The Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (pronounced as /pt/) (Agronomical Institute of Campinas—IAC) is a research and development institution affiliated to the Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (São Paulo Agency of Agrobusiness Technology), of the Secretary of Agriculture of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with headquarters in the city of Campinas. It is the oldest institution of its kind in Latin America, having been founded by Emperor Dom Pedro II in 1887 as the Imperial Agronomical Station of Campinas. In 1892 it was transferred to the state government.
IAC's mission is to research, generate and transfer science and technology devoted to agriculture and related applied fields, with the aim of optimizing plant production, sustainable socio-economic development and environmental quality. As of January 2005, the Institute had 172 scientific researchers and 391 auxiliary and clerical workers. Besides the headquarters, a set of building in beautiful neoclassic style in Campinas' downtown, IAC operates a Central Experimental Center and four other Advanced Research Centers, with several experimental farms, comprising a total of 12.79 square kilometres of land.
The Institute also operates a botanical garden and a herbarium.
The Institute's activities center around the following areas:
The Institute has also a number of sectors for producing goods and offering services to agribusiness, such as:
The Agronomical Institute of Campinas is also an acting member of the CIIAGRO (Integrated Center of Agrometeorological Information) and operates the INFOSECA (Information System on Droughts).
IAC has an intense activity in the dissemination of agricultural information. It publishes a technical bulletin, technical reports, and two periodicals, "Bragantia" - Revista de Ciências Agronômicas, and "O Agronômico" - Boletim Técnico Informativo. The Institute has a specialized library, with ca. 33,000 books and 2,860 periodical titles.
Regarding educational activities, the Institute offers research fellowships for students and professionals in agronomics, biology and correlated areas. It has several post-graduate training programs, some of them in collaboration with the State University of Campinas, EMBRAPA and other institutions.