Brazil made consistent investments for human resources training in science during the last thirty years. Science in Brazil is growing at a rate comparable to that of the most developed countries. In twenty five years the Country has increased five fold its contribution to the world scientific production which is now approaching 2%, a performance very few countries achieved in the same period.

Financial stability reached during the eighties attracted venture capital funds to R&D. Patent, cultivar and biosafety laws were enacted during those years before the commercial release of agricultural biotech products. The biosafety law is in effect since 1995. Now an innovation law allows funding the private sector in the area of technology development under extremely favorable conditions. Brazil has been able to triple its grain production over the last four decades. First geneticists learned how to breed plants for the tropics. Then a law regulating the commercialization of seeds was enacted forty years ago. Finally foundation seed programs allowed the consolidation of a seed industry to transfer the work of the geneticists to farmers. Since the seventies in anticipation to the gene revolution, consistent investments in human resources training were made in plant cell, molecular, developmental biology and genome analysis, to offer the advances of biology to plant breeders.

Social problems however are far from being resolved. In recent years Brazil has been surveying hunger and poverty in its different geographical regions. There are 21.7 million people i.e.12.9% of the country’s population in Brazil living at extreme poverty levels. More than half (52.8%) of this population resides in the Northeast. Considering the 100 poorest Counties in Brazil 78 are also located in the Northeast. Actually in some rural areas of the Northeast the poverty average ranks twice the national average. (Rocha S., and Albuquerque C.R., 2003). Pressing problems in the area of health call for the urgent strengthening of the pharmaceutical industry in Brazil.

We believe that Brazilian scientists and engineers living and working abroad may help the country to face these challenges in many ways. A recent paper revealed that some 1,000 scientist may have migrated from Brazil to different countries from 1993 to 1999 (Guimarães 2002), half of them to the United States. Among those who migrated to the US 250 did so to work there

We are interested to identify these scientists and engineers in particular those that are sensitive to build an effort in the direction mentioned to share their views about or experiences they may present to develop innovations in Brazil. This effort is by no means unique and is in progress in Countries such as China and Canada (Science 312 :1602). In Canada a similar initiative has been very successful. We have no other reason to move in the same direction except to be as successful as other countries but we intend to go beyond a scientific diaspora opening the possibility for foreigners to participate in this initiative reason why we are writing this letter in English.