Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed on Thursday a decree to invest 1 billion reals (about 4.7 billion U.S. dollars) each year over the next decade in biotechnology.

"Brazil has 20 percent of the world's biodiversity and immense forests, " said Lula during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Brasilia. "This policy will help Brazil realize this potential."

This annual investment will be used to fund research and development of a new strain of sugarcane that is resistant to droughts, a vaccine for rabies and other projects to fuel growth in agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industries.

By developing new cane varieties, Brazil could expand crops into areas that don't receive as much rain as the central south region of the country, where 85 percent of Brazil's sugar and ethanol are produced.

The government will also fund the research of new species that can better withstand droughts that are frequent in the northeast, where cane productivity is 30 percent lower than the center-south.

Development Minister Luiz Furlan said on the same day that the government will contribute 60 percent of the investment, including funds from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), and the private sector will provide the rest.

Source: Xinhua