasing number of 
patents and scientific 
publications

•  Nano, material 
sciences, space and ICT 
technologies
•  Increasing exports of 
high-tech products
•  Recent emergence of 
national champions in 
high-tech areas
•  Increasing number of 
patents and scientific 
publications
•  Increasing R&D 
spending as a share 
of GDP
•  Outstanding perfor-
mance of students from 
certain eastern cities in 
PISA exam

•  Astronomy, space and 
geology sciences
•  Service sectors such 
as banking and finance 
operate at the global 
level
•  Increasing number of 
scientific publications

(Continues)

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Brazil

Russia

India

China

South Africa

Main chal-
lenges for 
the NIS

•  Low levels of 
productivity compared to 
developed countries
•  Low and stagnant 
level of patent 
applications
•  Overall low impact of 
patents and publications
•  Regional imbalances 
within the country
•  Imbalances in education 
and qualification of the 
workforce
•  Dependence on 
commodities and 
resource-based 
industries
•  Overall weak innova-
tion performance and 
demand for innovation 
from business sector, 
compared to developed 
countries

•  Low levels of 
productivity compared to 
developed countries
•  Overall low impact of 
patents and publications
•  Regional imbalances 
within the country
•  Dependence on 
commodities and 
resource-based 
industries
•  Overall weak innovation 
performance and 
demand for innovation 
from business sector, 
compared to developed 
countries

•  Low levels of 
productivity compared to 
developed countries
•  Overall low impact of 
patents and publications
•  Regional imbalances 
within the country
•  Imbalances in education 
and qualification of the 
workforce
•  Overall weak innovation 
performance

•  Low levels of 
productivity compared to 
developed countries
•  Overall low impact of 
patents and publications
•  Environmental 
imbalances within the 
country
•  Regional imbalances
•  Prevalence of ‘second-
ary innovations’

•  Low levels of 
productivity compared to 
developed countries
•  Overall low impact of 
patents and publications
•  Regional imbalances 
within the country
•  Imbalances in educa-
tion and qualification of 
the workforce
•  Dependence on 
commodities and 
resource-based 
industries
•  Overall weak innova-
tion performance and 
demand for innovation 
from business sector, 
compared to developed 
countries

Source: Prepared by authors.
Note: Not an exhaustive list.

2 COMMON CHALLENGES 

This section presents some of the main common challenges that BRICS countries 

face in their efforts to develop their NISs.

2.1 Improve performance in science, technology and innovation

First of all, governance issues have to be addressed. BRICS countries have large 

populations and territories, complex government structures and different levels of 

government. This, of course, makes coordination of STI policies very difficult. 

It is also hard to coordinate STI policies with other public policies.

One aspect that needs to be emphasised is the lack of integration of innovation-

related policies. As presented in Section 2, BRICS countries have complex 

innovation systems, involving multiple institutions, laws, regional levels, policies 

and programmes. It is a complex task to integrate and coordinate all these dimensions, 

but it is essential that this integration happens; otherwise, a lot of time and human 

and financial resources may be wasted.

As mentioned in the Introduction, BRICS countries have achieved – to 

different degrees – impressive improvements in their STI indicators. However, 

when one analyses the quality or impact of publications and patents, improvements 

have not been so great. As presented before, the percentage of Triadic patents filed 

by BRICS countries is still low. Most of the increase from 2001 to 2011 is due 

to China and India.

(Continued)

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2.2 Education

Russia has a well-educated population, and Chinese students from some eastern 

cities of the country outperform most of other countries’ students in PISA exams. 

However, considering populations as a whole, there is room for improvement in 

all BRICS countries, even though the situation is much more serious in Brazil, 

India and South Africa. Brazilian students perform poorly in PISA exams, and 

Brazil does not have an elite as large as China’s to compensate for this overall 

low quality of education. In South Africa, the number of students per teacher is 

unbalanced,

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 and the tuition system does not allow students in the poorest areas 

to grow academically because of the financial cost (Leibowitz and Bozalek, 2014). 

Inequality issues play a major role in the lack of human resources needed for 

sustainable innovation systems. The poorest citizens are denied access to 

high-quality education and are trapped in a low-income situation leading to a 

cycle of low educational attainment and low quality of life (Maharaj, Lastres and 

Scerri, 2013). The INGINEUS project the showed poor education indicators of 

BRICS countries compared to their European counterparts (Muller and Manamela, 

n.d.). Without a well-educated population, it is hard to imagine how a country 

can have spectacular performance in STI. 

The rapid increase in the number of higher education students, shown 

in Figure 3, came at the expense of quality, especially in private institutions. 

This is a concern also for China and the Russian Federation, where support to 

selected top universities may increase inequality in the higher education system. 

The rapid expansion has also led to a decline in the average qualification of education 

professionals (ibid.). There are a number of other studies dealing with this subject 

in BRICS countries (Loyalka et al., 2012; Kruss et al., 2012; Guimarães, 2013).

An important aspect to be considered is ageing of the population. With the 

exception of the Russian Federation, BRICS countries are facing rapid demographic 

changes, and, by 2050, only India and South Africa will have relatively young 

populations. This represents an opportunity, as well as a challenge, for these two 

countries. The concept of lifelong training needs to be more widespread among 

BRICS countries, as the skills needed by the market are changing rapidly, and, as 

mentioned before, large proportions of the populations of BRICS countries did 

not have access to proper education at the appropriate age.

2.3 Equity

The OECD 

Review of Innovation Policy: Russian Federation 2011

 states 

“

There is a 

sharp contrast between progressive territorial, scientific, technological and industrial 

nodes of excellence and a rather large stagnant pool of firms and organizations with 

83. There were 30 students per teacher in 2012 (Source: World Bank, <http://goo.gl/qlxpLb>).