https://agrospectrumasia.com/rssfeed/country/brazil brazil https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4685/brazil-courts-china-for-itmo-demand-as-carbon-market-takes-shape.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4685/brazil-courts-china-for-itmo-demand-as-carbon-market-takes-shape.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:16:53 +0530 Brazil is turning to China as a potential buyer of its internationally transferable carbon credits as it seeks to deepen cross-border carbon markets and attract new flows of climate finance. Brazilian officials are preparing for bilateral discussions with China that could pave the way for a carbon market cooperation agreement by COP31 in November, with talks expected to examine whether China could purchase Brazilian Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The discussions come as Brazil moves to operationalise its regulated carbon market while China continues to expand the world’s largest national emissions trading system. A bilateral framework would potentially connect two major emerging-market carbon systems and establish a new route for international climate finance, although the talks remain at an exploratory stage and key rules and eligibility conditions have yet to be agreed. Brazil is sending a carbon market delegation to Wuhan from September 14 to 18, where officials from Brazil, China and the European Union are meeting as part of a broader carbon market coalition. Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has confirmed that the meetings will include bilateral discussions with China, following earlier exchanges under the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN) in Beijing in June. Brazilian officials are also examining the possibility of China becoming a buyer of Brazilian ITMOs. According to Brazilian officials cited by Reuters, China currently does not have an official bilateral ITMO trading agreement with another country. Brazil is therefore looking to move quickly, with the possibility of announcing a framework at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, scheduled for November 9–20. Any agreement, however, would depend on further negotiations covering market rules, eligible projects, authorisation procedures and other conditions for international transfers. The international push is unfolding alongside Brazil’s effort to establish its domestic carbon market. Brazil created the Brazilian Emissions Trading System (SBCE) through Law No. 15,042 in December 2024, establishing the legal foundation for a regulated market for emissions and carbon assets. The government is now developing the detailed regulations needed to make the system operational and integrate it with Brazil’s wider climate strategy. In July, Brazil opened a public consultation on rules governing international carbon transfers. The proposed framework would allow Brazil to participate in Article 6 cooperation while placing limits on the volume of mitigation outcomes that can be transferred overseas. It proposes a global ceiling of 50 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent for international transfers, with the possibility of adjusting the limit depending on Brazil’s emissions and the economic performance of the mechanism. The proposed rules would apply to mitigation outcomes generated during 2031–2035. The distinction between ITMOs and conventional voluntary carbon credits will be central to any Brazil-China arrangement. Under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, countries can cooperate directly and transfer mitigation outcomes towards their climate targets. Such transfers require robust accounting systems, including corresponding adjustments, to prevent the same emissions reduction from being counted towards the climate targets of both countries. For Brazil, that accounting framework could turn verified emissions reductions and removals into a source of international climate finance. But it also creates a strategic choice: mitigation outcomes authorised for export cannot simultaneously be counted by Brazil towards its own nationally determined contribution. The government will therefore have to balance international carbon-market revenues with domestic climate commitments. “Both the coalition and the closer relationship with China can help scale up carbon markets and unlock investment flows for Brazil as it seeks to reindustrialize around new technologies,” said Ana Paula Cavalcante, Brazil’s deputy secretary. China’s expanding carbon market provides a potentially significant counterpart. Its national emissions trading system covered 3,378 companies in 2025, spanning power, steel, cement and aluminium producers. Those companies traded 865 million tonnes of carbon allowances worth 57.663 billion yuan during the year. China added steel, cement and primary aluminium to its national ETS in 2025, bringing the system to more than 60 per cent of the country’s total emissions, according to China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment. China is also working towards a more comprehensive national carbon market by 2030, including wider sectoral coverage, stronger allowance controls and closer alignment between its voluntary carbon market and international standards. The expansion could provide a larger institutional base for future international carbon-market cooperation. The Brazil-China discussions are part of a broader effort to improve interoperability among regulated carbon markets. Brazil launched the Open Coalition for Regulated Carbon Markets at COP30, with China and the European Union among its participants. The initiative focuses on monitoring, reporting and verification, carbon accounting, offset rules and the compatibility of regulated carbon-market systems. The Wuhan meetings are expected to advance a work plan aimed at improving that compatibility. For Brazil, the longer-term objective is not simply to sell individual carbon assets but to help create common standards that could make cross-border carbon trading more transparent and scalable. Credit quality will be critical to that ambition. Brazil’s proposed framework requires internationally transferred mitigation outcomes to comply with approved methodologies and receive authorisation from the country’s designated national authority. That is particularly relevant given Brazil’s large pipeline of nature-based climate projects, including forest conservation and restoration. Any international market will need to demonstrate that the underlying mitigation outcomes are real, measurable and properly accounted for. Weak verification or double counting could undermine both the credibility of the market and Brazil’s ability to meet its own climate commitments. For China, the same safeguards would be important in establishing confidence in the mitigation outcomes acquired through any future bilateral mechanism. The September discussions in Wuhan and COP31 in November could therefore become important milestones for Brazil’s international carbon-market strategy. But neither event guarantees a bilateral agreement. Brazil is still finalising its domestic market architecture and international transfer rules, while China continues to refine and expand its national ETS. A Brazil-China framework would not immediately create a large-scale carbon trading market. Its significance would lie in establishing the rules, institutional relationships and accounting architecture needed for future ITMO transactions between two major emerging economies. For Brazil, the opportunity is to convert part of its emissions-reduction and carbon-removal potential into international climate finance without compromising its domestic climate objectives. For China, deeper engagement with Brazil could provide another pathway for international Article 6 cooperation as its domestic carbon market expands. The outcome of the talks will ultimately depend on whether the two countries can establish a system that combines credible accounting, high-integrity mitigation outcomes and sufficiently clear rules to support long-term cross-border trading. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4674/world-bank-group-backs-1-06-billion-push-to-decarbonise-brazils-energy-intensive-industries.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4674/world-bank-group-backs-1-06-billion-push-to-decarbonise-brazils-energy-intensive-industries.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:04:45 +0530 The World Bank Group is backing Brazil’s push to decarbonise its most energy-intensive industries, combining more than $1 billion in concessional and development financing with an effort to turn the country’s renewable energy advantage into a new source of industrial competitiveness, investment and jobs. Implemented in partnership with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the initiative targets industrial and energy value chains including steel, cement, chemicals, aluminium and low-carbon fuels. The programme is designed to accelerate deployment of emerging technologies, reduce the risks associated with early-stage investments and draw private capital into Brazil’s industrial transition. The financing comprises a $1 billion loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and a $60 million Clean Technology Fund loan. It is expected to mobilise a further $1.8 billion in development and commercial financing, taking the potential financing pool linked to the initiative to about $2.86 billion. Resources will be channelled through BNDES, which has a financing portfolio of approximately R$585 billion and is positioned to help move low-carbon technologies from demonstration and early investment towards commercial scale. The project supports Brazil’s target of reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of industrial GDP by 30 per cent by 2033. The programme will focus on three interconnected areas. The first is low-carbon industrial commodities, with financing directed towards cement, steel, glass, chemicals and aluminium producers seeking to cut emissions while maintaining competitiveness in international markets. The second is low-carbon fuels, where investments will support sustainable aviation fuel, e-methanol, biomethane and other next-generation fuels. These technologies are expected to play a growing role in reducing emissions from sectors such as aviation and maritime transport, where direct electrification remains challenging. The third area is common-user infrastructure. Shared assets such as green hydrogen and ammonia storage facilities and pipelines can provide multiple industrial users with access to low-carbon inputs, helping reduce infrastructure costs and lowering barriers to technology adoption. A key objective is to use public and development finance to demonstrate the commercial viability of low-carbon industrial investments and crowd in private capital as markets mature. By reducing the risks faced by early movers, the initiative seeks to create conditions for broader commercial financing of industrial decarbonisation. “Brazil's clean energy matrix is one of its greatest competitive advantages. This project is about turning that advantage into a driver of industrial transformation, one that reduces emissions, attracts investment, and creates quality jobs in the industries of tomorrow. By working with BNDES, we are combining the reach of Brazil's premier development bank with the World Bank's global experience towards a more prosperous and more sustainable Brazil,” said Cécile Fruman, World Bank Director for Brazil. The initiative places Brazil’s relatively clean power system at the centre of a broader industrial strategy: using renewable energy and emerging low-carbon technologies not only to cut industrial emissions, but also to build new value chains around cleaner commodities, fuels and shared infrastructure. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4671/xfarm-technologies-adds-8-mn-hectares-with-sibium-analytics-deal.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4671/xfarm-technologies-adds-8-mn-hectares-with-sibium-analytics-deal.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:21:50 +0530 xFarm Technologies is expanding deeper into Brazil’s sugarcane and bioenergy economy through a strategic combination with Sibium Analytics, adding 8 million tracked hectares to its global agricultural data ecosystem and marking the company’s sixth strategic transaction worldwide and second in Brazil in the past year. The Lugano-based agtech company said the transaction will broaden its presence across Brazil’s sugarcane value chain, combining Sibium Analytics’ expertise in geospatial intelligence, business intelligence, ESG compliance and planning with xFarm Technologies’ digital farming, IoT and decision-support capabilities. The deal follows xFarm’s integration with Brazilian agritech company Checkplant and was supported by existing and new investors, including a new partnership with BlackRock. The transaction gives xFarm access to one of Brazil’s most strategically important agricultural value chains. Sugarcane sits at the intersection of food, agriculture and renewable energy in the country, supporting a large ethanol and bioelectricity industry. Brazil produces roughly 36.8 billion litres of ethanol annually from sugarcane, alongside 21,218 GWh of bioelectricity, making the crop an important component of the country’s low-carbon energy system. Sibium Analytics brings 8 million tracked hectares into xFarm’s platform, extending its coverage across Brazil’s major crops, including sugarcane, corn, soybeans, cotton, coffee, citrus and grapes. The combined platform is designed to connect farm-level data with processing, traceability, sustainability and supply-chain intelligence. “Our vision has always been to support farmers and ag-innovators with world class data-driven decision making across entire agricultural value chains,” said Matteo Vanotti, CEO of xFarm Technologies. “Following our successful integration with Checkplant, this operation represents another massive leap in our growth trajectory. By bringing Sibium Analytics’ deep geospatial intelligence and ESG audit capabilities into our group and introducing our existing offering to sugarcane producers, we are creating an unprecedented, data-driven platform for farmers and processors alike.” The deal also creates a two-way technology exchange between the companies. Sibium’s existing customers, which include sugarcane mills and biofuel processors, will gain access to xFarm’s IoT ecosystem, including hyper-local weather stations, field sensors and AI-powered decision-support systems. These tools are expected to support field operations, production planning, crop monitoring and supply-chain forecasting. At the same time, xFarm customers will gain access to Sibium’s Sigma Digital remote-sensing platform and Ambium Digital ESG and traceability solution. The technologies will be extended across crops covered by xFarm, with applications spanning sustainability certification, risk monitoring and traceability across Latin American agricultural supply chains. For food, finance and insurance companies, the combined offering is positioned as a single data infrastructure layer capable of providing transparent and auditable information across multi-crop supply chains. That could become increasingly important as agricultural businesses face growing requirements around ESG reporting, traceability and climate-related risk. “Joining the xFarm Technologies group is a natural evolution for Sibium Analytics,” said Ronaldo Marani, Director of Sibium Analytics. “We will be able to deliver even greater value to our customers and expand our solutions to new crops. Together, we are broadening the possibilities for using data and technology to support more efficient decision-making in agribusiness. Together, we are setting a new standard for intelligence in agribusiness.” The Brazilian expansion comes as xFarm scales its international footprint. The company now supports more than 600,000 farms covering a combined 24 million hectares globally. Its investor base includes Partech, Mouro Capital and United Ventures, while the company raised €36 million in a Series C funding round in October 2024. The Sibium transaction strengthens xFarm’s position at a time when agricultural technology is moving beyond farm-management software towards integrated data infrastructure linking growers, processors, financiers and downstream supply chains. By adding sugarcane and bioenergy to its existing crop portfolio, xFarm is seeking to make that integration relevant across a broader portion of the agricultural economy. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4655/whirlpool-adds-inplanets-brazilian-rock-weathering-credits-to-carbon-removal-portfolio.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4655/whirlpool-adds-inplanets-brazilian-rock-weathering-credits-to-carbon-removal-portfolio.html Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:31:27 +0530 The carbon-removal market is beginning to move from experimentation to procurement, and Whirlpool Corporation is adding enhanced rock weathering to that transition. The home-appliance major has selected InPlanet, a pioneer in enhanced rock weathering (ERW), for a diversified carbon-removal portfolio structured by ClimeFi. The agreement includes a firm offtake for carbon removals scheduled for delivery in 2030, alongside standalone options that reserve access to additional volumes as Whirlpool develops its longer-term climate strategy. The deal also has a distinctly local dimension. Whirlpool has operated in Brazil for more than seven decades, while InPlanet’s ERW projects are designed to deploy carbon-removal technology directly on Brazilian agricultural land. Carbon Removal Meets Agricultural Productivity InPlanet’s approach uses finely crushed basalt, sourced as a byproduct from certified mining operations, and applies it to farmland. As the rock weathers, it removes atmospheric carbon while releasing minerals that can replenish nutrients in depleted soils. InPlanet says treated fields have recorded measurable improvements in soil fertility, alongside reduced reliance on synthetic fertilisers and limestone. Brazil provides an important operating advantage. Its warm and humid climate can accelerate the weathering process to up to 10 times the rate observed in temperate regions, potentially improving the economics and scalability of ERW projects. That combination gives the technology a proposition that extends beyond carbon removal: the same intervention is intended to generate an agricultural benefit while permanently storing atmospheric carbon. “Two years ago we were explaining why enhanced rock weathering works. Today buyers are placing it in diversified portfolios on the same terms as every other durable pathway,” said Felix Harteneck, Founder & CEO of InPlanet. “Each new buyer moves ERW further from novelty and closer to standard procurement. Whirlpool Corporation is committing to that in a country where it manufactures, employs people, and sells its products, which is what lets us bring rock powder to more farmers and remove more carbon.” A 2030 Offtake Creates a Scaling Signal The structure of the agreement is as important as the volume itself. The firm offtake gives Whirlpool committed access to carbon removals for delivery in 2030, while giving InPlanet greater revenue visibility against which it can plan investment and expand its operations across Brazilian farmland. The additional options provide flexibility for Whirlpool to increase purchases as its carbon-removal requirements evolve. For an emerging carbon-removal pathway, that combination addresses a central commercial challenge: developers need predictable future demand to finance infrastructure and scale projects, while corporate buyers want flexibility as technologies, standards and climate strategies mature. The agreement effectively bridges those two requirements — committed demand for the developer and optionality for the buyer. “We are thrilled to be able to support projects that share our core values and ambition to improve life across communities where we do business around the world,” said Samantha Truesdell, Enterprise Sustainability Manager at Whirlpool Corporation. ERW Moves Deeper Into Carbon Markets The credits under the agreement will be issued under Isometric’s Enhanced Weathering Protocol and publicly listed on the Isometric Registry. Anonymised project data will also be shared through Cascade Climate’s ERW Data Quarry. The transaction builds on an earlier milestone for InPlanet. In December 2024, the company delivered what it described as the world’s first independently verified ERW carbon-removal credits in a transaction facilitated by ClimeFi. The credits subsequently received an “A” rating from BeZero Carbon. The significance of Whirlpool’s commitment lies in what it says about the market's direction. Enhanced rock weathering still occupies a relatively young segment of the carbon-removal industry, but corporate procurement is beginning to create a pathway from demonstration projects to larger-scale deployment. By combining agricultural land, permanent carbon removal and an established corporate buyer, the InPlanet-Whirlpool agreement illustrates how ERW could increasingly compete for a place within diversified corporate carbon-removal portfolios.   ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4651/jacto-scales-up-its-agricultural-drone-strategy-with-t55-and-t100.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4651/jacto-scales-up-its-agricultural-drone-strategy-with-t55-and-t100.html Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:51:45 +0530 Jacto is expanding its agricultural drone business as demand for faster, more precise and increasingly automated field operations reshapes the machinery market. The Brazilian company, which has partnered with DJI since 2024, is adding the T55 agricultural drone and the dual-battery T100 agricultural drone to its portfolio. The new models are designed to extend operating time and improve productivity, particularly in applications covering large agricultural areas. The additions complement Jacto’s existing range, which includes the T70, T25P and Mavic 3M, giving farmers and agricultural operators a broader set of options across spraying, solid-material distribution, imaging and cargo transport. “The new equipment will join the models Jacto already distributes, including the agricultural drones T70 and T25P and the imaging drone Mavic 3M, expanding the range of solutions for different operational profiles in the field,” said Rodrigo Madeira, Product Planning Manager at Jacto. “Featuring technologies geared toward spraying, solid-material distribution, and cargo transport, these models reinforce Jacto’s strategy of making equipment that combines operational efficiency, precision, and versatility available,” he added. T55 Targets Flexible, Single-Operator Applications The T55 is positioned as a lightweight agricultural drone designed for individual operators handling multiple field applications. It has a 50-litre spraying capacity, can carry up to 55 kg for solid-material spreading, and supports a lifting-system payload of up to 40 kg. Its design allows a single operator to transport, assemble and operate the drone, reducing the logistical burden associated with deploying aerial equipment in the field. The T55 has a maximum speed of 72 km/h, a spraying flow rate of up to 50 litres per minute and a solids discharge rate of up to 400 kg per minute. Its technology package includes millimetre-wave radar, a quad-vision system and enhanced algorithms aimed at improving operational safety and enabling intelligent obstacle avoidance. The system is also designed to support reliable operation in challenging conditions, including rain, fog and low-light environments. For Jacto, the model broadens the role of agricultural drones beyond specialised spraying applications towards a more versatile platform capable of handling several routine field operations. Dual-Battery T100 Takes Aim at Large-Area Operations The T100 with dual batteries takes a different approach, focusing on productivity and endurance in large agricultural operations. With two intelligent batteries, the configuration increases flight time by 50 per cent for the same cargo, allowing operators to keep drones in the field for longer periods and reduce interruptions during extended operations. The drone's solid-material distribution system supports a payload of up to 100 kg, with a discharge rate of up to 400 kg per minute. Its cargo lifting and transport system can handle loads of up to 80 kg. In its dual-battery configuration, the spraying system has a 90-litre tank and a flow rate of up to 40 litres per minute. The platform can also be configured with two different spraying-system models, allowing operators to adapt the equipment to different agricultural applications. The distinction between the two new models reflects a broader shift in agricultural drone deployment: while smaller platforms can address flexibility and ease of operation, larger systems are increasingly being evaluated on the basis of payload, flight endurance and field productivity. Jacto Broadens Its Precision-Agriculture Play The expanded portfolio gives Jacto coverage across a wider range of aerial applications, from imaging and precision spraying to solid-material distribution and cargo transport. The move also strengthens the company's positioning in a segment where the economics of drone operations are increasingly determined not simply by aircraft specifications, but by how much work can be completed per flight cycle and how easily the technology can be integrated into routine farm operations. With the T55 and dual-battery T100 joining the T70, T25P and Mavic 3M, Jacto is effectively building a portfolio around different operational requirements rather than a single drone category. The strategy points to a larger opportunity for agricultural machinery companies: as drones become more embedded in farm workflows, their value is likely to be measured less by their novelty and more by their ability to reduce downtime, improve application precision and cover more hectares with fewer operational constraints. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4585/biostimulants-advance-but-value-creation-is-shifting-from-products-to-integrated-systems.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4585/biostimulants-advance-but-value-creation-is-shifting-from-products-to-integrated-systems.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:30:53 +0530 The global agricultural inputs industry is undergoing a structural shift in how value is created and captured. While markets for biological products and functional inputs continue to expand, growth in treated hectares is not necessarily translating into greater profitability for manufacturers, distributors or growers. This transformation will be at the center of DunhamTrimmer Bio Intelligence's participation in the 6th Bioestimulantes Latam & Redagrícola Biocontrol 2026 Congress, to be held on September 2 and 3 at Hotel Las Dunas in Ica, Peru. On September 2, from 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Main Hall, M. Sc. Manel Cervera, Managing Partner at DunhamTrimmer, will present “From Inputs to Integrated Functional Systems: How Agricultural Value Creation Is Moving Beyond Nutrition.” The current landscape combines growing adoption of biological technologies with increasingly significant commercial barriers. According to Cervera, categories such as biofertilizers, biostimulants and biocontrol products are at different stages of maturity, but share common challenges, including price pressure, the entry of new competitors, commoditization and the difficulty of translating scientific innovation into scalable commercial advantages. “Biofertilizers have enormous technological potential, particularly in biological nitrogen fixation and improving nutrient use efficiency. However, variable performance across environments and seasons, limited integration with conventional agronomic programs, and the need for changes in grower behavior continue to hinder their expansion as a standard agricultural tool,” Cervera said. Biostimulants are also continuing to grow, but in an increasingly commoditized environment. Low barriers to entry, products with similar characteristics, price pressure and the arrival of new players are making differentiation more difficult. “The challenge is to ensure that science-backed attributes become commercial advantages capable of achieving scale,” said the Managing Partner of DunhamTrimmer. In biocontrol, growing adoption is being accompanied by signs of value erosion in major markets. Brazil stands out as an example of high utilization, but also intense competition and price pressure, while Europe and North America are showing signs of greater market maturity. “We are seeing that growth in adoption does not necessarily mean proportional growth in the value captured by all players across the value chain. The question is no longer simply how much a category is growing, but who is able to differentiate and capture that growth,” Cervera explained. This shift is taking place alongside a less favorable macroeconomic environment, characterized by pressure on farm margins, volatility in input costs, greater capital selectivity and geopolitical risks. At the same time, structural factors continue to support the expansion of biological products, including sustainability pressures, regulatory changes and the agronomic need for more resilient farming systems. From nutrition to functional performanceIt is within this context that the concept of functional nutrition is gaining momentum. The shift does not mean replacing nutrients, but rather expanding their role within the production system. According to Cervera, nutrients are increasingly being viewed as delivery systems, signaling platforms, stress-management tools, biological interfaces and performance stabilizers. “We are moving away from thinking about nutrients as isolated products and toward understanding them as part of a functional architecture. Value increasingly lies in how they are integrated, how they are delivered and how they interact with the rest of the system,” he said. This logic shifts the center of innovation. The greatest value no longer necessarily resides in the nutrient itself, but rather in the system architecture surrounding it. Formulation, compatibility, microbial interactions, delivery systems and operational fit become fundamental elements in ensuring that a technology performs under real field conditions. The transformation is also changing performance metrics. Rather than pursuing exclusively the highest theoretical yield, growers are increasingly valuing production stability, resilience, predictability, nutrient efficiency and operational reliability—attributes that are particularly important amid growing climatic and economic volatility. “Under conditions of greater uncertainty, stability and predictability can have as much economic value as maximum yield potential. Technology must deliver consistent performance and, above all, it must be easy to implement under the farmer's real-world conditions,” Cervera said. The consequence is a shift in the commercial logic itself. Technically efficient products can fail to gain adoption when they introduce operational complexity, lack local validation, create compatibility issues or are difficult to implement. “Agronomic performance alone is no longer enough. A technology must be executable under commercial conditions, which means considering operations, compatibility, local validation and the grower's ability to incorporate it into their production system,” Cervera emphasized. DunhamTrimmer brings the integrated systems debate to PeruThis transformation will be at the center of DunhamTrimmer's participation in the 6th Bioestimulantes Latam & Redagrícola Biocontrol 2026 Congress. Organized by Redagrícola/Biologicals Latam, the event will bring together companies, researchers and international specialists to discuss biostimulants, biocontrol, innovation, biological technologies and market developments. Since its first edition in 2021, the congress has been held in Peru, Mexico and Chile, bringing together more than 6,000 professionals from five continents. In 2026, the choice of Ica reinforces the event's connection with one of Peru's leading agricultural export hubs. With nearly two decades of experience in the biostimulants and specialty fertilizers markets, Manel Cervera will address precisely this transition from agriculture based on categories and standalone products toward systems in which nutrition, biology, crop protection, signaling, application and compatibility operate in an integrated manner. The central thesis is particularly relevant to Latin America: in increasingly complex agricultural systems, growers do not manage products individually, but rather the interactions between different components of their production systems. “Growers do not farm categories; they farm the stack. And that stack includes genetics, fertility, biologicals, adjuvants, crop protection, timing, environmental conditions, analytics, logistics and labor. Value lies in how all these pieces work together,” Cervera summarized. In this new environment, distributors are also gaining strategic importance. Rather than acting solely as logistics operators, they can take on roles as technical translators, local validators, compatibility advisors and solution integrators, helping reduce the complexity faced by growers. “There is a very important opportunity for distributors that can move beyond selling products and help growers integrate solutions. Simplification and the ability to translate technology into tangible results will become increasingly important,” he said. For the biostimulants and specialty fertilizers industry, the message is clear: the next competitive frontier will not lie solely in the discovery of new products, but in the ability to integrate them into agricultural systems and demonstrate their value under real-world conditions. According to DunhamTrimmer's analysis, three areas are likely to concentrate value creation: integrated systems, operational simplicity and evidence-backed functionality. In other words, the next market cycle may favor companies that are less focused on presenting the most ambitious standalone promises and more capable of building coherent, replicable and economically viable systems for on-farm use. “Ultimately, the question is no longer simply whether the market is growing. The decisive issue is who will be able to capture that growth and convert innovation into sustainable value across the entire value chain,” Cervera concluded.   ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4577/innatrix-secures-499786-nsf-grant-to-advance-biological-fungicide-toward-epa-registration.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4577/innatrix-secures-499786-nsf-grant-to-advance-biological-fungicide-toward-epa-registration.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:56:25 +0530 Innatrix Inc., a Durham, North Carolina-based agricultural biotechnology company, has secured a $499,786 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IIB grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance its lead biological crop protection product, InnaLB, towards U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration and commercial launch. The new award takes total NSF funding for the InnaLB project to $1.70 million and extends the project's performance period through September 30, 2027. The additional funding comes at an important stage for Innatrix, as the company moves its peptide-based crop protection technology beyond field validation and towards the safety, formulation, manufacturing and regulatory work required for commercialisation. InnaLB is being developed to control Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen responsible for late blight, one of the most damaging diseases affecting potatoes. The company estimates that the disease causes around $6.7 billion in losses to global potato production each year. For Innatrix, the NSF award provides funding for what is often one of the most difficult stages in bringing a new crop protection product to market: turning promising biological performance into a product that can be manufactured consistently, formulated for practical farm use and supported by the safety and environmental data required by regulators. "Receiving this NSF SBIR Phase IIB award validates our platform's technical accomplishments and commercial trajectory," said Dr. Jiarui Li, founder and CEO of Innatrix and principal investigator for the new award. "Late blight continues to cause catastrophic crop losses globally. With NSF's continued support, we are positioned to complete critical safety, formulation, and manufacturing milestones, moving InnaLB toward registration and commercial launch alongside our strategic industry partners." The company has already reported significant progress during the earlier Phase II project. InnaLB demonstrated up to 80 per cent control of late blight in potatoes and tomatoes and also showed activity against cucurbit downy mildew, grape downy mildew and potato pink rot. Those results give the company a broader potential application for the technology, although the current commercial focus remains on advancing InnaLB towards registration as a crop protection product. A key regulatory development has also reduced one potential hurdle. The U.S. EPA has granted InnaLB a "biochemical-like" classification, giving the peptide-based biofungicide access to a streamlined and potentially lower-cost regulatory pathway. The classification is particularly important for a small biotechnology company because the cost and complexity of registering a new agricultural chemical can become a major barrier to commercial entry. A more streamlined route could allow Innatrix to concentrate its resources on the studies and product development work still required before registration. The company is now preparing for that next phase. Under the new NSF funding, Innatrix plans to use computational redesign to improve the peptide's half-life and optimise its bioprocessing characteristics. The objective is to make the active ingredient more stable and easier to manufacture at commercial scale. Formulation work will also continue, with the company targeting a stable liquid product that can be prepared for use directly in spray tanks. Innatrix plans to use EPA-approved safe adjuvants as part of that formulation work. The company also expects to complete animal safety and environmental studies needed to prepare InnaLB for formal EPA registration. The manufacturing question is particularly important as the product moves closer to market. A biological product may demonstrate strong performance in laboratory and field testing, but commercial viability ultimately depends on whether it can be produced at a cost that works for farmers and distributors. Li said Innatrix has been working with a strategic partner to independently confirm peptide efficacy and has continued developing a global patent portfolio covering peptide compositions as well as delivery and manufacturing methods. The company has also mapped out a two-year production roadmap aimed at lowering cost of goods and establishing long-term product profitability. That commercial planning comes alongside the scientific work, reflecting the stage InnaLB has reached. The focus is no longer simply whether the peptide works against a crop disease, but whether the company can turn it into a reliable agricultural product with a viable manufacturing model and a regulatory path to market. Innatrix was founded in 2013 by Marshall Edgell, a longtime member of the microbiology faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Li joined the company in 2018 as research director and senior scientist before becoming CEO in 2020. The company has received support from several sources in addition to its NSF SBIR funding, including the United Soybean Board, USDA grants and two small-business loans from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Innatrix is now raising a $2 million seed round to support continued development and growth of its biological crop protection business. The fundraising effort comes as agricultural input companies, growers and investors continue to look for alternatives to conventional crop protection products. Biologicals have attracted attention because they can offer new modes of action and additional disease-management options, but their commercial success depends on proving performance in the field while also keeping manufacturing and application costs competitive. Innatrix is betting that its peptide platform can occupy that space. The company's approach is based on a target-driven discovery platform designed to identify biological solutions more quickly than traditional discovery programmes. Innatrix says the platform can produce durable biological solutions in as little as four years and at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches. The InnaLB programme provides the company's clearest test of that proposition. The product has progressed from discovery and development into field validation, regulatory classification and commercial preparation. The next two years will be focused on closing the remaining gaps between a promising biological product and a registered agricultural input. That means improving stability, developing a practical formulation, establishing a manufacturing process, completing safety and environmental studies and building the documentation required for EPA registration. For Innatrix, the opportunity is not limited to late blight. The activity demonstrated against several other fungal diseases suggests that the underlying peptide technology could potentially support a broader crop protection portfolio over time. But late blight provides the immediate commercial target. Phytophthora infestans remains a serious problem for potato growers, and the scale of the reported global losses gives the company a sizeable market in which to establish its first product. Innatrix is also operating from a region with a strong agricultural biotechnology base. Li said North Carolina's AgTech ecosystem and the talent available in the Durham area have played an important role in the company's progress. He pointed to access to research institutions, specialised agricultural biotechnology support, regional partners and investors as factors that helped the company move InnaLB from initial discovery through field validation. The NSF funding now gives the company additional time and capital to take the next steps. If Innatrix can translate its field results into a stable, manufacturable and cost-effective product, InnaLB could move from an experimental peptide technology to a commercial tool for managing one of the world's most costly crop diseases. The immediate milestone is EPA registration. The larger test will be whether Innatrix can build a business around the product once it gets there. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/features/129/4551/brazil-approves-1-75-billion-in-subsidies-for-fertilizer-and-bioinputs.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/features/129/4551/brazil-approves-1-75-billion-in-subsidies-for-fertilizer-and-bioinputs.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:56:33 +0530 Brazil's Senate has approved legislation creating a program that could provide up to BRL 10 billion ($1.75 billion) in fiscal incentives over five years for the construction, expansion and modernization of fertilizer plants. The measure, established through the Fertilizer Industry Development Program (Profert) under Bill PL 699/2023, now goes to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for final publication. The program is scheduled to operate from 2027 to 2031, with annual fiscal credits capped at BRL 2 billion ($350 million). Unused amounts may be carried over to the following year. The legislation is designed to reduce Brazil's dependence on imported fertilizers and strengthen domestic production of strategic agricultural inputs. “Once the bill is sanctioned, Brazil will have a national fertilizer policy, with incentives for domestic industry so that we can move away from this external dependence. Fertilizers mean national sovereignty,” said Senator Laércio Oliveira, author of the bill. Bioinputs included in the program The approved text expands the scope of Profert beyond conventional synthetic and mineral fertilizers. Companies producing fertilizers and their raw materials, bioinputs, biofertilizers and remineralizers will be eligible to compete for the incentives. According to the Legal Advisor of ABINBIO (Brazilian Association of Bioinput Industries), the Senate's approval of Bill 699/2023 (which creates the Fertilizer Industry Development Program - Profert) represents "an incentive for the Brazilian industry so that the country ceases to be dependent on imported fertilizers, with the establishment of a permanent industrial policy, which will contribute to increased investment in the sector, especially in R&D and innovation, guaranteeing the improvement and strengthening of the national bioinput sector." “It is important to highlight that the approved text expressly includes the bio-input and bio-fertilizer industries among the beneficiaries of incentives to boost and protect the national agricultural production chain against global logistical crises and price fluctuations in the international market, as well as representing an important factor for national food sovereignty,” said Sousa. According to the Legal Advisor of ABINBIO, to obtain the benefits, companies need to adopt criteria for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and supporting local development, elements that have the potential to attract investments and expand the participation of these technologies in Brazilian agriculture. The Brazilian market for bio-inputs and biofertilizers moves more than $1.5 billion and is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2030, according to data from the consulting firm DunhamTrimmer International Bio Intelligence. "Looking to the future through the lens of current trends and drivers, we predict that we are entering a process of dramatic change which will establish the biofertilizer segment as one of the most innovative and rapidly growing segments of global agriculture," says the Ignacio Moyano, Vice President of Business Development LATAM of DunhamTrimmer. Reducing fertilizer import dependence DunhamTrimmer emphasizes that Brazil's strong dependence on the import of synthetic chemical fertilizers (exposed by crises in the global supply chain) has transformed biofertilizers and biostimulants into a necessity for national sovereignty. Brazil is one of the world's largest agricultural producers but remains heavily dependent on imports of key nutrients, particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Senator Tereza Cristina, rapporteur of the legislation in the Senate, said this dependence leaves Brazilian agriculture vulnerable to international price fluctuations, disruptions to global supply chains and geopolitical tensions affecting fertilizer production and logistics. The new program seeks to address that vulnerability by creating incentives for domestic industrial capacity. The fiscal credits will be allocated through a competitive process, with the federal government determining which projects qualify for the program. The legislation also creates mechanisms for long-term financing and links part of the fiscal credit to actual production. National fertilizer blending target Profert also introduces a mechanism to increase the participation of domestically produced fertilizers in the Brazilian market. The National Council for Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition (Confert) will establish mandatory volume-based blending percentages for Brazilian-produced synthetic and mineral fertilizers in products sold, distributed and marketed domestically. The requirement will begin at 2 per cent and gradually increase to 10 per cent by 2031. Confert will be able to establish separate percentages for individual fertilizer components as long as the annual mandatory blending target is maintained. BRL 1 billion in freight exemptions The legislation also provides a tax exemption for the Additional Freight Charge for Renewal of the Merchant Navy (AFRMM) when transported goods are destined for projects approved under Profert. The exemption will apply from 2027 through 2031 and will be capped at BRL 200 million ($35 million) per year, or BRL 1 billion ($175 million) over the five-year period. Financial credits may also be directed to fertilizer producers or importers, provided that companies deduct the value of the credits received from their selling prices. Another component of the program is the allocation of federal resources to the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) to create financing lines for companies approved under Profert. Under the legislation, BNDES and participating financial institutions will assume the credit risks associated with the loans. Financial charges, repayment periods and other lending conditions will be established by Brazil's National Monetary Council (CMN). The financing mechanism is intended to complement the fiscal incentives and facilitate investments in new production facilities and modernization projects. Strategic implications for bioinputs The inclusion of bioinputs and biofertilizers gives the legislation significance beyond Brazil's traditional fertilizer industry. The country's biological-input sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, while the government and agricultural industry have increasingly emphasized domestic production, supply-chain, resilience, and technological development. DunhamTrimmer forecasts that the global biological-inputs market will grow by approximately 10 per cent between 2025 and 2030, reaching $25 billion by the end of the decade. Latin America is projected to grow faster, at around 14 per cent, with Brazil representing the region's principal market. For ABINBIO, the inclusion of biological technologies in Profert could strengthen the domestic industrial base and create incentives for additional investment in production, R&D, and innovation. “The reduction of this dependence is relevant not only to agricultural policy, but also to food and nutritional security, economic stability and the resilience of Brazil's agribusiness supply chains,” Tereza Cristina said. The legislation reflects a broader effort to treat fertilizer and biological-input production as strategic components of Brazil's agricultural security, particularly following supply-chain disruptions associated with the Russia-Ukraine war and conflicts in the Middle East. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4511/bioma-launches-metabolic-protection-biofungicide-1-based-entirely-on-microbial-metabolites.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4511/bioma-launches-metabolic-protection-biofungicide-1-based-entirely-on-microbial-metabolites.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:55:00 +0530 Brazilian biological inputs company Bioma has registered what it describes as the country’s first fungicide based entirely on microbial metabolites, opening a new segment in Brazil’s rapidly expanding biological crop protection market. The product, Metabolic Protection, was registered for the management of anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum truncatum, and target spot, caused by Corynespora cassiicola, two important soybean diseases. The technology was developed over five years within Cogny, described by the company as the world’s largest biological inputs ecosystem. Scientific and technological development was led by Orygen, the group’s research and development company, under Research Director Artur Soares, while Bioma was responsible for product development, registration and commercialization. The product is expected to become commercially available shortly. Metabolite-based technology Unlike conventional microbial bioproducts formulated with living fungi or bacteria, Metabolic Protection is based exclusively on compounds produced by microorganisms. According to Bioma, its proprietary technology stimulates the expression of specific genes involved in the production of compounds with agronomic activity. The resulting formulation contains approximately 40 metabolites, more than 20 of which have direct activity against fungi, while another 17 are intended to activate plants' natural defense mechanisms. “The combination of different molecules and mechanisms of action addresses one of the main challenges in soybean disease management: the gradual loss of efficacy of some chemical fungicides due to pathogen resistance following repeated applications with similar modes of action,” Soares said. The company estimates that anthracnose and target spot can cause yield losses of up to 40 percent in susceptible soybean cultivars under favorable disease conditions. According to Bioma, incorporating biological molecules into conventional disease-management programs can diversify the mechanisms used against pathogens and potentially reduce selection pressure for resistance. Expanding biological fungicide market The technology enters a Brazilian fungicide market estimated at US$6.5 billion in 2025, accounting for 32 percent of the country's US$20.2 billion crop protection market, according to Kynetec data cited by the National Union of Plant Protection Products Industry (Sindiveg). Within biological inputs, biofungicides were the fastest-growing category by value in 2025. Sales increased 41 percent to R$1.4 billion (approximately US$253 million), while treated area reached 26 million hectares, up 37 percent year on year, according to CropLife Brasil. The publicly available market data do not yet separately quantify fungicides formulated exclusively with metabolites, leaving the segment at an early stage of commercial development in Brazil. The launch also comes as Brazil remains heavily dependent on imported crop protection products. Chemical pesticide imports totaled US$4.28 billion between January and May 2026, highlighting the strategic importance of domestic technologies amid geopolitical uncertainty, currency volatility and supply-chain disruptions. Five years of field development Bioma said the biofungicide was evaluated across more than 50 production regions in Brazil, covering different climatic conditions, management systems and disease-pressure levels. Trials assessed both pathogen-control performance and integration into crop protection programs already used by farmers. The product expands a technology portfolio that includes Bioma Phos, a biological phosphorus solubilizer being expanded into the European market, and Hydratus, developed from a bacterium originating in Brazil's Caatinga biome to improve plant tolerance to water stress. According to the company, the new fungicide represents a further step in its development strategy, moving from products based on living microorganisms toward the molecules produced by those microorganisms. “Access to technology developed and produced in Brazil offers greater supply security, more predictability for crop planning and greater freedom to build long-term management strategies,” Soares said. For Brazil's biological inputs industry, the registration marks a shift toward increasingly sophisticated microbial technologies in which the microorganism itself is no longer necessarily the active agricultural component, but rather the biological factory used to generate compounds with targeted agronomic functions. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4473/sigma-agro-targets-foliar-diseases-with-new-protioflox-fungicide.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4473/sigma-agro-targets-foliar-diseases-with-new-protioflox-fungicide.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:07:18 +0530 Argentine crop protection company Sigma Agro has launched Protioflox, a new fungicide combining Trifloxystrobin 15 per cent and Prothioconazole 17.5 per cent, at the 2026 Aapresid Congress in Argentina. The product was unveiled during the congress in the presence of growers, distributors and agricultural media. Sigma Agro said the launch reflects its broader strategy of developing crop protection solutions tailored to changing disease pressures rather than simply expanding its product catalogue. Protioflox is positioned as a high-performance fungicide for the control of foliar diseases in wheat, barley and soybean. Its combination of Trifloxystrobin and Prothioconazole brings complementary fungicidal activity, with the formulation designed to deliver reliable disease control while addressing growing demand for technologies that can maintain efficacy against key pathogens. According to Sigma Agro, the development of Protioflox is part of its sustained investment in research and development. The company aims to continuously strengthen its fungicide portfolio in response to evolving pathogen challenges and changing requirements across production systems. The company highlighted that building a broad and technically robust crop protection portfolio requires continued investment rather than one-off product launches. With Protioflox, Sigma Agro is seeking to reinforce its position in Argentina's fungicide market while providing growers with another option for managing foliar disease pressure in major field crops. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4459/brazil-opens-state-owned-gas-market-to-cut-industrial-and-fertilizer-costs.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4459/brazil-opens-state-owned-gas-market-to-cut-industrial-and-fertilizer-costs.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:33:42 +0530 Brazil’s National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) has approved a major reform of the country’s natural gas market, authorizing federally owned gas to be sold directly to the liberalized market through competitive auctions—a move the government says could reduce industrial gas prices by more than 50%. The July 30 resolution gives state-owned Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (PPSA) authority to conduct short-term gas auctions from 2026 through 2030, followed by long-term auctions beginning in 2030. Fertilizer, steel and chemical producers have been designated as priority buyers. The reform marks a significant shift in Brazil’s gas market by reducing Petrobras’ dominant role as the primary buyer of the government’s physical share of pre-salt gas production. By allowing the state’s gas to be marketed competitively, the government aims to separate its role as resource owner from that of a dominant market buyer—an important step toward greater competition and more transparent gas pricing. Brazil’s fertilizer industry stands to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. The country imports around 80% of its fertilizer requirements and relies heavily on imported natural gas for domestic nitrogen production. High gas costs have historically constrained investment in Brazil’s nitrogen fertilizer capacity, increasing the sector’s exposure to international supply and price volatility. Petrobras restarted some nitrogen fertilizer production capacity in 2025, with the company targeting output equivalent to roughly 20% of Brazil’s domestic demand. A more competitive domestic gas market could strengthen the economics of existing plants while encouraging new investment in nitrogen fertilizer production. The first gas auction under the new framework is expected during the final two months of 2026, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy. The government expects greater access to competitively priced gas to improve industrial competitiveness while strengthening domestic value chains. The timing is particularly important for agriculture. Brazil is the world’s largest fertilizer importer, making its farm sector highly exposed to disruptions in global nutrient markets. Tightening international supply, including China’s restrictions on fertilizer exports and disruptions affecting shipping routes through the Middle East, have heightened concerns over the security and affordability of fertilizer supplies. For Brazil’s fertilizer industry, cheaper and more predictable domestic gas could therefore represent more than an energy-market reform. It could become a strategic lever for rebuilding domestic nitrogen production, reducing import dependence and improving the resilience of one of the world’s largest agricultural economies. The success of the reform, however, will depend on how quickly competitive gas pricing translates into actual investment and sustained industrial supply. For fertilizer producers, the key question will be whether lower gas costs are sufficient to make domestic nitrogen production competitive with imported products over the long term. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4428/nortox-launches-three-crop-protection-products-in-brazilian-market.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4428/nortox-launches-three-crop-protection-products-in-brazilian-market.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:51:47 +0530 Brazilian crop protection manufacturer Nortox has unveiled three new products aimed at strengthening pest and weed management solutions for the country's major cropping systems, underscoring its strategy of combining established active ingredients with proprietary formulation technologies to create differentiated crop protection products. The launches—two insecticide premixes, Tempus and Typhoon, alongside the post-emergence corn herbicide Raker Top—were introduced during the company's Fourth Cooperative Meeting in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, attended by representatives from 39 agricultural cooperatives spanning some of Brazil's most important farming regions. The product introductions signal Nortox's broader shift from competing solely in the generic agrochemical market toward developing proprietary combinations that offer growers enhanced performance while supporting integrated resistance-management strategies. Speaking at the event, Commercial Director João Marcos Ferrari said the company is entering a new phase of portfolio development by combining generic active ingredients with patented technologies, reflecting a long-term commitment to innovation rather than conventional post-patent products. Among the new launches, Tempus combines chlorpyrifos with chlorantraniliprole to provide both rapid knockdown and extended residual control against caterpillar pests. The formulation is designed to improve protection across multiple crops by combining immediate insecticidal activity with longer-lasting suppression of economically important lepidopteran species. The second insecticide, Typhoon, integrates chlorantraniliprole and methomyl in an oil-dispersion (OD) formulation targeted at two of Brazil's most damaging corn pests—the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). By combining fast-acting control with sustained residual activity, the product aims to support growers confronting increasing insect pressure in maize production systems. Completing the launch portfolio, Raker Top is a selective post-emergence herbicide for corn formulated with nicosulfuron and tolpyralate. The product incorporates two crop safeners designed to improve selectivity while minimizing phytotoxicity risks during post-emergence applications, providing growers with an additional option for weed management without compromising crop safety. The introductions form part of Nortox's broader growth strategy through 2030, which places greater emphasis on research, formulation science and technology-driven product development. Rather than relying exclusively on off-patent chemistries, the company is increasingly investing in differentiated formulations intended to deliver greater agronomic value and strengthen its competitive position in Brazil's crop protection market. Beyond product launches, the cooperative meeting served as a platform for discussing emerging crop protection trends, including fungicide stewardship, herbicide technologies, pasture management, plant nutrition and seed technologies. Company executives also outlined Nortox's long-term investment plans, while technical specialists and cooperative representatives exchanged perspectives on evolving production challenges and integrated crop management strategies. External experts added broader market context to the discussions. Economist Igor Barreto of Itaú BBA assessed Brazil's macroeconomic outlook and implications for agribusiness, while researcher Aroldo Marochi examined emerging crop disease pressures and fungicide management practices. The launch comes at a time when Brazilian farmers are facing mounting pressure to manage increasingly complex pest and weed populations while preserving the effectiveness of existing crop protection chemistries. For agricultural cooperatives, the availability of differentiated premixes and multi-mode formulations expands the range of tools available for integrated crop protection programmes across the country's diverse production systems. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4424/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4424/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:35:21 +0530 The Mosaic Company reported a challenging second quarter for 2026 as elevated raw material costs, production curtailments and weaker fertilizer demand in Brazil weighed heavily on financial performance, prompting the global crop nutrient producer to intensify cost controls while positioning for a market recovery. The company posted a net loss of $273 million, compared with a profit in the corresponding quarter last year, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $407 million as higher sulfur and ammonia costs eroded margins across its phosphate operations and Brazilian fertilizer business. Management attributed much of the pressure to continued disruptions in global sulfur markets, which have significantly increased production costs throughout the phosphate value chain. In response, Mosaic has implemented a broad strategy aimed at preserving financial flexibility. The company reduced phosphate production, lowered capital expenditure guidance, curtailed operating costs and continued reshaping its asset portfolio, including divesting its Carlsbad potash mine and advancing strategic alternatives for selected Brazilian assets. A new $1 billion term loan has also strengthened liquidity while allowing the company to refinance near-term obligations. The phosphate business remained under the greatest pressure during the quarter. Although stronger selling prices partially offset higher input costs, reduced operating rates and lower production volumes significantly affected profitability. Additional production curtailments introduced in July are expected to continue weighing on third-quarter performance as sulfur affordability remains a critical constraint across global phosphate manufacturing. Brazil also emerged as a major area of weakness. Mosaic Fertilizantes recorded lower sales volumes and operating losses after domestic fertilizer production was scaled back amid elevated sulfur prices and subdued market demand. While commodity fertilizer operations are being idled, the company's animal nutrition business continues to deliver profitable growth, highlighting diverging dynamics within its Brazilian portfolio. In contrast, Mosaic's biosciences division continued to expand rapidly. The business introduced five new biological products during the first half of 2026 and expects to launch several more before year-end, with annual sales projected to double compared with 2025. The performance reflects the company's longer-term strategy of diversifying beyond conventional fertilizers into biological crop nutrition and sustainable agricultural technologies. Despite current operational challenges, Mosaic believes fertilizer market fundamentals remain supportive over the medium term. Rising agricultural commodity prices, tightening nutrient inventories and sustained crop nutrient removal are expected to underpin demand, although ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions in sulfur and ammonia supply continue to create short-term volatility. The company expects phosphate markets to remain supply constrained through the remainder of 2026, while potash demand continues to show resilience across major agricultural regions, including India, North America, Brazil and China. Management indicated that while market conditions remain difficult, the company is positioning itself to respond quickly once raw material markets stabilize. By preserving production capacity, improving capital discipline and expanding its biological solutions portfolio, Mosaic aims to emerge stronger as global fertilizer markets gradually recover. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4425/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4425/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:35:22 +0530 The Mosaic Company reported a challenging second quarter for 2026 as elevated raw material costs, production curtailments and weaker fertilizer demand in Brazil weighed heavily on financial performance, prompting the global crop nutrient producer to intensify cost controls while positioning for a market recovery. The company posted a net loss of $273 million, compared with a profit in the corresponding quarter last year, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $407 million as higher sulfur and ammonia costs eroded margins across its phosphate operations and Brazilian fertilizer business. Management attributed much of the pressure to continued disruptions in global sulfur markets, which have significantly increased production costs throughout the phosphate value chain. In response, Mosaic has implemented a broad strategy aimed at preserving financial flexibility. The company reduced phosphate production, lowered capital expenditure guidance, curtailed operating costs and continued reshaping its asset portfolio, including divesting its Carlsbad potash mine and advancing strategic alternatives for selected Brazilian assets. A new $1 billion term loan has also strengthened liquidity while allowing the company to refinance near-term obligations. The phosphate business remained under the greatest pressure during the quarter. Although stronger selling prices partially offset higher input costs, reduced operating rates and lower production volumes significantly affected profitability. Additional production curtailments introduced in July are expected to continue weighing on third-quarter performance as sulfur affordability remains a critical constraint across global phosphate manufacturing. Brazil also emerged as a major area of weakness. Mosaic Fertilizantes recorded lower sales volumes and operating losses after domestic fertilizer production was scaled back amid elevated sulfur prices and subdued market demand. While commodity fertilizer operations are being idled, the company's animal nutrition business continues to deliver profitable growth, highlighting diverging dynamics within its Brazilian portfolio. In contrast, Mosaic's biosciences division continued to expand rapidly. The business introduced five new biological products during the first half of 2026 and expects to launch several more before year-end, with annual sales projected to double compared with 2025. The performance reflects the company's longer-term strategy of diversifying beyond conventional fertilizers into biological crop nutrition and sustainable agricultural technologies. Despite current operational challenges, Mosaic believes fertilizer market fundamentals remain supportive over the medium term. Rising agricultural commodity prices, tightening nutrient inventories and sustained crop nutrient removal are expected to underpin demand, although ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions in sulfur and ammonia supply continue to create short-term volatility. The company expects phosphate markets to remain supply constrained through the remainder of 2026, while potash demand continues to show resilience across major agricultural regions, including India, North America, Brazil and China. Management indicated that while market conditions remain difficult, the company is positioning itself to respond quickly once raw material markets stabilize. By preserving production capacity, improving capital discipline and expanding its biological solutions portfolio, Mosaic aims to emerge stronger as global fertilizer markets gradually recover. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4426/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4426/mosaic-cuts-costs-scales-back-production-as-brazil-fertilizer-business-faces-mounting-pressure.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:35:22 +0530 The Mosaic Company reported a challenging second quarter for 2026 as elevated raw material costs, production curtailments and weaker fertilizer demand in Brazil weighed heavily on financial performance, prompting the global crop nutrient producer to intensify cost controls while positioning for a market recovery. The company posted a net loss of $273 million, compared with a profit in the corresponding quarter last year, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $407 million as higher sulfur and ammonia costs eroded margins across its phosphate operations and Brazilian fertilizer business. Management attributed much of the pressure to continued disruptions in global sulfur markets, which have significantly increased production costs throughout the phosphate value chain. In response, Mosaic has implemented a broad strategy aimed at preserving financial flexibility. The company reduced phosphate production, lowered capital expenditure guidance, curtailed operating costs and continued reshaping its asset portfolio, including divesting its Carlsbad potash mine and advancing strategic alternatives for selected Brazilian assets. A new $1 billion term loan has also strengthened liquidity while allowing the company to refinance near-term obligations. The phosphate business remained under the greatest pressure during the quarter. Although stronger selling prices partially offset higher input costs, reduced operating rates and lower production volumes significantly affected profitability. Additional production curtailments introduced in July are expected to continue weighing on third-quarter performance as sulfur affordability remains a critical constraint across global phosphate manufacturing. Brazil also emerged as a major area of weakness. Mosaic Fertilizantes recorded lower sales volumes and operating losses after domestic fertilizer production was scaled back amid elevated sulfur prices and subdued market demand. While commodity fertilizer operations are being idled, the company's animal nutrition business continues to deliver profitable growth, highlighting diverging dynamics within its Brazilian portfolio. In contrast, Mosaic's biosciences division continued to expand rapidly. The business introduced five new biological products during the first half of 2026 and expects to launch several more before year-end, with annual sales projected to double compared with 2025. The performance reflects the company's longer-term strategy of diversifying beyond conventional fertilizers into biological crop nutrition and sustainable agricultural technologies. Despite current operational challenges, Mosaic believes fertilizer market fundamentals remain supportive over the medium term. Rising agricultural commodity prices, tightening nutrient inventories and sustained crop nutrient removal are expected to underpin demand, although ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions in sulfur and ammonia supply continue to create short-term volatility. The company expects phosphate markets to remain supply constrained through the remainder of 2026, while potash demand continues to show resilience across major agricultural regions, including India, North America, Brazil and China. Management indicated that while market conditions remain difficult, the company is positioning itself to respond quickly once raw material markets stabilize. By preserving production capacity, improving capital discipline and expanding its biological solutions portfolio, Mosaic aims to emerge stronger as global fertilizer markets gradually recover. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4399/athian-enables-first-verified-brazilian-beef-inset-credits-advancing-livestock-methane-reduction.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4399/athian-enables-first-verified-brazilian-beef-inset-credits-advancing-livestock-methane-reduction.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:09:13 +0530 Brazil's livestock sustainability journey has reached a new milestone as Athian announced the successful sale of the country's first verified beef inset credits. Developed through a pilot project with methane-reduction technology company Rumin8 and leading beef exporter Minerva Foods, the initiative demonstrates how measurable emissions reductions at the farm level can be translated into verified Scope 3 environmental assets for the food supply chain. The pilot focused on evaluating Rumin8's feed ingredient technology, which significantly reduced methane emissions from cattle in a Brazilian feedlot setting. Using its livestock sustainability platform, Athian verified the emissions data, registered the resulting environmental outcomes as inset credits, and facilitated their sale to Minerva Foods. The transaction marks a first not only for Brazil's beef industry but also expands Athian's sustainability framework beyond its origins in the U.S. dairy sector. The project also validated Athian's insetting model internationally, proving that emissions reductions generated on livestock farms can be independently verified and monetized across different production systems. Unlike carbon offsets, inset credits allow companies to reduce emissions directly within their own agricultural supply chains, helping food businesses address increasingly important Scope 3 climate commitments. "Our work in Brazil demonstrates that livestock sustainability can be both measurable and commercially viable," said Kendra Tolley, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Athian. "The project confirmed not only the effectiveness of the insetting process—from emissions generation and third-party verification to the sale of Scope 3 assets—but also showed that our platform can be successfully applied across global livestock systems." For Rumin8, the project provided additional commercial validation of its methane-reducing feed ingredient while highlighting the value of coordinated sustainability efforts across the livestock value chain. According to CEO David Messina, the study generated strong evidence of the product's effectiveness under Brazilian feedlot conditions while demonstrating how producers, processors and technology providers can work together to reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. Athian's sustainability platform is built around scientifically validated on-farm protocols that help livestock producers lower greenhouse gas emissions through practices such as feed additives and alternative manure management systems. The company manages secure farm-level data collection, coordinates independent third-party verification, and registers verified environmental outcomes as inset credits that food companies can purchase to support their Scope 3 decarbonisation strategies. Minerva Foods, one of South America's largest beef exporters, said the initiative reinforces the importance of measurable and transparent sustainability practices across global protein supply chains. Marta Giannichi, Global Sustainability Director at Minerva Foods, noted that the pilot demonstrates the industry's ability to quantify methane reductions at the farm level while integrating verified environmental data into commercial supply chains. The latest project adds to Athian's growing sustainability network, which includes major U.S. dairy cooperatives, global dairy processors and leading food brands. Since launching its livestock insetting platform, the company has enabled farmers to earn more than $25 million for implementing emissions-reducing practices. Collectively, these projects have reduced approximately 600,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions across participating operations. Athian believes successful projects such as the Brazilian beef pilot will accelerate the adoption of additional livestock sustainability protocols while creating new commercial opportunities for producers and food companies seeking credible pathways to reduce agricultural emissions. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4349/bayer-eyes-2028-launch-of-thryvon-enabled-cotton-platform-in-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4349/bayer-eyes-2028-launch-of-thryvon-enabled-cotton-platform-in-brazil.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:34:06 +0530 Bayer has unveiled the fourth generation of its Bollgard cotton biotechnology platform for Brazil, introducing ThryvOn, the country's first biotechnology designed to provide integrated protection against thrips in cotton. Scheduled for commercial launch by 2028, the next-generation platform will also incorporate new insect protection traits and expanded weed management flexibility, reinforcing Bayer's long-term commitment to advancing cotton productivity and sustainability. The announcement was made during the Casa do Algodão Bayer em Campo event in Sorriso, Mato Grosso, where the company presented its latest cotton innovations to growers, researchers, textile industry representatives and exporters. The new platform builds on more than two decades of Bollgard technology by integrating additional insecticidal proteins targeting key caterpillar pests while addressing early-season thrips, one of the most economically significant insect challenges in cotton production. Alongside the biotechnology announcement, Bayer showcased field trials at its research station in Sorriso and demonstration plots at Fazenda da Pedra featuring its existing Bollgard 3 XtendFlex (B3XF) technology and Deltapine cotton varieties. The company said the new platform is designed to improve productivity, strengthen pest management and provide greater flexibility for growers operating under increasingly complex production conditions. The event underscored Brazil's position as the world's largest cotton exporter, with biotechnology continuing to play a critical role in improving crop productivity, fibre quality and production efficiency. Bayer noted that future innovations are expected to further enhance competitiveness while helping reduce production costs and dependence on crop protection products. Mato Grosso was selected to host the event as the state accounts for approximately 68 percent of Brazil's cotton lint production. During the 2025/26 season, the state is expected to produce around 2.7 million tonnes of cotton lint, contributing to an estimated national production of 3.97 million tonnes. Bayer highlighted that maintaining this leadership will require effective management of difficult weeds, insect pests and diseases under evolving agronomic conditions. The company also highlighted its commercially available Bollgard 3 XtendFlex technology, which combines caterpillar protection with tolerance to glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium and dicamba, providing growers with greater flexibility in weed control across diverse farming systems. Further strengthening its weed management portfolio, Bayer introduced XtendiMax 2, a dicamba-based herbicide now commercially available in Brazil. Designed for pre-plant burndown and early post-emergence applications in cotton and soybean, the product offers reduced volatility and drift potential while improving control of difficult weeds, including horseweed (Conyza spp.) and pigweed (Amaranthus spp.). Beyond biotechnology, Bayer showcased a broader portfolio of crop protection solutions for cotton, including Bayer Guardião seed treatment, Dropp Ultra defoliant, Finish plant growth regulator, Fox Xpro fungicide and Curbix insecticide for cotton boll weevil management. The company also highlighted several pipeline products currently under development. These include Plenexos, an insecticide under regulatory review targeting whiteflies and aphids; Iblon, a fungicide planned for launch in 2028 for the control of ramularia and target spot; and Mateno Pre, a pre-emergence herbicide currently undergoing registration. Sustainability remained a key focus throughout the event. Bayer noted that more than 90 percent of Brazil's cotton is produced under rainfed conditions and highlighted its PRO Carbono platform, which enables growers to measure on-farm carbon emissions and identify management practices that can help reduce the environmental footprint of cotton production. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4341/brazil-launches-unified-digital-platform-to-streamline-pesticide-registration.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4341/brazil-launches-unified-digital-platform-to-streamline-pesticide-registration.html Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:07:37 +0530 Brazil has taken another step in modernising its agricultural regulatory framework with the launch of a unified digital platform for pesticide registration, replacing the country's fragmented application process with a single electronic system designed to improve coordination between regulatory agencies. The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) has officially introduced the Unified Information, Application and Electronic Evaluation System (Sispa), a platform that consolidates pesticide registration into a single online portal. The initiative aligns with Law No. 14.785/2023, which designates Mapa as the central registration authority for pesticides and related products while requiring the adoption of a unified application process. Until now, companies seeking to register pesticides were required to submit separate applications to multiple government bodies, including Mapa, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) for toxicological assessments, and the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) for environmental evaluations. Under the new framework, all submissions will be processed through a single electronic platform coordinated by Mapa, reducing administrative complexity and creating a more integrated regulatory workflow. Brazilian authorities said the new system is expected to strengthen traceability, transparency and operational efficiency throughout the registration and evaluation process. The platform will also improve access to information related to pesticide registration and commercialisation, making regulatory procedures more streamlined for both government agencies and industry stakeholders. The Sispa platform was developed by the Brazilian Cotton Producers Association (Abrapa) and the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA), which together invested more than $60,000 in the project. The initiative also received support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). Speaking at the launch, Brazil's Minister of Agriculture described the platform as a key component of the country's broader digital transformation strategy for agricultural regulation, saying the initiative is intended to modernise pesticide registration while supporting a more sustainable and competitive agricultural sector. Carlos Goulart, Secretary of Agricultural Defense at Mapa, said the new system would not alter the scientific or technical evaluation standards applied during pesticide assessments. Instead, he said, Sispa is designed to simplify administrative procedures, reduce compliance costs and improve efficiency for both regulators and applicants. The launch of Sispa reflects Brazil's continued efforts to digitise regulatory processes and improve the efficiency of one of the world's largest crop protection markets. By integrating multiple approval pathways into a single platform, the government aims to accelerate administrative procedures while maintaining existing technical and environmental review standards. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/129/4312/hlb-is-testing-economics-of-global-citrus.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/129/4312/hlb-is-testing-economics-of-global-citrus.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:30:27 +0530 Every crisis in agriculture leaves behind a lesson, and the global citrus industry is learning one of its toughest yet. Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening disease, has evolved from a plant health challenge into an economic, technological, and sustainability crisis that no citrus-producing nation can afford to ignore. In this exclusive AgroSpectrum interview, leading citrus consultant Gilberto Tozatti shares decades of field experience to explain why managing HLB today demands far more than pesticides or tree replacement—it requires a fundamental shift in how orchards are planned, protected, and managed. His perspective is grounded in science, yet shaped by the realities growers face every single season. The conversation also explores the intersection of climate change, innovation, economics, and policy, offering practical lessons for citrus-producing regions well beyond Brazil. As countries work to safeguard their citrus industries against mounting biological and climatic threats, Tozatti's insights serve as both a warning and a roadmap. This is indeed an essential conversation about the future resilience of global fruit production. Brazil has spent more than two decades fighting HLB, yet disease incidence has climbed to nearly 50 per cent in its most productive citrus belt. Has the industry reached the limits of conventional disease management, and does this crisis require an entirely new production model rather than incremental improvements? Brazil is indeed facing very high HLB incidence in its main citrus belt, close to 50 per cent of symptomatic trees in recent surveys. However, the latest Fundecitrus data suggest some stabilisation in several areas, indicating that current management efforts are having an effect, even if they are not enough to reverse the problem quickly. I do not believe this means conventional management has reached its limit. The recent stabilisation is largely associated with better psyllid control, improved insecticide rotation to reduce resistance risk, and more region-specific management. HLB pressure is not uniform across the citrus belt, so management cannot be the same everywhere. Although Brazilian regulations require the eradication of symptomatic trees, grower adoption is not always uniform. Some remove trees rigorously, while others delay eradication to continue harvesting fruit, especially under economic pressure. This inconsistency weakens regional control efforts. At this stage, I do not see an entirely new production model replacing the current principles of HLB management. What Brazil needs is continuous improvement of the existing system, with better vector control, more coordinated regional action, more rational decisions on tree removal and orchard renewal, and gradual incorporation of new technologies. In practice, Brazil is learning to produce citrus under permanent HLB pressure, and progress will depend more on strengthening integrated management than on a single disruptive change.  Orange production is forecast to decline by almost 13 per cent this season, with HLB and climate stress acting simultaneously. How much of today's production loss is truly attributable to climate variability, and how much reflects years of underestimating the long-term economic impact of greening? It is difficult to assign a precise share of current crop losses to climate stress versus HLB, because the two factors increasingly interact. Climate is inherently less predictable, and Brazil has experienced significant weather variability over the last five crop seasons, affecting flowering, fruit set and final yield. HLB, however, is a more structural and predictable problem over the long term. While climate drives seasonal volatility, HLB progressively reduces the productive capacity of the citrus belt by lowering yield, shortening orchard lifespan and increasing replanting and management costs. In 2024, at the 7th International Research Conference on HLB in California, I presented, together with colleagues, a crop forecasting model indicating that orange production in Brazil’s citrus belt could decline by nearly one-third over the next ten years if no disruptive change occurs. This suggests that, although climate explains part of the year-to-year fluctuations, the main long-term threat to Brazilian citrus production is HLB itself. There is also an important economic dimension. Future production will depend not only on disease management, but also on whether orange prices remain attractive enough to support investment in new orchards, including expansion into surrounding regions with potentially lower disease pressure. The industry has relied heavily on vector control and tree removal, but disease spread continues. Looking back, were there strategic mistakes in the way Brazil approached HLB management, and what lessons should emerging citrus-producing countries learn before they face similar outbreaks? When HLB was first detected in Brazil and the United States in 2004–2005, the available knowledge was limited. Management was essentially based on three principles: planting certified healthy nursery trees, controlling the psyllid vector and removing symptomatic trees. Over the past 20 years, however, our understanding of the disease has evolved considerably. Today, we know the importance of regional vector control, orchard location, planting in more isolated areas when possible, protecting young trees, using kaolin, improving insecticide management to reduce resistance, and recognising the strong border effect in disease spread. HLB management is now far more sophisticated than it was two decades ago. The main lesson is that no single measure is sufficient. Success depends on implementing all available strategies simultaneously and consistently, both at the orchard and regional level. Emerging citrus-producing countries should build on the knowledge accumulated in Brazil and the United States rather than repeating the long and costly learning process we experienced. Early adoption of integrated management can substantially reduce future economic losses. Technologies such as trunk injection, bactericides, biologicals, reflective mulches and precision agriculture are expanding the disease-management toolbox. Which of these innovations do you believe has the greatest potential to fundamentally change HLB management, and where do you still see critical technological gaps? In my view, there is no single technology that will fundamentally change HLB management across all situations. The first point is that disease incidence varies greatly among regions, so management must be adapted accordingly. In areas with low HLB incidence, the priority should remain prevention: certified healthy nursery trees, careful site selection, planting in more isolated areas when possible, rigorous psyllid control, especially in young orchards, strict border management, and tools such as kaolin to reduce vector pressure in the early years. In areas where HLB incidence is already high, the focus shifts toward maintaining orchard productivity and longevity. In these situations, nutritional and hormonal management, improved soil fertility to support root health, and the use of more tolerant scion varieties and rootstocks become increasingly important. Among the innovations with the greatest long-term potential, I would highlight more tolerant varieties and rootstocks, because they can improve orchard resilience under chronic HLB pressure. The main technological gaps remain the lack of reliable tools to reduce the impact of the bacterium inside the plant and the need for better genetic tolerance and more region-specific management strategies. The use of antibiotics such as oxytetracycline remains controversial because of antimicrobial resistance and export market concerns. How can the citrus industry balance the need for effective disease suppression with growing global scrutiny over antibiotic use in agriculture, and what safeguards are essential? HLB management cannot depend on any single tool, and that also applies to antibiotics. Effective control will continue to depend on an integrated strategy combining protected nursery trees, vector control, orchard renewal, and good nutritional and soil management. Oxytetracycline is clearly a controversial tool. It has been authorised for use in the United States, but it is not approved for citrus in Brazil. For that reason, any decision on antibiotic use must go beyond efficacy alone and also consider regulatory approval, food safety, antimicrobial resistance concerns, export market acceptance and consumer perception. In my view, antibiotics should only be considered if they are supported by strong scientific evidence, clear regulatory approval, strict residue monitoring and traceability, and acceptance by the market. Even then, they should be treated only as a possible component of an integrated HLB management programme, not as a central solution. HLB has dramatically increased production costs while reducing orchard lifespan and productivity. Is the economics of citrus farming approaching a tipping point where small and medium growers may no longer remain viable without major technological breakthroughs or policy intervention? Yes. In Brazil, rising citrus production costs have become a structural problem. HLB has increased spending on vector control, tree replacement, nutrition, monitoring and overall orchard care, while reducing productivity and orchard lifespan. In my own studies, the average break-even point over the last eight years has been around 859 boxes of 40.8 kg per hectare, while average productivity has been about 828 boxes per hectare. This means that many orchards and many growers are already operating below the level needed to cover full production costs. So, in practical terms, this tipping point is not a future risk; it is already happening, especially for small and medium-sized growers with less capacity to absorb margin compression and invest in orchard renewal. In Brazil, the response will likely depend much more on improving productivity through technology and better management than on government intervention. Climate change is intensifying pest pressure, water stress and production volatility across citrus-growing regions. How should breeding programmes, crop protection strategies and orchard management evolve over the next decade to build genuine resilience rather than simply reacting to successive crises? In perennial crops such as citrus, technological solutions take time, often more time than the urgency of the current problems would require. For that reason, resilience over the next decade will depend not only on new genetic or crop protection technologies, but also on better technical decisions at farm level. Key decisions such as where to plant, which varieties and rootstocks to use, and which management strategy to adopt will become increasingly important under higher pest pressure, greater water stress and more volatile production conditions. In this context, specialised technical guidance plays a major role in helping growers make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes. In Brazil, citrus consultants have contributed significantly to grower decision-making under HLB pressure and climatic uncertainty. I am part of a citrus consulting group called GCONCI, which brings together 18 specialists and has helped producers define planting strategies, varietal choices and management practices. In my view, this type of technical support will be increasingly important in building resilience in citrus production.  Looking ahead to 2035, do you believe HLB will still be managed as a chronic production constraint, or are we approaching a scientific breakthrough—through gene editing, RNA technologies, advanced bactericides or resistant rootstocks—that could permanently redefine the future of global citrus production? By 2035, I believe HLB will still be a major chronic constraint in citrus production, with limited supply and continued market volatility. At the same time, I do believe we are moving closer to innovations that can make an important difference in the future. Brazilian citrus has already overcome major phytosanitary challenges such as citrus variegated chlorosis and citrus sudden death, both of which once appeared highly threatening to the industry. HLB is more destructive than any of these previous diseases, but the scale of effort now being mobilised by researchers, growers, consultants and the industry is also much greater. In my view, the key word is cooperation. The combination of scientific research, field experience, investment and coordinated action gives reason to believe that meaningful progress will occur. Whether that progress will be fully transformative by 2035 is still uncertain, but I believe the chances of important breakthroughs are real. -- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4290/new-eu-laws-raise-stakes-for-beef-and-leather-from-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4290/new-eu-laws-raise-stakes-for-beef-and-leather-from-brazil.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:41:15 +0530 Companies sourcing beef and leather from Brazil could lose access to the European Union (EU) market unless they can demonstrate compliance with sweeping EU requirements addressing deforestation, forced labor, and other serious environmental and human rights risks, Climate Rights International said in a report released today. The report identifies a practical approach that companies can use to reduce those risks while supporting efforts in Brazil to curb cattle-driven deforestation and related human rights abuses.    The 52-page report “EU Laws and Brazil’s Cattle Supply Chains: Implications for the Beef and Leather Trade” examines how three major EU laws—the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Forced Labour Regulation (FLR), and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)—will require companies to be able to trace their supply chains, to ensure that products are not linked to deforestation, forced labor, or other serious environmental and human rights harms, and to demonstrate compliance through credible documentation.    Companies that do not meet the new requirements could face exclusion from the EU market, administrative penalties, civil litigation, and—in serious cases involving environmental crime—criminal liability under national laws implementing the EU Environmental Crime Directive.    “These EU laws will significantly raise the stakes for companies using due diligence practices that have proven woefully inadequate to address deforestation and human rights abuses in Brazil’s cattle supply chains,” said Daniela Ikawa, legal and policy expert at Climate Rights International. “Unless companies revamp their practices to meet EU requirements, they could soon face substantial legal and economic consequences in Europe.”   Leather products manufactured outside the EU are not covered by the EUDR, but companies importing leather and leather products will remain subject to the Forced Labour Regulation (FLR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).    Under pressure from business interests, cattle hides, skins, and leather could also be excluded from the EUDR after a recent proposal adopted by the European Commission on 13 July 2026. The Commission’s proposal is now subject to a two-month scrutiny period, during which the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union may object and stop it before it enters into force.   Brazil has significantly reduced deforestation under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, but forest loss remains dangerously high, particularly in the Amazon, where cattle ranching remains the single largest driver. Scientists warn that continued destruction of the Amazon could push the rainforest toward a tipping point, releasing vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, disrupting rainfall patterns across South America, and seriously undermining global efforts to address climate change.    As Climate Rights International documented in its 2025 report, “Before It’s Too Late,” cattle-driven deforestation is frequently associated with forced labor, invasions of Indigenous lands, and other serious abuses. Climate Rights International documented deforestation and attacks on environmental rights defenders in community conservation areas in the Amazon in another 2025 report, “Chainsaws, Smoke, and Silence.”    Cattle often pass through multiple farms before reaching slaughterhouses and tanneries. As a result, for every direct supplier, beef and leather exporters typically have multiple indirect suppliers—farms whose cattle pass through one or more intermediary properties before reaching the slaughterhouse. While some meatpackers and tanneries have improved oversight of their direct suppliers, tens of thousands of indirect suppliers remain unmonitored. Several companies have announced plans to develop new tracing systems to address this gap, but these will depend on the voluntary sharing of GTA data by suppliers at every level—something that cattle experts consulted by Climate Rights International consider highly unlikely.    "Companies will need to do much more to strengthen their own due diligence and supply-chain controls," Ikawa said. "But when it comes to indirect suppliers, that will not be enough on its own. Companies have a responsibility to recognize that gap—and do something about it."      Brazil has begun developing official traceability and monitoring mechanisms to help overcome this challenge. Minas Gerais and Pará have established government-backed systems that combine cattle-movement records with compliance data to identify whether indirect suppliers are linked to deforestation. Several other states are developing similar systems, which could be expanded beyond deforestation to cover forced labor, invasions of Indigenous lands, and other serious abuses.    To address the indirect supplier problem, companies should prioritize sourcing from supply chains operating in Brazilian states with credible mechanisms for tracing and monitoring cattle, and screening upstream suppliers for links to deforestation. They should also announce that, beginning on a specified future date, they will prioritize supply chains operating in states whose mechanisms also screen for forced labor, invasions of Indigenous lands, and other serious abuses. Companies should use their purchasing power to support the expansion of these mechanisms to additional states and, ultimately, the creation of a transparent national traceability and monitoring system.    “These laws can do more than keep high-risk products out of Europe,” Ikawa said. “If companies use them well, they can help change the economic incentives that have long fueled deforestation and serious human rights abuses—and reinforce Brazil’s own efforts to address them.”   To read the full analysis click : https://cri.org/reports/eu-laws-brazil-cattle-supply-chains/ ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/views/129/4289/regulatory-delay-leaves-brazils-bioinputs-industry-facing-uncertainty.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/views/129/4289/regulatory-delay-leaves-brazils-bioinputs-industry-facing-uncertainty.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:41:27 +0530 Brazil has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing bioinputs markets, supported by favorable tropical conditions, a robust scientific base and rapid adoption of biological technologies. Yet industry experts warn that delays in implementing the country's new Bioinputs Law could undermine investment, innovation and Brazil's ambition to become a global leader in agricultural biotechnology. According to Luis Eduardo Pacifici Rangel, member of the Scientific Council for Sustainable Agriculture (CCAS) and former Secretary of Agricultural Defense at Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, the country possesses unique structural advantages that few competitors can match. "The combination of tropical conditions, production scale, applied science and growing adoption positions Brazil as a global leader in the development of bioinputs," Rangel said in an interview. "The sector's rapid growth and the diversity of available technologies demonstrate that Brazil already operates as a large-scale agricultural biotechnology platform." The assessment comes as Brazil's bioinputs sector continues its rapid expansion. According to CropLife Brasil, the domestic market reached BRL 6.2 billion (approximately $1.1 billion) in 2025, representing 15 per cent year-on-year growth and the highest value recorded since the industry survey began in 2022. Global prospects remain equally robust. Market intelligence firm DunhamTrimmer projects the worldwide biologicals market will expand by 10 per cent between 2025 and 2030, reaching $25 billion by the end of the decade. Latin America is expected to outperform the global average with projected growth of 14 per cent, while Brazil has led worldwide adoption of biological products over the past five years. Regulatory bottleneck threatens momentum Despite the sector's commercial and technological advances, Rangel argues that regulatory delays have become the industry's principal constraint. Average registration timelines for biological products continue to exceed 400 days, with approval periods varying considerably among applications. More critically, companies report that product evaluations have slowed significantly while the regulatory decree implementing Brazil's Bioinputs Law (Law No. 15,070/2024) remains under revision. "The main risk today is no longer in the field or in science—it lies in governance," Rangel said. "The failure to finalize the Bioinputs Law regulation has created an environment of uncertainty that compromises investment, innovation and competitiveness." According to Rangel, the regulatory backlog is delaying the commercialization of new technologies, increasing uncertainty for manufacturers and weakening Brazil's competitive position in one of agriculture's fastest-growing technology segments. Industry seeks regulatory certainty To implement the new legislation, Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) established a multi-stakeholder working group responsible for drafting the regulatory decree governing the law. The discussions involve representatives from government agencies, research institutions, producer organizations and industry associations, including the Brazilian Bioinputs Industries Association (ABINBIO) and the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA). Key issues under negotiation include rules governing on-farm production of microorganisms, mandatory registration of production facilities, inspection procedures, transitional regulatory provisions and registration requirements for commercial biological products. ABINBIO has represented Brazil's bioinputs industry throughout the regulatory discussions. "The current moment is extremely important for the bioinputs sector, not only because regulation is at an advanced stage, but also because the industry continues to grow rapidly despite ongoing regulatory changes and the search for greater legal certainty," said Rodrigo Souza, Legal Advisor at ABINBIO. According to Souza, regulatory certainty is essential for sustaining industrial activity, research and development, and attracting long-term investment. "This process also aligns with several government priorities, requiring dialogue across the entire bioinputs value chain—from farmers to industry," he said. "Government agencies now have the important task of balancing these different interests to deliver an efficient regulatory framework that simultaneously promotes economic development and innovation." Strategic opportunity beyond agriculture Rangel believes Brazil's leadership extends beyond domestic production. Initiatives such as Renera, developed jointly by CropLife Brasil, ApexBrasil and ABINBIO, seek to position the country as an exporter of biological technologies rather than simply an agricultural commodities producer. He also argues that international organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), could play an important role in promoting Brazilian expertise among other tropical agricultural economies facing similar pest, climate and sustainability challenges. However, he cautions that the opportunity remains fragile. "If Brazil succeeds in aligning regulation, science and the market, it can consolidate its position as the global leader in tropical agricultural biotechnology," Rangel concluded. "If not, it risks seeing its competitive advantage gradually eroded—not because of a lack of scientific or technological capacity, but because of insufficient regulatory coordination." ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4264/vietnam-and-brazil-seek-deeper-agri-trade-alliance-despite-emerging-barriers-in-seafood-commerce.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4264/vietnam-and-brazil-seek-deeper-agri-trade-alliance-despite-emerging-barriers-in-seafood-commerce.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:51:06 +0530 Vietnam and Brazil are seeking to elevate their agricultural and fisheries partnership beyond traditional commodity trade, with policymakers and industry leaders identifying technology collaboration, value-chain investments and regulatory cooperation as key pillars for the next phase of bilateral economic engagement. At a bilateral economic forum, government officials, trade representatives and industry stakeholders from both countries reviewed the progress of economic relations while outlining strategies to unlock untapped opportunities across agriculture, food processing, renewable energy, biotechnology and logistics. Despite strong growth in bilateral trade over recent years, participants acknowledged that commercial ties have yet to fully reflect the strategic importance of the relationship. While Brazil remains Vietnam's largest trading partner in Latin America, trade continues to be concentrated in a limited range of agricultural commodities, with investment flows remaining relatively modest. Officials identified high freight costs, long shipping transit times and regulatory complexities as major constraints limiting deeper commercial integration. They stressed that stronger institutional cooperation and improved logistics would be essential to support more diversified agricultural trade. The discussions highlighted significant opportunities to expand collaboration in sustainable agriculture, fisheries, processed food, biofuels, biotechnology, digital agriculture and green industries—sectors where Brazil's technological capabilities and Vietnam's growing market demand present strong complementarities. A key focus of the dialogue was the need to strengthen science-based regulatory cooperation in agriculture and food trade. Participants called for greater technical exchanges on quarantine systems, product quality standards, traceability and food safety to facilitate smoother market access while reducing non-tariff barriers. Industry representatives also encouraged businesses in both countries to move beyond transactional export relationships and pursue long-term partnerships through joint investments in production, processing, distribution and logistics. Expanding cooperation into third-country markets was identified as another avenue for enhancing competitiveness and supply chain resilience. Vietnam highlighted the continued strengthening of its aquaculture governance framework, including improvements in traceability systems, food safety oversight and internationally recognised certification standards. These measures are intended to support export competitiveness as global seafood markets increasingly demand higher sustainability and quality benchmarks. Seafood trade, particularly tilapia, emerged as one of the most sensitive areas of discussion. Brazilian industry representatives acknowledged Vietnam's growing role as an important seafood supplier but also pointed to recent legislative proposals and regulatory developments that have created uncertainty for importers and exporters. They called for sustained dialogue between governments and industry bodies to address technical concerns, preserve market access and ensure that future policy decisions remain grounded in scientific evidence. The meeting underscored a broader shift in Vietnam-Brazil relations—from conventional commodity trade towards a more strategic partnership centred on innovation, sustainable agriculture and resilient agri-food value chains amid evolving global trade dynamics. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/129/4154/profert-regulatory-framework-that-is-reorienting-brazils-fertilizer-and-bio-input-industry.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/interviews/129/4154/profert-regulatory-framework-that-is-reorienting-brazils-fertilizer-and-bio-input-industry.html Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:04:42 +0530 PROFERT is more than a fertilizer policy—it is Brazil’s most ambitious effort to reduce its strategic dependence on imported agricultural inputs and build a domestic production ecosystem. The real headline lies in the legislation’s unprecedented elevation of bio-inputs, biofertilizers and remineralizers from niche sustainability solutions to core pillars of national industrial policy. By combining mandatory domestic blending targets, tax incentives, financing mechanisms and innovation funding, the programme creates both a guaranteed market and long-term investment certainty for the biologicals sector. As Mauro Brant Heringer explains, the question is no longer whether Brazil’s bio-input industry will scale, but which companies will be best positioned to capitalize on what could become one of the most transformative regulatory shifts in global agriculture. Why does the creation of the Fertilizer Industry Development Program (PROFERT) mark a strategic moment for the sector? PROFERT represents the most structurally ambitious legislative response ever formulated to address Brazilian agribusiness's chronic vulnerability: external dependence on 85 per cent of the fertilizers consumed in the country. This unilateral exposure to geopolitical, currency, and logistical shocks — exacerbated by conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East — had always been addressed through ad hoc tax suspension measures. What makes PROFERT strategic is the paradigm shift: Bill PL 699/2023 replaces the reactive model of tax relief on levies that will be phased out by the Tax Reform (PIS/Cofins, IPI) with an active industrial policy anchored in five complementary instruments: Mandatory blending requirement — creates a captive market with compulsory minimum percentages of domestic inputs (2 per cent as of July 2027, scaling to 10-30 per cent by 2037); Structural tax credit — up to 20 per cent of production costs, with a total capacity of BRL 10 billion over five years; Fund for the Stimulation of National Fertilizer Production (FPNF) — guarantees, margin-protection contracts (contracts for difference) and R&D funding; BNDES credit lines — dedicated reimbursable financing for plant construction, expansion, and modernization; AFRMM exemption — logistics cost relief for approved projects. For the first time, the bio-input sector is placed at the center of Brazil's industrial policy, while conventional chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been expressly excluded from the program. The explicit target is to reduce external dependence to 45 per cent by 2050. This is the most significant regulatory milestone for the sector since the Bio-Inputs Law. What is the significance of Bill PL 699/2023 (PROFERT) officially including bio-inputs, biofertilizers, and remineralizers within its incentive scope? This inclusion is the most consequential feature of the approved text and represents a regulatory paradigm shift. Before PROFERT, bio-inputs were treated as a positive externality within the fertilizer legal framework — at best, a marginal mention in policies centered on chemical inputs. Bill PL 699/2023 inverts this logic: bio-inputs, biofertilizers, and remineralizers are explicitly named in Articles 1 and 2 of the substitute bill as core beneficiaries of the policy, while conventional chemical pesticides were excluded. Three strategic implications follow: Clear regulatory signaling — the Brazilian state is directing BRL 10 billion in subsidies toward the bio-based industry, guiding private investment, R&D, and market positioning with legal and economic predictability. Compulsory and growing market — the mandatory domestic blending requirement (2 per cent in 2027, 10-30 per cent by 2037) creates captive demand that is independent of economic cycles or purchasing preferences. Major distributors, cooperatives, and trading companies will be required to purchase domestic bio-inputs. The discussion shifts from "whether" to "from whom." Structural competitive advantage — the program's mandatory socio-environmental counterpart commitments (GHG reduction, energy efficiency, local development) are intrinsic attributes of bio-inputs. While conventional producers will need to adapt their operations to qualify, the bio-input industry is already eligible by nature. The program does not require the biological sector to change — it rewards what the sector already is. How can industry companies benefit from the new project through tax credits, financing, and the valorization of domestic production? PROFERT structures five financial mechanisms that operate in a combined and cumulative manner: Structural Tax Credit: a credit of up to 20 per cent of expenditures on domestic production, calculated via CSLL (Social Contribution on Net Profit), with an aggregate cap of BRL 2 billion per year (BRL 10 billion over the program's horizon). Access is competitive: companies must submit an approved project to MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock) and compete within the annual limit. Fund for the Stimulation of National Fertilizer Production (FPNF): a public accounting fund offering three support modalities: (i) guarantees for investment projects, reducing the cost of capital; (ii) margin-protection contracts (contracts for difference) against international price volatility; (iii) non-reimbursable resources for R&D. BNDES Financing: dedicated credit lines for the construction, reactivation, expansion, and modernization of industrial plants, with differentiated terms and interest rates for projects qualified under PROFERT. AFRMM Exemption: relief from the Additional Freight Charge for Merchant Marine Renewal on imported inputs and equipment for approved projects, capped at BRL 200 million per year between 2027 and 2031. Emergency Transition Credit:BRL 1 billion already available for the 2026 fiscal year, with a submission window between October and December 2026, to mitigate immediate costs before the regular program takes effect. Mandatory compliance requirements for companies:Lucro Real (actual-profit tax regime) is an eligibility condition — companies under Simples Nacional are expressly barred; prior accreditation with MAPA is mandatory and should begin by August/September 2026; socio-environmental counterpart commitments — GHG mitigation, energy efficiency, and community engagement — are eligibility prerequisites, not mere recommendations. How has ABINBIO been acting in Brasília to monitor and strengthen the progress of PROFERT? ABINBIO — the Brazilian Association of Bio-Input Industries — has played a systematic technical-legislative advocacy role since its founding. Even before its official launch, the association had already held approximately 100 meetings in Brasília, with agendas that included: the Vice Presidency of the Republic; the Chief of Staff Office and the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency; strategic ministries including Agriculture (MAPA), Science and Technology (MCTI), Industrial Development (MDIC), and Agrarian Development (MDA); the National Congress — leaders from all party affiliations; and regulatory agencies and oversight bodies. Within the specific scope of PROFERT, ABINBIO participated as an invited speaker at a public hearing before the Industry, Commerce, and Services Commission (CICS) of the Chamber of Deputies — an institutional milestone, as it was the first time the association occupied that space in the National Congress to debate the policy for incentivizing Brazil's fertilizer and bio-input industry. The work is led by President Marcelo de Godoy, Technical Director Artur Soares Jr., and Legal Director Auro Ruschel, with strategic advisory support from Consillium RIG, represented by directors Enrico Ribeiro and Thiago Queiroz. Beyond PROFERT, ABINBIO has already achieved significant regulatory victories, including the exclusion of provisions that would have authorized precarious on farm production in Bill PL 1459/2022 (the Pesticides Bill), and the creation of the Strategic Bio-Input Council as a consultative body. More recently, the association joined the National Bio-Input Export Committee of ApexBrasil, positioning the sector on the international agenda as well. The work does not end with the Chamber's approval — ABINBIO maintains active monitoring of the bill's progress in the Senate, where it has returned for final review of the amendments introduced by Deputy Júnior Ferrari's substitute text. What future results do you project for the bio-input sector with this new incentive policy? The projections rest on three pillars: regulatory scaling, market dynamics, and Brazil's geopolitical positioning. Short term (2027-2029): the mandatory 2 per cent domestic blending requirement as of July 2027 already represents a minimum market estimated in the hundreds of millions of reais for domestic bio-inputs. Companies accredited ahead of competitors will capture quota contracts with distributors and cooperatives, establishing preferential positioning that consolidates during this phase. The BRL 1 billion emergency credit (2026) serves as upfront capital for this structuring. Medium term (2030-2033): the mandatory percentage scales to the 10-30 per cent range, with the bio-input industry already having expanded installed capacity through BNDES financing and FPNF access for R&D. At this stage, we project: (a) consolidation of domestic suppliers as dominant players in the captive market; (b) measurable reduction in external dependence; (c) attraction of foreign direct investment for bio-input plants in Brazil. Long term (2034-2037): with the quota stabilized at 10-30 per cent, the Brazilian bio-input sector will be consolidated as a global reference in biological technologies for tropical agriculture. We project: export of model and technology — Brazil's regulatory framework will serve as a benchmark for other countries; a pull effect across the entire value chain — research laboratories, specialized logistics providers, biological process engineering; and measurable decarbonization of Brazilian agriculture — with direct impact on the pricing of green commodities in the international market. The hard data: Brazil went from 8 companies with registered biological products in 2014 to 53 in 2024. With PROFERT, this growth vector gains not only acceleration, but structural predictability. The question for the market is not whether the sector will grow — it is who will be positioned when the adoption curve reaches the compulsory threshold.  (This document was prepared based on Bill PL 699/2023 (Chamber of Deputies Substitute Bill, 05/27/2026), the Regulatory Brief from Auro Ruschel Advogados Associados, and technical sector analysis. The opinions expressed herein reflect ABINBIO's institutional position ).   ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/features/129/4152/cracking-the-code-rick-melnick-managing-partner-coo-for-dunhamtrimmer.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/features/129/4152/cracking-the-code-rick-melnick-managing-partner-coo-for-dunhamtrimmer.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:59:15 +0530 For decades, the use of biologicals in commercial agriculture has been a story of tremendous promise, and oftentimes, equally tremendous frustration. The microorganisms are remarkable. The modes of action are elegant. The science is rife with possibilities. Yet, for all of that potentiality, biologicals have remained in the margins of modern production agriculture, often viewed as too unstable, too inconsistent, or too difficult to manufacture at scale. Now, that is changing. Not because the underlying biology has suddenly gotten better, but because three innovative companies have each independently solved a manufacturing problem that once seemed insurmountable. NewLeaf Symbiotics, CXC-AG, and GreenLight Biosciences work with entirely different biological platforms and achieved their respective breakthroughs through equally distinct scientific journeys. But their stories share an undeniable common thread: each succeeded by understanding biology deeply enough to stop fighting against it — and start working with it. Together, these companies are helping to reshape what the biologicals industry can offer farmers while accelerating one of the most consequential shifts in modern production agriculture. NewLeaf Symbiotics: Teaching a Microbe to Run a Marathon Of all the age-old challenges in biological manufacturing, few are more stubborn than the problem of live gram-negative bacteria. Unlike well established gram-positive microbes such as Bacillus thuringiensis spp. kurstaki, which form naturally durable spores that can withstand spray-drying, storage, and handling with relative ease, non-spore-forming gram-negative microorganisms are notoriously fragile. Getting them from the fermentation tank to the farmer’s field in a living, active state has historically been so difficult that most of the industry simply avoided them altogether. Enter NewLeaf Symbiotics, the St. Louis-based biologicals company that built its entire business around one such group: pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFMs). These microorganisms are metabolically versatile, physiologically interesting, and (as NewLeaf has demonstrated) are capable of driving meaningful outcomes across biostimulant, biocontrol, and nitrogen-use efficiency applications. The challenge has always been making these microbes an accessible technology farmers can easily use. “A grower wants to be able to use something just as easily as they do all the chemistries that are currently in the shed and on the shelf that they’ve been using for decades,” says Michael Frodyma, NewLeaf’s head of manufacturing and product development. “They want products where the application compatibility, the shelf stability, all those things are exactly like what they’re accustomed to using.” While that sounds like a straightforward aspiration, achieving it with live gram-negative microorganisms is anything but. Frodyma says NewLeaf’s breakthrough came from a counterintuitive insight: the key to a stable end product was not going to be found in the downstream formulation steps — the drying, the excipients, the packaging — but in what happened to the cells before any of that began. Frodyma describes the concept using a simple analogy. A person who is sick and exhausted cannot run a marathon, at least not very well. But that same person — if they have trained hard, rested well, and prepared properly — absolutely can. The organism is identical in both cases. What differs is physiological readiness. NewLeaf spent years learning exactly how to create “marathon-ready” cells: manipulating what the microbe receives during fermentation, when it receives it, and adapting the range of other fermentation variables that determine whether the living cell can survive spray drying, endure two years of shelf storage, survive tank mixing, and then perform in the field. NewLeaf says the results speak for themselves. The company now reports two-year ambient shelf stability across its entire technology portfolio — a remarkable achievement for live, non-spore-forming gram-negative organisms. With its practical experience and advanced analytical tools, Frodyma says the company has moved from a roughly 50 per cent manufacturing success rate from its early production days to close to 98 per cent success at commercial scale. That is the kind of manufacturing reliability that is a prerequisite for mainstream agricultural adoption. Given its success and the company’s intent focus on a defined class of organisms, NewLeaf believes it has also built a powerful pipeline advantage. When a new strain is identified from the company’s collection of nearly 13,000 unique isolates, the team has shown it can typically develop a commercially scalable manufacturing process in three to six months. That speed is only possible because NewLeaf’s underlying process knowledge in transferable across strains. It is a direct dividend of the company’s disciplined focus on PPFMs. These advancements offer NewLeaf a broad range of exciting possibilities. The company launched its first bioinsecticide (TS201) in March 2024 and first biofungicide (TS601) in February 2026. By positioning these technologies alongside their existing biostimulants, NewLeaf has enabled the stacking of crop-specific biostimulant, bioinsecticide, and biofungicide solutions into a coordinated biological program, a program that growers can apply with the same ease and compatibility they expect from conventional chemistry. Mission accomplished. CXC-AG: Intercepting a Conversation The story of CXC-AG begins not in a boardroom or a startup incubator, but in the chilly soybean fields of southwestern Quebec in the mid-1980s. Dr. Don Smith had recently arrived at McGill University as an Assistant Professor when researchers there introduced the first soybean varieties capable of maturing in Canada’s short growing season. Smith watched those young plants emerge from the ground looking healthy, then fade to an unsettling pale yellow before finally, mysteriously, greening back up. Cold soils were the culprit, he suspected. Optimal soil temperature for soybean nodulation (25° - 35° C) had been known for nearly a century, and Quebec’s spring planting soils were barely above 10. What Smith would discover was that the cold was disrupting the crucial first 12 hours of chemical signaling between soybean roots and their specialized symbiotic partners Bradyrhizobium japonicum, the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that form nodules on soybean roots. That early signal exchange involves the plant releasing isoflavonoides such as genistein, and the bacteria responding by producing lipo-chitooligosaccharides, or LCOs — compounds that trigger the plant to accept the symbiosis. While this process had already been known to science, Smith was able to watch what happened when soil temperatures slowed the process enough to for him to clearly observe the interactions. He found that by preexposing the bacteria to genistein in the lab the night before they were applied in the field, the microbes generated LCOs in advance. The finding was that treated plants didn’t just nodulate faster. They came out of the ground faster, too. Soon, with two years of statistically significant data in hand from multiple field sites around Quebec, Smith was confident in the implications. LCOs weren’t only signals for soybean nodulation they were helping the plants manage stress as well. The discovery grew stranger and more interesting from there. A graduate student, at Smith’s offhand suggestion, tested LCOs on corn — a crop with no connection to the soybean-Bradyrhizobium symbiosis whatsoever. “Neither of us expected it to work,” Smith recalls, “but lo and behold, it worked on corn, too.” That moment brought forth an entirely new scientific understanding: LCOs were not merely nodulation signals. They were something older and broader — stress-response molecules that may have originated billions of years ago as signals between root-associated bacteria and plants. Four decades of research later, Smith’s lab at McGill remains the only group in the world singularly focused on plant-microbe signaling at this depth. LCOs work. That much is proven. LCO technology became the foundation of the Optimize (2003) and Jumpstart (2013) product lines that have since been sold commercially around the world. The problem CXC set out to solve was deeper than just proving efficacy. As François Lamoureux, CXC’s President and CEO, puts it bluntly, “LCOs are notoriously hard to make. The challenge for CXC was figuring out how we can make LCOs more accessible to the farmer.” Lamoureux says the early manufacturing of LCOs was done using a pharma-style approach: porting the production mechanism into genetically modified E. coli bacteria to achieve meaningful yields. That route works, says Lamoureux, but it introduces a GMO organism into production, which carries its own regulatory and market-perception complications that CXC wanted to avoid, so they took a different approach. Working alongside Smith and a team that includes several of his former students, now CXC’s chief scientists, the company has developed methods to coax meaningful yields of high-purity LCOs from the original producing organism — Bradyrhizobium japonicum — without any genetic modification. Smith says the process exploits 40 years of accumulated knowledge about the organism’s nutritional requirements, culturing conditions, and the subtle variables that most researchers would not think to manipulate. The commercial stakes for this breakthrough are significant. LCOs function at extraordinarily low concentrations — on the order of 10 to the minus 11th molar, well within the range of the most sensitive hormonal signals in any biological system on Earth. The practical implication is that a single gram of properly produced LCO can treat an enormous number of acres, making cost-per-acre economics potentially transformational. The Smith Lab and CXC have also identified a second molecule (product name Abio) — a bacteriocin-derived signal from Bacillus thuringiensis found inside the soybean nodule. Abio further boosts LCO efficacy when the two are combined, creating what CXC describes as a supercharged LCO platform. Lamoureux says the Abio platform is at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9. Developed by NASA the TRL readiness scale was used to characterize the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. TRL9 signifies a technology that is fully mature, fieldproven, and commercially operational in its final form. As such, CXC is in the process of identifying the right commercial partner with the scale and market access to bring its supercharged LCO (+Abio) platform technology to growers globally. GreenLight Biosciences: An Answer from the Bottom of the Ocean RNA interference (RNAi) — the mechanism by which double-stranded RNA molecules can silence specific genes in target organisms — has been one of the most exciting ideas in biological crop protection for more than two decades. The science, which won a Nobel Prize in 2006, offers something that conventional chemistry cannot: a mode of action so precisely targeted that a properly designed RNA molecule can silence a gene in a Colorado potato beetle without with an almost unprecedented level of specificity. The obstacle for RNAi was never the science. It was the manufacturing economics. Dr. Andrey Zarur, CEO of GreenLight Biosciences, describes the three historical routes to RNA production with the precision of someone who spent years eliminating each of them. Chemical synthesis — the approach used for therapeutic RNAs in treatments of some genetic disorders (such as amyloidosis), cardiovascular disease, and cancer — produces high-fidelity product but at costs ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per gram. The process of enzymatic polymerization utilizes purchased nucleotide triphosphates as catalysts to synthesize RNA polymers in vitro, the method behind mRNA COVID vaccines. This method brings manufacturing costs down to thousands of dollars per gram, still a long way from viability for agricultural applications, where effective use might require use rates of ten grams per hectare. The third route — fermentation using engineered bacteria — attracted enormous investment from heavy-hitters like Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, and others during the 1990s and 2000s. These companies theorized that if you could engineer E. coli to produce foreign RNA in a high-density fermentation, the economics should be favorable. In practice, however, biology refused to cooperate. Zarur says the problem is fundamental and evolutionary. Every living organism on Earth has developed systems to recognize and destroy foreign RNA — because foreign RNA is the signature of infection. In E. coli-based fermentation, as foreign RNA accumulates, the bacteria respond by dramatically upregulating the production of nucleases that degrade the RNA. The result is a broad distribution of molecular fragments in the broth, only 1-2 per cent of which is high purity product. When sprayed on crops, the mixture largely failed, and the major companies eventually walked away. GreenLight’s conclusion was at once simple, complicated and unambiguous. They needed to eliminate the living cell entirely from the manufacturing process. But this created what seemed like an impossible engineering problem. RNA synthesis requires energy, specifically ATP, the universal energy currency of life, to phosphorylate the nucleotide building blocks needed for RNA polymerization. Organisms make ATP either through respiration, photosynthesis, glycolysis, or anaerobic metabolism. Once living cells were removed from the process, where would the ATP come from? “The key to this whole problem became: can we supply energy to the system so that it can phosphorylate those nucleotides and drive this reaction forward?” Zarur says. “Simply elucidating that took a couple of years. But then figuring out how to make that energy took another eight years, because it had never been done before.” The breakthrough came from an unexpected source. In the alkaline volcanic vents at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean — in a place called the Atlantis Massif — live organisms have thrived for 4.2 billion years with neither oxygen nor sunlight. These extremophiles produce ATP by extracting phosphate from inorganic molecules like calcium phosphate and iron phosphate in their surroundings, using a set of ancient enzymes that likely predate every other energy metabolism on Earth. GreenLight surmised it could adapt those enzymes for industrial use. The original organisms worked in cold, high-pressure marine environments, drawing on insoluble phosphate sources that would simply precipitate out of a bioreactor. Researchers spent years engineering the system to function at room temperature, ambient pressure, with soluble phosphate sources, and at speeds sufficient for industrial production. When the first version of GreenLight’s cell-free enzyme system worked, the resultant RNA cost about $100 per gram — 10 times cheaper than anything else available at the time. Within a year of hitting that milestone, however, iterative improvements drove the cost below $1 per gram, an astonishing reduction stemming from the high purity of the resulting product. A mass spectrometry analysis of GreenLight’s RNA shows essentially a single peak — approximately 99% of the product is the correct molecule at the correct molecular weight. That means that every molecule sprayed in the field is capable of affecting its target. That purity also proved critical for regulatory approval: GreenLight had to help the EPA develop an entirely new framework for evaluating RNA insecticides, including sequence analytics, bioinformatics demonstrating non-target organism safety, and environmental fate studies. That framework now exists and has been adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Today, GreenLight has two commercial RNA biopesticide products on the market — Calantha, targeting the Colorado potato beetle, and Norroa — and is expanding rapidly. “We’re sold out of everything,” Zarur says. “We can’t keep it on the shelves, and it’s only May.” Current production is running at approximately 5.5 metric tons of RNA per year, with the company aiming for 30 metric tons by year end — more RNA than was previously thought possible to manufacture. According to Zarur, the GreenLight pipeline is extensive. Common Denominators Three companies. Three entirely different biological platforms. Three very different manufacturing breakthroughs. And yet the underlying similarities are striking. In each case, the biology was ready long before the manufacturing was. PPFMs have been known and studied for decades. LCOs were commercialized by a global agricultural company. RNA interference won a Nobel Prize. The science was not the bottleneck. Manufacturability was. Initially, NewLeaf could not stabilize living gram-negative cells. At the outset, CXC could not produce LCOs from non-GMO organisms at commercial purity and yield. In the beginning, GreenLight could not make RNA cheaply enough for field use. Biology becomes agriculture only when manufacturing catches up. In each case, the companies’ respective solutions required working with biology rather than against it. NewLeaf didn’t depend upon formulation gymnastics to protect cells that weren’t ready; it learned how to make cells that were ready before processing began. CXC didn’t try to force a faster GMO production route; it leaned into 40 years of knowledge about the original organism’s biology. GreenLight didn’t try to suppress the E. coli nuclease response; it removed the living cell from the process entirely and rebuilt biological energy chemistry from its most ancient roots. Likewise, across all three innovations, purity and consistency emerge as strategic advantages rather than technical footnotes. These innovations are not rooted in brute-force engineering solutions. They are solutions that stem from deep biological understanding. The long-term implications of these manufacturing breakthroughs extend well beyond the individual products coming to market. They suggest a structural leap forward in how the biologicals industry will compete and how farmers eventually think about their input programs. If biological products can be manufactured with the stability, cost, purity, and performance consistency that conventional chemistry has long offered, they can officially transition from nice-to-haves to need-to-haves. And in a world of increasingly erratic growing conditions, tools that help crops perform under variable stress conditions are precisely what farmers need most.   ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4146/greenlight-advances-rna-revolution-in-agriculture-with-first-rna-based-fungicide.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4146/greenlight-advances-rna-revolution-in-agriculture-with-first-rna-based-fungicide.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:57:54 +0530 GreenLight Biosciences is positioning Brazil at the centre of its global growth strategy following regulatory progress for Oifirax (ES-43), a novel RNA-based fungicide designed to combat powdery mildew in grapes and other high-value crops. The product is being promoted as the world's first topical RNA-interference (RNAi) fungicide, signalling a potential breakthrough in the evolution of biological crop protection technologies. The company received a significant boost after Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) included Oifirax on its priority regulatory review list, accelerating the approval process for the innovative bio-input. The development strengthens Brazil’s role as a strategic launch market for emerging agricultural technologies and reinforces the country's growing importance in the global biologicals sector. GreenLight’s expansion strategy is being supported by a recent US$25 million investment from Just Climate, the climate-focused investment platform linked to Generation Investment Management, co-founded by former US Vice President Al Gore. The funding is expected to support the company’s commercial scale-up and strengthen its operational footprint in Brazil, which GreenLight views as a key hub for future international expansion. The company is initially focusing on Brazil’s viticulture sector, where powdery mildew remains one of the most economically damaging fungal diseases affecting vineyards. With approximately 75,000 hectares of vineyards across the country, producers face continuous pressure to manage disease while meeting increasingly stringent residue requirements in domestic and export markets. Unlike conventional fungicides that rely on broad-spectrum chemical activity, Oifirax employs RNA interference technology, a highly targeted biological mechanism that silences specific genes essential for fungal survival and reproduction. The technology allows the product to attack the pathogen without altering plant genetics or affecting beneficial organisms, positioning it as a non-GMO solution aligned with sustainability objectives. According to company data, field evaluations conducted across multiple Brazilian production regions, including the São Francisco Valley, demonstrated disease control performance comparable to or exceeding conventional chemical fungicides, even at lower application rates. The product is also being evaluated for future use in crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, coffee and cocoa, all of which face significant fungal disease challenges. One of the key differentiators of RNA-based crop protection products is their environmental profile. GreenLight says Oifirax degrades rapidly after application, leaves no detectable residues at harvest and poses minimal risk to pollinators and beneficial insects. These characteristics are increasingly important as global regulators, food companies and consumers place greater emphasis on sustainable agricultural production systems. The commercialisation of Oifirax is supported by GreenLight’s proprietary cell-free RNA manufacturing platform, which is designed to produce double-stranded RNA at scale and at lower costs than traditional RNA production methods. The technology addresses one of the historical barriers to agricultural RNAi adoption—economic viability for large-scale farming applications. While the active ingredient is currently manufactured in the United States, GreenLight has indicated plans to localise production in Brazil over time. The company already maintains a significant presence in the country through its insecticide adjuvant business, with Brazil accounting for the majority of global sales for its Fortivance product portfolio. Looking ahead, GreenLight intends to leverage its Brazilian operations as a regional export platform serving Latin American markets, including Argentina and Chile. Simultaneously, regulatory submissions are progressing in the European Union, targeting major wine-producing regions in Italy, Spain and France. As biological crop protection technologies continue to gain momentum worldwide, the launch of Oifirax could mark a pivotal moment for RNA-based agriculture, offering growers a new generation of precision disease management tools that combine efficacy, sustainability and regulatory compliance.   ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4144/rijk-zwaan-expands-tropical-crop-research-with-new-breeding-station-in-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4144/rijk-zwaan-expands-tropical-crop-research-with-new-breeding-station-in-brazil.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:12:03 +0530 Dutch vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan has expanded its global research footprint with the opening of a new open-field breeding station in Brazil, reinforcing its focus on developing fruit and vegetable varieties tailored to tropical growing conditions. Located in Mogi Mirim, São Paulo state, the facility represents a significant investment in tropical crop breeding and forms part of the company’s broader strategy to strengthen innovation for growers operating in challenging climatic environments. Although operational since 2024, the station was formally inaugurated this month in the presence of customers, industry partners and stakeholders. The new breeding center spans approximately 40 hectares and has been designed to support the development of crop varieties capable of withstanding the unique pressures associated with tropical agriculture, including high rainfall, disease pressure and rapidly changing environmental conditions. By conducting selection and breeding activities directly within tropical environments, researchers can evaluate plant performance under real-world conditions and accelerate the development of varieties with improved resilience to local pests, diseases and climatic stresses. The facility also strengthens Rijk Zwaan’s global breeding network and enhances its ability to support vegetable growers across Latin America and other tropical production regions. The company has operated in Brazil for two decades, providing a platform for closer collaboration with farmers, retailers and supply chain partners while aligning breeding priorities with market needs. As demand for fruits and vegetables continues to rise globally, seed companies are increasingly investing in localized breeding programs to improve productivity, sustainability and crop adaptability. The Brazilian breeding station is expected to play a strategic role in supporting future food production by delivering varieties suited to evolving climate and market requirements. The investment underscores the growing importance of region-specific agricultural innovation as the global seed industry seeks solutions to improve crop performance and strengthen food system resilience in diverse production environments. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4012/elemental-enzymes-and-upl-set-new-benchmark-in-biological-crop-protection-with-strakor-launch.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/4012/elemental-enzymes-and-upl-set-new-benchmark-in-biological-crop-protection-with-strakor-launch.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:50:39 +0530 Brazilian citrus growers gain access to the first registered peptide-based solution targeting citrus greening, combining science, sustainability and field-ready performance In a development that could significantly alter the battle against one of global agriculture’s most persistent crop diseases, Elemental Enzymes and UPL Ltd. have announced the commercial launch of Strakor, a peptide-based biological solution designed to manage citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB). The introduction of Strakor marks a notable milestone for the citrus sector, as the product becomes the first and only registered solution in Brazil specifically approved for the management of citrus greening, a disease widely regarded as one of the most devastating threats to citrus production worldwide. Developed using Elemental Enzymes’ proprietary Vismax technology, Strakor represents the latest application of precision biology in agriculture, translating advanced peptide science into a scalable field solution aimed at improving plant resilience and long-term orchard productivity. The launch comes at a critical juncture for Brazil’s citrus industry, which remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of orange juice. Citrus greening has inflicted substantial economic losses across major citrus-growing regions globally by reducing fruit quality, lowering yields and, in severe cases, causing tree decline and orchard abandonment. Unlike conventional crop protection approaches that focus primarily on external pathogen control, Strakor is designed to activate the plant’s own defense mechanisms. The technology employs precisely engineered signaling peptides that stimulate natural immune responses within the plant. By triggering systemic defense pathways, the product enables crops to strengthen internal resistance against disease pressure, creating what the companies describe as a proactive and biologically driven protection strategy. “Strakor isn’t just a product—it’s what happens when precision peptide science meets a grower’s real-world challenge,” said Brian Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Elemental Enzymes. “Together with UPL, we’re providing Brazilian citrus growers with their first registered tool against HLB, while also delivering broad-spectrum protection against bacterial and fungal pathogens. This establishes a new benchmark for what biological crop protection can achieve.” Beyond its disease-management capabilities, the companies emphasize that Strakor has been developed to integrate seamlessly into existing production systems. The solution is compatible with current crop protection programs and can be incorporated into standard orchard management practices without requiring significant operational changes. This ease of adoption is expected to be a key advantage for growers seeking practical solutions to increasingly complex disease pressures while maintaining productivity and profitability. According to Mariana Yama, Product Manager at UPL Brazil, the launch reflects a broader evolution underway in agricultural management. “Strakor represents an important advance in the way we approach agricultural production,” she said. “It brings together science, innovation and sustainability in a manner that supports more balanced and productive farming systems while helping growers address today’s increasingly complex field challenges.” The product launch also signals a broader strategic shift for Elemental Enzymes as the company expands beyond technology development toward the delivery of commercially scalable biological solutions. Over recent years, biological crop protection technologies have attracted growing attention from growers, regulators and investors alike as agriculture seeks alternatives capable of enhancing crop health while supporting sustainability objectives. Peptide-based technologies, in particular, are emerging as a promising frontier, offering highly targeted biological mechanisms that work with natural plant processes rather than against them. For UPL, the partnership reinforces its commitment to expanding access to innovative and sustainable agricultural solutions capable of addressing some of the industry's most pressing challenges. As disease pressures intensify and growers increasingly seek integrated approaches to crop protection, the introduction of Strakor may represent more than a new product launch. It signals the arrival of a new generation of precision biological technologies that combine scientific sophistication with practical, field-ready application. For Brazil’s citrus growers, the significance is immediate: for the first time, they now have access to a registered solution specifically designed to combat citrus greening. For the broader agricultural industry, the launch offers a glimpse into how precision biology may shape the future of crop protection in an era defined by sustainability, resilience and innovation. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3995/greening-advances-in-brazil-cuts-citrus-crop-and-increases-pressure-for-new-control-technologies.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3995/greening-advances-in-brazil-cuts-citrus-crop-and-increases-pressure-for-new-control-technologies.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:38:45 +0530 With orange production forecast to decline nearly 13 per cent in 2026/27, industry leaders warn that Huanglongbing is reshaping the economics and sustainability of global citrus production Brazil’s citrus industry is facing one of the most critical moments in its recent history as greening (HLB – Huanglongbing), currently considered the world’s most serious phytosanitary threat to citrus orchards, continues to spread. The growing pressure from the disease is already compromising productivity, fruit quality, orchard longevity, and sharply increasing production costs across the country’s citrus value chain.The impacts of HLB became evident in the new forecast for the 2026/27 citrus crop in the São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt — the world’s leading orange juice-producing region. According to an announcement by Fundecitrus, production is expected to reach 255.20 million 40.8-kg boxes, a volume 12.9 per cent lower than the previous crop, which totaled 292.94 million boxes, and also 14.7 per cent below the average of the past decade.According to Fundecitrus Executive Director Juliano Ayres, the combination of adverse weather conditions and increasing greening pressure has further worsened orchard conditions. “This crop has been impacted by climate variability and higher greening pressure, affecting fruit set, yield, and fruit drop. Despite improvements in average fruit weight and the technological level of orchards, the situation requires strict management and continuous monitoring,” he stated.These figures and analyses were presented during Expocitros 2026 and Citrus Week 2026, which began this week at the Sylvio Moreira Citrus Center of the Agronomic Institute in Cordeirópolis, São Paulo state. The events bring together agribusiness leaders, researchers, growers, companies, and government representatives to discuss innovation, sustainability, biological inputs, technology, energy, and the main challenges facing Brazilian citriculture.Incidence Near 50 per cent Raises Alarm Across Citrus BeltAccording to industry specialists, HLB has reached alarming levels. Citrus consultant Gilberto Tozatti, who has more than 40 years of experience in the sector and is founder of GCONCI (Citrus Consultants Group), says the average incidence of symptomatic trees in Brazil’s main citrus belt has already reached 47.6 per cent, while average disease severity stands at 22.7 per cent.According to him, the problem goes beyond geographic spread. “Severity represents the level of plant impairment and is directly related to reduced production and increased fruit losses,” Tozatti explains. He also notes that greening has been gradually expanding into other citrus-producing regions throughout the country.Consultant Hamilton Rocha recalls that HLB was first detected in the citrus belt in 2004 and has continued to spread ever since. “Today it is present in nearly 50 per cent of citrus trees in the citrus belt and has already spread to Minas Gerais, Paraná, and other states,” he observes.The economic consequences are severe. Tozatti estimates that more than 50 per cent of premature fruit drop is currently associated with HLB. In addition, the disease significantly reduces industrial yields and compromises juice quality, directly impacting the competitiveness of Brazil’s citrus industry.Hamilton Rocha emphasizes that losses have been accumulating for more than two decades. “Fruit production and quality have declined dramatically throughout these more than 20 years,” he says.Integrated Management Remains the Main StrategyWith no definitive cure available on the market, greening control continues to rely on integrated management, intensive monitoring, and strict control of the psyllid Diaphorina citri, the insect vector responsible for transmitting the bacteria associated with HLB.In regions with lower incidence levels, Tozatti highlights the importance of rapidly eradicating infected trees and maintaining rigorous vector control to prevent disease spread. In the most heavily affected areas, growers have concentrated efforts on preserving orchard productivity and longevity.“In these regions, the focus has been on improving soil fertility, balanced nutrition, and preservation of the root system, one of the plant structures most severely affected by HLB,” the consultant says.Hamilton Rocha points out that there is still no effective reversal of the disease in symptomatic plants. “What we can currently do is reduce the speed at which the disease advances within the orchard,” he explains.Agronomist and PhD André Luis Teixeira Creste describes the situation as alarming. According to him, some regions already show symptomatic tree incidence levels above 70 per cent, potentially leading to even greater losses depending on weather conditions.Despite the disease pressure, Creste says Agro São José orchards have adopted rigorous management protocols based on Fundecitrus recommendations, including chemical and biological control, plant revitalization, and sustainable soil management practices.“There is no silver bullet for disease control. Different tools must be combined, including soil management, vector control, chemical crop protection products, and biologicals,” he states.He also highlights the use of solar reflectors as a complementary tool and points to new technologies currently under evaluation in the market as promising alternatives to reduce HLB-related damage.New Technology Aims to Slow Disease ProgressionAmong the technologies attracting industry attention is the Trecise system, developed by Invaio Sciences. The solution uses a localized trunk injection system that allows the precise delivery of active ingredients, including bactericides such as oxytetracycline. The product is currently undergoing registration for commercial use in Brazil.According to the company, because it is a high-precision application system in which the product is delivered directly into the plant’s vascular system, it is possible to reduce application rates by up to 90 per cent compared to other methods, while also minimizing worker exposure and environmental impacts.For Gilberto Tozatti, the solution represents “an extremely promising alternative” for the sector. “It brings hope for more efficient control of the bacteria inside the plant, reducing HLB-related losses and helping maintain orchards in production,” he says.Hamilton Rocha also views the system positively. “The use of bactericides is one of the strategies that may help combat greening. Invaio’s technology is very effective because it performs localized application, avoiding exposure outside the citrus plant, and the results are highly promising,” he notes.In trials conducted in partnership with Invaio, André Creste reports significant productivity gains. “We have observed recovery in trees with disease severity up to level 2 and productivity gains of up to 35 per cent compared to untreated areas,” he states.Citrus grower Tiago Davoglio considers HLB “the main problem in Brazilian citriculture” and says the sector has spent nearly 20 years attempting to control the disease without achieving a definitive solution.“The losses are well established: fruit drop, poor flowering set, plant mortality, and compromised industrial yields,” he says. According to Davoglio, technology based on OTC application could represent an important shift in greening management strategies.“Invaio’s technology directly attacks the disease within the HLB ‘tripod.’ We will continue controlling the vector, but with the possibility of reducing contaminated vectors spreading the bacteria to healthy plants,” he observes.According to Alexandre Chaves, the Trecise technology, once commercially available, will represent a new strategic tool for Brazilian citrus growers. “The combination of an innovative application technology capable of delivering the product directly into the plant’s vascular system, together with a highly effective active ingredient for bacterial control, will bring an unprecedented and complementary approach to disease management. As a company, we are committed to expanding the arsenal of solutions available to Brazilian citrus growers in addressing what is currently the greatest challenge facing citriculture.” ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3991/sispa-platform-marks-major-regulatory-modernisation-in-brazils-pesticide-sector.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3991/sispa-platform-marks-major-regulatory-modernisation-in-brazils-pesticide-sector.html Fri, 29 May 2026 17:19:01 +0530 Brazilian authorities say the system modernises administrative workflows without altering the country’s scientific approval criteria for pesticides Brazil has unveiled a new unified digital platform aimed at modernising and integrating the country’s pesticide registration process, marking a significant regulatory shift within one of the world’s largest agricultural markets. The platform, known as SISPA — the Unified Information, Petition and Electronic Evaluation System — has been jointly introduced by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). The initiative is designed to replace Brazil’s previously fragmented approval structure, under which pesticide manufacturers were required to submit separate applications to multiple federal agencies responsible for agronomic, toxicological, and environmental assessments. Under the earlier framework, companies had to independently file documentation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Anvisa, and the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), often resulting in overlapping procedures and extended approval timelines. With the introduction of SISPA, all regulatory submissions will now be processed through a single electronic platform coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, enabling simultaneous review and monitoring by the three participating agencies. Brazilian authorities said the system is expected to enhance transparency, improve traceability, reduce administrative duplication, and simplify communication between regulators and the private sector. Officials indicated that one of the platform’s key operational advantages will be the ability for companies to monitor the status of applications in real time across all regulatory bodies involved in the approval process. The government expects this functionality to reduce repetitive document exchanges and procedural delays commonly associated with multi-agency reviews. According to Brazilian regulators, the platform emerged from internal institutional requirements aimed at improving interoperability between existing regulatory systems. Authorities noted that the initiative forms part of Brazil’s broader agenda to modernise agricultural defence infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation within the country’s regulatory ecosystem. Government representatives also stressed that SISPA does not alter Brazil’s technical standards or scientific evaluation criteria for pesticide approvals. Instead, the objective is to improve administrative efficiency, reduce operational costs, and create a more integrated and predictable registration environment for industry participants. The project has been developed through collaboration between public institutions and private-sector organisations. Brazil’s cotton industry associations, including the Brazilian Cotton Producers Association and the Brazilian Cotton Institute, reportedly invested more than $6 million in the initiative. Additional institutional support was provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Industry stakeholders expect the new platform to help shorten regulatory timelines and reduce procedural rework during application submissions. Standardised digital workflows are also anticipated to accelerate the introduction of new crop protection technologies and active ingredients into the Brazilian agricultural market. As one of the world’s leading agricultural producers and exporters of soybeans, corn, cotton, sugar, coffee, and meat products, Brazil operates an exceptionally large and strategically important pesticide registration system. Consequently, the launch of SISPA is being closely watched by multinational agrochemical companies, generic manufacturers, biological input developers, and global trade partners seeking greater regulatory efficiency and market predictability. Brazilian authorities further indicated that the platform could strengthen technical cooperation with other countries across Latin America and Africa, while reinforcing Brazil’s competitiveness in increasingly demanding international agricultural markets. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3987/jiangsu-heben-gains-brazilian-nod-for-difenoconazole-boosting-triazole-fungicide-strategy.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3987/jiangsu-heben-gains-brazilian-nod-for-difenoconazole-boosting-triazole-fungicide-strategy.html Fri, 29 May 2026 15:49:29 +0530 Vertically integrated production and multi-region registrations bolster Heben’s competitiveness in global agrochemical supply chains Jiangsu Heben Biochem Co. Ltd. has secured self-owned registration for its Difenoconazole Technical in Brazil, marking a significant expansion of its regulatory and commercial presence in one of the world’s most strategically important agrochemical markets. The approval, granted by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), carries registration number TC12626 under the trade name Difenoconazole Técnico Heben, and further consolidates the company’s position in the global triazole fungicide segment. The development comes on the heels of the company’s earlier achievement of EU equivalence registration for the same product, signalling a steady and deliberate expansion of regulatory acceptance across major agricultural economies. For Heben, this Brazilian clearance is not merely an administrative milestone but a strategic entry point into a market where fungal disease control—particularly in soybean, coffee, and fruit cultivation—constitutes a critical agronomic priority. Difenoconazole, a leading triazole fungicide with global peak annual sales exceeding US$1.2 billion, plays a central role in controlling a wide spectrum of crop diseases, including Asian soybean rust, which remains one of the most economically damaging threats in Brazilian agriculture. The registration therefore positions Heben within a highly competitive yet structurally essential segment of Brazil’s agri-inputs ecosystem. The company has, over the past two decades, developed a deep and technically integrated capability in difenoconazole manufacturing, supported by process optimisation and upstream raw material integration. By leveraging self-produced m-dichlorobenzene as a key intermediate, Heben has progressively extended its value chain into multiple triazole fungicides, including difenoconazole and propiconazole. This vertical integration, the company asserts, has enabled it to build a cost-efficient and structurally resilient production architecture spanning intermediates to finished technicals. Beyond difenoconazole, Heben has systematically expanded its global registration portfolio across multiple active ingredients and geographies. These include hexythiazox, propamocarb hydrochloride, clomazone, metalaxyl-M, and propiconazole technical registrations in the European Union, alongside propiconazole formulations in Australia. The company’s broader product basket further extends into a wide range of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, including pyraclostrobin, indoxacarb, oxyfluorfen, bromoxynil derivatives, and organotin compounds, reflecting a diversified agrochemical portfolio aimed at multiple crop protection segments. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in the Rudong Yangkou Chemical Industrial Park in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Heben operates as part of the broader Heben Group, which maintains production bases across Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Sichuan. The company has positioned itself as a vertically integrated agrochemical manufacturer with an emphasis on cost control, regulatory expansion, and long-term supply relationships with multinational agrochemical players. With the Brazilian registration now secured, Heben’s trajectory underscores a broader trend in global agrochemicals—where regulatory capability, integrated manufacturing, and multi-jurisdictional approvals increasingly define competitive advantage. In this evolving landscape, the company’s latest milestone represents both consolidation and ambition: consolidation of its technical credibility, and ambition in its pursuit of deeper penetration into high-value international markets. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3946/indofil-strengthens-latin-america-push-with-strategic-product-rollout.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3946/indofil-strengthens-latin-america-push-with-strategic-product-rollout.html Mon, 25 May 2026 15:06:55 +0530 Asian soybean rust and target spot continue to challenge productivity in one of the world’s largest soybean-producing regions Indofil has entered Brazil’s competitive crop protection market with the launch of Curatis, a new soybean fungicide designed to address persistent fungal disease challenges in one of the world’s largest soybean-producing regions. The company plans to distribute approximately 3 million litres of Curatis by 2026, a volume expected to significantly expand its presence in Brazil and strengthen its revenue base in Latin America’s largest agricultural economy. Curatis combines three active ingredients—mancozeb, prothioconazole, and picoxystrobin—in a water-based suspension formulation, positioning it as a broad-spectrum solution aimed at improving disease control efficiency in soybean cultivation. The launch comes at a critical time for Brazilian agriculture, where soybean production remains structurally strong but increasingly constrained by disease pressure. Brazil harvested nearly 169.5 million tonnes of soybeans in 2025, according to Conab, yet fungal threats such as Asian soybean rust and target spot continue to impact yield stability and production economics. Asian soybean rust remains the most aggressive disease affecting the crop, while target spot has been associated with significant yield losses under favourable conditions. Agricultural research bodies have also reported recurring outbreaks, reinforcing demand for more resilient and multi-site fungicidal solutions. Curatis differentiates itself through its liquid formulation of mancozeb, traditionally available in powder form, enabling improved handling efficiency, reduced preparation steps, and lower operational constraints during field application. The multi-site mode of action is designed to reduce resistance pressure and enhance durability of disease control programmes. Indofil is rolling out the product through phased commercial deployment, supported by field demonstrations, agronomic engagement programmes, and participation in technical agricultural events across key soybean-growing regions in Brazil. The launch marks a strategic portfolio expansion for Indofil, as the company seeks to strengthen its positioning in global crop protection markets amid rising demand for advanced formulations that combine operational convenience with multi-target disease control efficacy. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3943/ai-emerges-as-sugars-strategic-moat.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3943/ai-emerges-as-sugars-strategic-moat.html Mon, 25 May 2026 14:21:25 +0530 Speaking exclusively to AgroSpectrum, Guillermo Jose Medina LLarena, Chief Digital Architect (CDA) at Grupo Pantaleon outlines how data-driven mills are unlocking recovery gains, sustainability improvements and long-term operational advantages In an exclusive interview with AgroSpectrum, Guillermo Jose Medina LLarena, Chief Digital Architect (CDA) at Grupo Pantaleon, argues that artificial intelligence has rapidly shifted from a digital advantage to a competitive necessity for the global sugar industry. He explains how AI-driven platforms such as the Stoma Suite are helping sugar producers unlock multimillion-dollar operational gains through predictive crop intelligence, mill optimisation and real-time decision-making across the value chain. Medina notes that measurable improvements in sugar recovery, precision irrigation, logistics optimisation and sustainability metrics are fundamentally reshaping how mills manage profitability and climate risk. He further warns that within the next seven years, the industry will likely consolidate around producers that successfully embed AI into core operations, while laggards risk structural decline in an increasingly volatile agricultural economy. Sugar has long operated on thin margins and high volatility. Is AI now a competitive necessity rather than a digital luxury for large producers? It already crossed that line — most producers just haven’t realized it yet. For decades, sugar competed on scale, geography, and political relationships. Those advantages still matter, but they’re no longer sufficient. GLP-1 drugs are structurally reducing sugar consumption. Corn-based ethanol is undercutting margins in biofuels. Climate volatility is making historical yield models unreliable. These aren’t cyclical pressures you can hedge through — they’re permanent shifts in the competitive landscape. What AI changes is the speed at which a producer can detect a problem, understand its root cause, and correct it. A mill running on intuition and weekly reports is operating blind compared to one receiving prescriptive recommendations every four hours based on 100+ process variables. The gap between those two operations will compound every harvest cycle. Within seven years, I believe the global sugar industry will consolidate decisively around producers who mastered this — and those who are still trying to catch up. It won’t be a gradual transition. It will look like a cliff. Stomata Labs claims measurable ROI, including double-digit efficiency gains. What specific operational levers are driving that value creation? The honest answer is that the biggest lever isn’t any single variable — it’s the elimination of the lag between what’s happening in the process and what the decision-maker knows about it. In a traditional mill, by the time an anomaly in juice extraction or boiling crystallization is detected, reported, and acted upon, you’ve already lost hours of recovery. Our Global Recovery Optimizer analyzes the full process continuously and surfaces recommendations to operators in near real-time. In our deployments at Pantaleon’s PSA and Monte Rosa mills, we saw sugar recovery move from 81 per cent to 83 per cent in a single zafra — with statistical significance that removes any doubt about causality (p-value of 1.09×10⁻¹⁸). That half-percentage-point difference, sustained across a full season, is worth millions. On the agronomic side, Stoma Sense combines satellite imagery with proprietary cloud-fill algorithms that give you continuous NDVI monitoring even in tropical cloud cover — which has historically made remote sensing unreliable in precisely the regions where sugar is grown. Knowing actual crop stress at the parcel level, before the cane arrives at the mill, changes the entire harvesting and milling schedule from reactive to planned. Across a 2-million-ton facility, you estimate up to $6.6 million in annual value unlock. How much of that comes from field optimization versus mill performance improvements? We model approximately 60 per cent from mill optimization and 40 per cent from field intelligence — but that framing, while useful for budgeting conversations, obscures the more important point. The $6.6 million figure is conservative and is predicated on the two being connected. Field data that doesn’t inform the mill schedule creates agronomic insights that never become operational decisions. Mill optimization without crop-stage predictive data is reactive by definition. The value unlocks because you close the loop: you know what’s coming before it arrives, and you configure the mill accordingly. The reason we use $6.6 million for a 2-million-ton facility — rather than a larger number — is credibility. We only claim what we can demonstrate with auditable, statistically validated data. Our philosophy is to under-promise on the model and over-deliver on the harvest. The sugar industry is deeply data-fragmented. What was the biggest challenge in integrating agronomic, operational, and commercial datasets into a unified AI-ready system? The honest answer is that the industry spent years trying to solve this — and the challenge wasn’t technical. The technology to integrate these datasets has existed for some time. The challenge was building the right data models: understanding which variables actually drive yield and recovery, which signals are noise, and how agronomic data and industrial process data need to be structured to speak to each other. That took years of working inside real mills, with real operators, through real harvests. There’s no shortcut. You can’t simulate your way to those models in a lab. You learn them by being embedded in the operation — watching what a master boiler knows intuitively and figuring out how to encode that into a system that works even when he’s not on shift. What we built at Pantaleon — which has 175 years of operational history and data — gave us a foundation that others would take a decade to replicate from scratch. That institutional knowledge, now encoded in our models, is arguably as valuable as the software itself. How does embedding predictive intelligence at the crop stage change risk management compared to traditional reactive mill-based optimization? Traditional mill optimization is like reading the news. You find out what happened, you understand why, and you adjust for next time. That’s still valuable — but it’s fundamentally reactive. Predictive crop-stage intelligence is more like having a weather forecast with a confidence interval attached. You know that Block 14 is showing early stress signatures six weeks before harvest. You know that if you delay cutting by eight days, you capture a meaningful tonnage improvement. You know that three sections of cane are maturing simultaneously and will create a mill throughput bottleneck in week seven unless you resequence the harvest plan now. That shift — from reacting to problems to engineering around them before they materialize — changes the risk profile of the entire operation. You’re not just optimizing the mill. You’re optimizing the system. In an industry where a single bad week during peak zafra can wipe out a season’s margin, that’s not a marginal improvement. It’s a structural advantage. In emerging markets where digital maturity varies, how scalable is the Stoma Suite across different geographies and operational complexities? This is where most AgriTech companies fail — and where we’ve deliberately designed differently. The typical enterprise AgriTech approach assumes a level of digital infrastructure, data discipline, and technical staff that simply doesn’t exist in most mills outside of Western Europe and North America. The result is a sophisticated product that requires a sophisticated client to operate it, which limits the addressable market to the top tier of an already-small industry. We built Stoma Suite to deliver value at the operator level, not just the analytics team. The interfaces are mobile-first. The recommendations are expressed in operational language, not data science language. A senior boiler operator doesn’t need to understand the model — he needs to trust the recommendation and act on it. We’ve achieved 70 per cent adoption rates on AI recommendations at our active deployments, which in industrial settings is exceptionally high. That number tells you more about usability than any demo would. On the geographic side — we are already deployed across Mexico, Guatemala, India, and have active pipeline in Brazil and Honduras. Each geography required calibration, but the core models transfer. The data fragmentation problem is universal. The physics of cane processing don’t change by latitude. Beyond efficiency gains, how does AI integration strengthen sustainability metrics — particularly in water use, recovery rates, and carbon footprint? Sustainability in sugar has historically been a compliance conversation. AI makes it an operational one — which is where the real gains live. Recovery rate is the clearest example. Every percentage point of additional sugar recovered from the same quantity of cane is a percentage point less cane you need to grow, irrigate, harvest, and transport to produce the same output. The environmental math is straightforward. Our recovery improvements at Pantaleon translate directly to lower land use intensity per ton of sugar produced. Water is more complex but equally tractable. Stoma Sense’s parcel-level monitoring enables precision irrigation scheduling based on actual crop stress rather than calendar-based rules. In water-scarce regions — which increasingly describes every major sugar-producing geography — that’s both an economic and an existential capability. On carbon, the biggest opportunity isn’t in the mill — it’s in logistics. Harvest sequencing optimization, which our field intelligence enables, reduces the dead mileage and idle time that accounts for a surprisingly large share of cane operations’ fuel consumption. These aren’t soft sustainability claims. They’re measurable, reportable, and increasingly what institutional investors and export buyers require. Looking ahead five years, do you see AI-enabled intelligence becoming a defining moat in global sugar competitiveness? Seven years, not five — but yes, and more definitively than most in the industry are prepared to accept. Here’s the dynamic that people underestimate: AI models get better with data, and data accumulates with deployment. A producer who begins deploying today will have seven harvest cycles of model refinement by the time a competitor decides to start. The models we run today are meaningfully better than the ones we ran two seasons ago, because they’ve learned from two more seasons of real operational decisions and outcomes. That gap is not static — it compounds. What makes this different from previous technology cycles in agriculture is that the moat isn’t hardware or capital — it’s learning. You can buy the same sensors, hire the same data scientists, license the same cloud infrastructure. What you cannot buy is the accumulated harvest-by-harvest calibration of models that have learned what a specific mill, in a specific climate, with a specific variety of cane, does under a thousand different conditions. That takes time. It takes patience. And it takes a willingness to embed deeply in operations rather than sell software from the outside. The producers who treat AI as a long-term operational capability — not a procurement decision — will look back in seven years and understand that this was the moment the industry permanently separated into two groups. We’re helping the right clients make sure they’re in the right group. --- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3905/embrapa-study-shows-struvite-can-sustain-soy-yields-while-reducing-fertilizer-imports.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3905/embrapa-study-shows-struvite-can-sustain-soy-yields-while-reducing-fertilizer-imports.html Fri, 15 May 2026 11:14:15 +0530 Early trials suggest struvite-based organomineral blends may enhance nutrient availability in degraded acidic soils As global fertilizer markets remain vulnerable to geopolitical volatility and supply-chain disruption, Brazilian researchers are advancing an unlikely contender in the race for agricultural self-sufficiency: struvite, a phosphorus-rich mineral recovered from swine farming waste. Scientists at Embrapa Agrobiology say the material could emerge as a viable domestic substitute for imported phosphate fertilizers, offering Brazil a pathway to reduce its heavy dependence on foreign agricultural inputs while simultaneously addressing mounting environmental pressures tied to intensive livestock production. The research arrives at a strategically significant moment for Brazilian agriculture. Despite its status as an agricultural superpower, Brazil still imports roughly 75 per cent of the phosphate fertilizers required to sustain its vast grain sector—a structural vulnerability that has increasingly drawn concern amid fluctuating commodity markets and geopolitical instability affecting global fertilizer trade. Struvite, however, presents a markedly different proposition. Produced through the chemical recovery of nutrients from swine wastewater, the crystalline compound—composed primarily of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate—embodies what researchers describe as a circular-economy approach to modern farming: transforming agricultural waste streams into high-value production inputs. Field experiments conducted by Embrapa indicate that struvite can replace up to half of the phosphorus demand in soybean cultivation while maintaining yields near 3,500 kilograms per hectare, closely aligned with Brazil’s national soybean productivity average recorded in 2025. For researchers, the implications extend beyond simple fertilizer substitution. Caio de Teves Inácio, coordinator of the study, described the initiative as part of a broader technological transition aimed at strengthening Brazil’s agricultural autonomy while aligning crop production with sustainability and resource-efficiency objectives. The agronomic performance of struvite appears particularly promising under tropical soil conditions, where conventional phosphate fertilizers often suffer from rapid phosphorus fixation caused by acidic soils rich in iron and aluminum oxides. According to the research team, struvite’s gradual nutrient-release profile and alkaline reaction improve phosphorus recovery efficiency in degraded tropical soils, potentially extending the usable life of a resource that remains fundamentally non-renewable. Researchers are also experimenting with organomineral fertilizer formulations that combine struvite with organic matter and conventional mineral nutrients. Early trials suggest these blended formulations can substantially improve phosphorus diffusion in soil compared with ground struvite alone. Yet the appeal of the technology extends well beyond crop performance. In Brazil’s major swine-producing regions—particularly across the South and Central-West—the accumulation of animal waste has become both an environmental challenge and a regulatory constraint. Excess phosphorus and nitrogen runoff from livestock operations pose contamination risks to rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater systems, while also limiting the expansion capacity of intensive farming operations. Struvite recovery offers a mechanism to extract surplus nutrients before waste is applied to farmland, reducing pollution risks while simultaneously generating a potentially marketable fertilizer product. Embrapa estimates that widespread adoption of the technology on farms with more than 5,000 swine could generate approximately 340,000 tons of struvite annually across Brazil—opening the possibility of an entirely new domestic fertilizer value chain rooted in livestock waste recovery. Globally, struvite has already gained traction within advanced nutrient-recovery systems, particularly in countries confronting nutrient surpluses from industrial livestock production or dense urban wastewater networks. More than 80 production facilities were reportedly operational worldwide by 2019, with China, the United States, and Germany emerging as leading centers of research and commercialization. Brazil, however, remains in the early stages of scientific development and field validation for tropical agriculture. That gap, researchers argue, represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Inácio noted that despite Brazil’s vast agricultural scale and abundance of recoverable nutrient streams, relatively little is known about how struvite behaves under the country’s uniquely acidic tropical soil conditions—a paradox that has intensified the urgency of domestic research efforts. As fertilizer security rises higher on the geopolitical agenda and circular-economy technologies gain momentum across global agriculture, Brazil’s wager on struvite signals a broader shift underway in farming itself: one where waste is increasingly being reimagined not as a liability, but as strategic industrial feedstock for the next generation of food production. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3892/japan-and-brazil-back-novel-banana-designed-to-cut-food-waste-at-scale.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3892/japan-and-brazil-back-novel-banana-designed-to-cut-food-waste-at-scale.html Thu, 14 May 2026 12:33:11 +0530 Regulatory wins open doors for commercial sales, imports, and local cultivation In a development poised to reshape the future of global fruit commerce and agricultural sustainability, Tropic has secured landmark regulatory approvals in Japan and Brazil for cultivation, importation, sale, and consumption of what the company heralds as the world’s first commercially available non-browning banana — a scientific breakthrough designed to dramatically reduce food waste while preserving the beloved fruit’s familiar taste, texture, and visual appeal. The achievement marks a moment of rare consequence within the banana industry, where commercial varieties have remained remarkably unchanged for generations. Tropic’s pioneering innovation emerges as the first significant new banana variety introduced to global markets in more than three-quarters of a century — a bold convergence of biotechnology, consumer convenience, and sustainability-driven agriculture. At the heart of the innovation lies a deceptively simple yet transformative attribute: once peeled or sliced, the banana remains bright, golden, and visually fresh for extended periods, resisting the rapid browning that has long contributed to spoilage across retail shelves, food-service operations, households, and international supply chains. By preserving freshness far beyond conventional limitations, the fruit opens new commercial possibilities across supermarkets, hospitality sectors, packaged fresh-cut produce markets, and long-distance distribution networks — while simultaneously reducing the environmental burden associated with discarded food. For Japan, a nation internationally renowned for its exacting standards surrounding freshness, quality, and presentation, the approval represents a strategic alignment between technological innovation and consumer expectations. Tropic’s non-browning banana is expected to resonate strongly within a market where aesthetic perfection and sustainability increasingly coexist as complementary priorities. Brazil, meanwhile, occupies an even more profound strategic position within the global banana ecosystem. As one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of bananas — responsible for approximately ten percent of global production — the nation’s endorsement signals substantial confidence in the commercial and agricultural viability of genetically enhanced fruit varieties. Tropic emphasized that the approvals not only broaden consumer access but also provide growers with a premium-value crop capable of reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing distribution efficiency, and diversifying domestic banana offerings in an increasingly competitive agricultural landscape. “These approvals represent a major step forward in bringing innovative, waste-reducing produce to consumers worldwide,” declared Chief Executive Officer Gilad Gershon, describing Japan and Brazil as pivotal pillars within the architecture of the international fruit economy. The regulatory victories arrive amid mounting global concern surrounding food waste, agricultural resilience, and supply chain sustainability. Bananas — revered as the world’s most consumed fruit and the planet’s fourth most important crop — occupy a uniquely critical role within global food security systems, feeding hundreds of millions while supporting vast agricultural economies across tropical regions. Tropic’s ambitions extend well beyond cosmetic preservation alone. The company has additionally launched an extended shelf-life banana capable of maintaining its green ripening phase for an additional twelve days, a breakthrough expected to increase export flexibility, unlock new maritime shipping routes, and reduce transportation waste by as much as fifty percent. Even more consequentially, Tropic revealed plans to introduce a Panama Disease (TR4) resistant banana variety next year — an innovation carrying profound implications for the future stability of the global banana trade. The rapidly spreading fungal disease has already affected more than twenty countries and threatens an industry valued at approximately $25 billion. Against the backdrop of climate volatility, evolving consumer expectations, and escalating food security concerns, Tropic’s expanding biotechnology portfolio reflects a broader transformation underway within modern agriculture — one where scientific precision and sustainability increasingly define the future of global food production. As these luminous yellow fruits journey from laboratory innovation to supermarket shelves across continents, Tropic’s approvals in Japan and Brazil stand not merely as regulatory milestones, but as symbols of a changing agricultural epoch — one in which the fruits of science seek to nourish both humanity and the planet with greater efficiency, resilience, and elegance than ever before. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3882/brazil-approves-ctcs-transgenic-sugarcane-as-biotechnology-redraws-economics-of-sugar-energy-complex.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3882/brazil-approves-ctcs-transgenic-sugarcane-as-biotechnology-redraws-economics-of-sugar-energy-complex.html Wed, 13 May 2026 17:41:34 +0530 CTNBio clears VerdPRO2 platform combining borer resistance and herbicide tolerance, positioning Brazil at the forefront of next-generation genetically modified sugarcane for productivity and cost transformation In a decision that underscores Brazil’s deepening entrenchment within the frontier of agricultural biotechnology, the country’s National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) has granted approval to a new genetically modified sugarcane developed by Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (CTC), marking a significant inflection point in the evolution of the global sugar-energy sector. The newly sanctioned biotechnology platform, branded VerdPRO2, integrates dual traits of resistance against the sugarcane borer—one of the most economically destructive pests in the industry—with tolerance to widely used herbicides such as glyphosate. This convergence of pest resistance and chemical resilience positions the technology as a potentially transformative intervention in a sector long burdened by high input costs, biological stressors, and operational inefficiencies. At its core, VerdPRO2 represents a strategic extension of CTC’s broader genetic innovation agenda, expanding its pipeline beyond earlier insect-resistant sugarcane varieties into a more comprehensive agronomic architecture designed to streamline field management and enhance productivity. According to the company, as many as 14 commercial varieties incorporating the new trait stack are under development, with phased market introduction expected during the 2026–27 season, subject to remaining regulatory clearances. In its initial deployment phase, CTC plans to roll out the technology selectively through monitored commercial cultivation programmes, enabling the systematic collection of field-level agronomic data. This approach reflects an increasingly data-driven model of agricultural biotechnology adoption, wherein real-world performance metrics are used to refine management protocols and optimise varietal deployment at scale. César Barros, Chief Executive Officer of CTC, described the approval as a meaningful advancement for Brazil’s sugar-energy ecosystem, emphasising its role in expanding the suite of technological tools available to improve both productivity and sustainability outcomes across sugarcane cultivation systems. The technological significance of VerdPRO2 lies not merely in its genetic architecture but in its operational implications. By conferring resistance to sugarcane borers—responsible for an estimated BRL 8 billion in annual losses—and enabling more flexible herbicide regimes targeting persistent weed species such as brachiaria and crabgrass, the platform seeks to materially reduce both yield losses and chemical management complexity. Equally consequential is its potential to reduce phytotoxic risks associated with herbicide application, thereby offering growers greater precision and safety in crop protection strategies. In a sector where margin compression is frequently driven by escalating input costs, such efficiencies are increasingly central to long-term competitiveness. CTC has positioned this approval within a broader strategic ambition to double sugarcane productivity by 2040, leveraging integrated advances in genetics, mechanisation, planting systems, and precision agronomy. This signals a deliberate shift from incremental yield improvements toward systemic productivity transformation, with biotechnology functioning as a central pillar rather than a peripheral enhancement. Brazil’s expanding adoption of genetically modified sugarcane places it among a limited group of countries actively commercialising transgenic cane at scale, reflecting both regulatory openness and the strategic importance of sugar and ethanol production to its national energy matrix. In this context, biotechnology is no longer framed merely as an agricultural innovation, but as an instrument of industrial policy and energy security. However, the company has not indicated whether additional approvals will be required in importing jurisdictions before wider international commercialisation of products derived from VerdPRO2 varieties—an omission that underscores the persistent regulatory asymmetries that continue to shape global agri-biotech trade. As Brazil advances deeper into the era of engineered crops, VerdPRO2 stands as both a technological milestone and a policy signal: that the future of sugarcane is increasingly being written not in fields alone, but in genomes, algorithms, and regulatory chambers. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3860/ey-brazil-targets-growth-in-agricultural-strategy-and-risk-advisory-with-mb-agro-deal.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3860/ey-brazil-targets-growth-in-agricultural-strategy-and-risk-advisory-with-mb-agro-deal.html Mon, 11 May 2026 13:48:15 +0530 Deal reinforces EY Brazil’s long-term investment in agricultural technology, sustainability and sector strategy EY Brazil has signed an agreement to acquire MB Agro, one of Brazil’s best-known agribusiness consulting and market intelligence firms, in a move aimed at strengthening its leadership in strategic intelligence and advisory services for the country’s agricultural sector. The transaction will expand EY Brazil’s presence across agribusiness consulting by integrating MB Agro’s economic analysis, market forecasting and strategic advisory expertise into EY’s global multidisciplinary platform. The completion of the acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Founded as a specialist consulting and intelligence firm focused on agribusiness markets, MB Agro is widely recognised in Brazil for advising financial institutions, agricultural producers, cooperatives, commodity trading companies and investors on economic scenarios, rural credit, investment strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and sector risk analysis. The deal also brings two of Brazil’s most prominent agribusiness economists and analysts into EY Brazil’s leadership team. Upon completion of the transaction, Alexandre Mendonça de Barros and José Carlos Hausknecht will join EY Brazil as partners. Barros is widely recognised for his macroeconomic analysis of agribusiness markets, rural credit and commodity trends, while Hausknecht is known for his expertise in agricultural sector forecasting, livestock systems and market intelligence. “The technical depth that Alexandre, José Carlos and their team bring represents a significant addition to our portfolio,” said Luiz Sérgio Vieira, Chief Executive Officer of EY Brazil. “This integration enhances our ability to provide diagnostics that support critical market decisions, now embedded within a global, multidisciplinary platform,” Vieira said. MB Agro’s entire professional team, active client portfolio and subscription-based intelligence products are expected to be integrated into EY Brazil following the completion of the transaction. The company said MB Agro’s market intelligence reports and sector analysis products will continue operating while benefiting from EY’s broader advisory, technology and data infrastructure. “Our history began in the 1970s with macroeconomic, sector and scenario analysis. Since 2005, we have focused on agribusiness, and now we are taking a new step forward,” said Alexandre Mendonça de Barros. “At a time when understanding the interaction between climate, costs, demand and geopolitics is essential for sound decision-making, EY Brazil offers the scale and capability to transform complex data into strategic drivers for the entire value chain,” he said. José Carlos Hausknecht said the integration would strengthen the combined firm’s ability to analyse increasingly complex agricultural markets and production systems. “Agribusiness demands technically grounded, data-driven analysis to anticipate movements and reduce uncertainty. I am confident we will deliver even more comprehensive, strategic and insightful services,” Hausknecht said. According to EY Brazil, the acquisition is designed to strengthen continuity for MB Agro’s existing clients while significantly expanding service offerings across Brazil’s agricultural economy. “This integration places us in a distinctive position to address the most complex demands of Brazilian agribusiness,” said Otávio Lopes, Agribusiness Leader at EY Brazil. The acquisition comes amid increasing demand for specialised agricultural intelligence and advisory services as agribusiness companies navigate climate volatility, commodity price fluctuations, sustainability requirements, geopolitical uncertainty and evolving financing conditions. EY Brazil already maintains a strong presence across the agribusiness sector through audit, tax, consulting, valuation and transaction advisory services. The company also operates the EY Agribusiness Center of Excellence in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, which focuses on agricultural innovation, technology development and collaboration with universities, startups and research institutions. Industry analysts said the acquisition highlights the growing importance of integrated data analytics, market intelligence and strategic advisory services in modern agribusiness decision-making. Brazil remains one of the world’s largest agricultural exporters, with growing investor focus on supply chains, sustainability, rural finance and food security-related infrastructure. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3857/brazil-expands-biological-agriculture-strategy-with-new-brl-40-mn-funding-round.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3857/brazil-expands-biological-agriculture-strategy-with-new-brl-40-mn-funding-round.html Mon, 11 May 2026 13:18:20 +0530 Bioinsumos initiative forms part of Brazil’s broader push toward climate-smart agriculture and food security transformation Brazilian Development Bank has announced a new BRL 40 million funding round, equivalent to approximately Rs 340 crore, under its Bioinsumos programme to accelerate the adoption and local production of biological agricultural inputs across Brazil. The initiative forms part of the bank’s broader strategy to strengthen sustainable agriculture, climate resilience and food security by expanding access to bio-based farming technologies among family farmers and rural cooperatives. The newly announced funding round will provide non-repayable financial support to cooperatives and associations of smallholder farmers for the production and multiplication of bio-inputs at the farm level. Applications for the programme remain open until August 31. The announcement was made during a plenary session of National Council for Food and Nutrition Security, highlighting the initiative’s alignment with Brazil’s wider food system transformation agenda. The Bioinsumos programme is focused on promoting decentralised and localised production of biological agricultural inputs, including microbial inoculants, biofertilisers, biological pest control agents, beneficial insects, biostimulants and enzymatic formulations. The initiative is intended to reduce dependence on conventional synthetic agrochemicals while improving production efficiency and lowering input costs for small-scale producers. According to BNDES, the programme supports both industrial and semi-industrial production units, provided proposed projects demonstrate technical viability, biosafety standards and scalability. Eligible project categories under the funding programme include microbial inoculants, biostimulants, biological pest control technologies, composting systems, fermented organic compounds and plant biomass-derived biofertilisers. The first funding cycle launched in 2025 allocated BRL 20 million to four selected projects, which are currently undergoing advanced technical evaluation before formal contracting. BNDES said organisations that were not selected in the first round are encouraged to reapply after incorporating technical feedback provided during the evaluation process. The initiative forms part of a much broader push by Brazil to transform agricultural production systems through sustainability-focused investments. Since 2023, BNDES has allocated more than BRL 2.4 billion toward projects linked to sustainable agriculture, food security and social inclusion. “Bio-inputs represent a strategic pathway to reduce dependence on conventional inputs while strengthening local production capacity,” said Aloizio Mercadante, President of BNDES. “This initiative supports innovation in the field while promoting greater autonomy for family farming,” Mercadante said. The programme also reflects accelerating global momentum around biological agricultural products as governments and producers seek climate-smart alternatives to synthetic fertilisers and pesticides amid rising regulatory pressure and volatile commodity prices. By encouraging decentralised production ecosystems, Brazilian policymakers aim to support agroecological transition strategies while improving resilience and competitiveness among smaller agricultural producers. Beyond bio-inputs, BNDES is expanding investments across several major rural development initiatives. These include Sertão Vivo, a BRL 1 billion programme designed to support climate adaptation and productivity gains in Brazil’s semi-arid regions, and Ecoforte, a nationwide initiative promoting agroecology and organic farming systems. The bank is also supporting Cerrado + Cooperativo, a BRL 50 million programme focused on sustainable production systems and market access within Brazil’s Cerrado biome. In the Amazon region, projects such as Amazonia na Escola and Sanear Amazônia are integrating agriculture, food distribution, sanitation and infrastructure development to support rural livelihoods and environmental conservation. Industry analysts said the expansion of public financing for biological inputs could further accelerate Brazil’s emergence as one of the world’s largest growth markets for sustainable agricultural technologies. For agri-input manufacturers and agtech companies, the programme signals growing institutional support for biological solutions not merely as supplementary tools, but as core components of future agricultural production systems. The success of decentralised production models under the programme is expected to be closely monitored by policymakers, investors and industry stakeholders across global agricultural markets. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3848/fmc-wins-court-approval-to-seize-brl-112-mn-in-grain-from-belagricola-escalating-pressure-on-brazilian-agribusiness-distributor.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3848/fmc-wins-court-approval-to-seize-brl-112-mn-in-grain-from-belagricola-escalating-pressure-on-brazilian-agribusiness-distributor.html Fri, 08 May 2026 15:43:30 +0530 Preliminary injunction deepens scrutiny of Brazil’s barter financing model as legal battle over CPR classification intensifies FMC Corporation has secured a significant legal victory in Brazil’s increasingly fragile agribusiness credit landscape, obtaining court authorization to seize approximately BRL 112 million worth of grain from Belagrícola in a move that could reshape creditor dynamics within the country’s sprawling agricultural financing ecosystem. The preliminary injunction, granted amid Belagrícola’s ongoing attempt to restructure nearly BRL 1.8 billion in liabilities through an out-of-court recovery plan, marks a pivotal escalation in one of the sector’s most closely watched restructuring disputes. At the center of the legal confrontation lies a fundamental question with far-reaching implications for Brazil’s agricultural economy: whether Rural Product Certificates with physical delivery obligations, known locally as CPRs, can remain enforceable outside restructuring proceedings. The dispute stems from a barter arrangement under which Belagrícola acquired crop protection products from FMC in exchange for the future delivery of approximately 1.4 million soybean bags across the 2026, 2027, and 2028 crop cycles. Structured through a CPR with physical settlement provisions, the agreement reflected a financing mechanism deeply woven into the operational fabric of Brazilian agriculture, where commodity-backed transactions frequently substitute for traditional credit channels. According to details first reported by Agribiz, Belagrícola failed to fulfill its initial contractual obligation involving the delivery of 460,000 soybean bags scheduled for March 20, prompting FMC to initiate legal proceedings aimed at immediate enforcement of the contract. In a decision now reverberating across Brazil’s agribusiness sector, Judge Felipe Guinsani of the 7th Civil Court of Campinas accepted FMC’s argument that the CPR instrument in question constitutes an extrajudicial claim — or extraconcursal credit — and therefore falls outside the scope of judicial restructuring protections ordinarily afforded to distressed companies. The ruling effectively allowed FMC to bypass the broader recovery framework and pursue direct asset seizure despite Belagrícola’s ongoing restructuring efforts in Paraná courts. The injunction was subsequently communicated to the Paraná judiciary overseeing the distributor’s recovery proceedings. While the case remains under judicial seal, the implications have already begun to ripple through agricultural credit markets. FMC declined to comment on active litigation, while Belagrícola stated it would await complete access to the case file before issuing a formal response. Although the BRL 112 million seizure represents roughly six percent of Belagrícola’s total restructuring liabilities, analysts suggest the symbolic significance may far outweigh the immediate financial impact. The injunction raises the prospect that other creditors holding similarly structured CPR-backed claims could seek parallel enforcement actions, potentially weakening the protective perimeter surrounding agribusiness restructurings. The dispute arrives at a delicate moment for Brazil’s agricultural financing chain, where barter-based transactions have become indispensable instruments linking producers, distributors, and multinational input suppliers. These agreements, frequently collateralized through future crop deliveries, have historically functioned as a liquidity bridge in an industry heavily exposed to commodity cycles and volatile credit conditions. Yet the Belagrícola case now exposes the legal fragility embedded within that model. As judicial interpretations diverge over the classification of CPR obligations during restructuring, creditors and debtors alike face mounting uncertainty regarding enforceability, claim priority, and operational continuity. For Belagrícola, the injunction compounds an already precarious restructuring process marked by procedural fragmentation and mounting creditor scrutiny. The company recently restructured its recovery filing into separate proceedings after courts rejected attempts to consolidate multiple group entities under a unified framework. Although the distributor succeeded in obtaining a 180-day extension of its stay period — theoretically shielding it from creditor enforcement — the FMC decision suggests that such protections may not apply universally, particularly where courts recognize claims as extraconcursal in nature. The broader ramifications extend well beyond a single corporate dispute. Brazil’s agribusiness sector, long regarded as one of the pillars of the national economy, is increasingly confronting the consequences of tighter credit markets, margin compression, and commodity price volatility. As financial stress deepens across the supply chain, legal conflicts surrounding claim hierarchy and collateral enforcement are becoming more frequent and increasingly consequential. For multinational input suppliers such as FMC, the ability to enforce CPR-backed obligations outside restructuring frameworks represents a critical safeguard against escalating counterparty risk. For distributors and producers navigating distressed balance sheets, however, such rulings threaten to complicate restructuring negotiations, constrain liquidity, and potentially accelerate operational instability. The case may ultimately become a defining precedent in Brazil’s evolving agribusiness credit jurisprudence — one that tests the delicate balance between creditor protection and corporate recovery in a sector where financing structures are as complex as the harvest cycles they underpin. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3805/whats-redefining-agri-tech-ai-powered-operational-infrastructure-for-global-risk-intelligence-for-one.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3805/whats-redefining-agri-tech-ai-powered-operational-infrastructure-for-global-risk-intelligence-for-one.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:35:59 +0530 Navneet Ravikar, CMD, LeadsConnect Services Pvt. Ltd. and CEO, BL Agro, positions ICCRI and KEDAR–PARVATI In an exclusive interview with AgroSpectrum, Navneet Ravikar, Chairman & Managing Director of LeadsConnect Services Pvt. Ltd. and CEO of BL Agro, positions ICCRI and KEDAR–PARVATI as operational intelligence infrastructure rather than traditional dashboards, integrating satellite, financial, and AI-driven analytics for real-time, parcel-level risk insights. He highlights their role as scalable, geography-agnostic systems capable of transforming agricultural risk pricing, governance, and climate resilience across sectors.  Ravikar underscores the Indo–Brazil agri corridor as a strategic South–South collaboration to co-develop AI tailored to tropical agriculture, offering an alternative to Western-centric models. He adds that platforms like ICCRI are poised to evolve into hybrid public digital infrastructure, supporting national agricultural systems while maintaining strong data sovereignty and farmer-centric governance. You’ve positioned ICCRI and KEDAR–PARVATI as “applied AI at planet scale.” What  differentiates your model from traditional agri-tech dashboards — and how does it  function as critical infrastructure rather than just analytics software? Our Integrated Command Centre for Risk Intelligence (ICCRI)- a live, in-house command centre and  the recently launched KEDAR–PARVATI platform represent far more than visual dashboards — they are operational intelligence architectures designed for actionable insights, live  demonstrations of proprietary intelligence frameworks. Traditional agri-tech dashboards primarily aggregate and display historical indicators. In  contrast, ICCRI, KEDAR–PARVATI and many more products like these, integrate satellite  intelligence, hyperlocal analytics, climate and hazard modelling, crop phenomics, actuarial  analytics, financial risk engines, and AI-driven modelling frameworks into a unified  architecture capable of generating parcel-level insights at massive scale. Importantly, the platform is already harbouring Operational geoportals including dedicated  AgriFinTech products such as AGRANI and Maatri, which enable credit scoring, underwriting  analytics, hotspot detection, portfolio monitoring, and financial risk intelligence for banks and  financial institutions, and other products including PixStack, DEVI–Saptashati, and Kedar–Parvati.  These are not pilot concepts — they are deployed frameworks aligned with ongoing central and  state government engagements and institutional partnerships. What truly differentiates KEDAR–PARVATI KEDAR (Knowledge Engineering & Deviation Analytics for Risk Intelligence) and PARVATI (Phenomics Analytics & Risk Value Assessment for Transferring  Intelligence) together form is that it is geography-agnostic and domain-agnostic by design. The  architecture is built to seamlessly transition across domains — from agriculture to disaster risk,  from crop analytics to actuarial modelling — without dependence on massive retraining datasets.  It is capable of generating over a billion land-parcel level insights in a single continuous rendering  cycle, supported by dynamic calibration frameworks. This makes ICCRI closer to national digital infrastructure than an analytics tool. Governments  can use it for risk governance and climate resilience planning; financial institutions for capital  allocation and exposure mapping; insurers for parametric design; and agribusinesses for value chain optimisation. In essence, we are shifting agriculture from retrospective reporting to predictive, hyperlocal,  intelligence-driven risk mitigation at scale — positioning ICCRI and KEDAR–PARVATI as  foundational infrastructure for resilient agricultural economies. The launch coincided with Brazil’s high-level state visit. How strategic is the Indo-Brazil  agri corridor in your global vision, and can South–South AI collaboration become a  counterweight to Western-dominated agri platforms? The timing of ICCRI and KEDAR–PARVATI’s launch during Brazil’s state visit reflects the deep  strategic alignment between India and Brazil in shaping technology-led agrarian transformation. Both countries share remarkably similar agricultural landscapes — vast tropical agro-ecologies,  climate variability, and a large base of small and medium farmers who require precision yet  affordable solutions. The structural similarities in land systems and farmer demographics make  the Indo–Brazil agri corridor not just symbolic, but operationally logical. This is a strong example of South–South collaboration, where institutions co-develop AI systems  tailored to tropical agriculture and inclusive growth — rather than importing models designed  primarily for large-scale industrial farming in temperate geographies. As rightly highlighted by Hon’ble Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Brazil, Mr. Paulo Teixeira, during  his visit to our office for the launch, Brazil requires scalable risk intelligence and value-chain  solutions of this nature — and we are committed to building and deploying them jointly. By co-creating these platforms, we are not merely strengthening bilateral ties; we are contributing  to an alternative global model of AI-enabled agricultural resilience rooted in shared realities of  the Global South. Risk intelligence is fast becoming the backbone of agricultural finance. How does real time climate, crop and financial modelling change how banks, insurers, and governments  price agricultural risk? Real-time risk intelligence transforms risk from a reactive cost to a quantifiable variable that can  be actively managed. By integrating climate forecasts, yield projections, market volatility signals,  and credit scoring, underwriting analytics, hotspot detection, portfolio monitoring, and financial  risk intelligence indicators, banks and insurers can price risk with a much higher degree of  precision, underwritten by data rather than broad heuristics. This enables institutions to extend  credit and insurance with better confidence, reduce default rates, and design products that are  equitable for smallholders. Governments can leverage the same analytics for disaster response,  targeted subsidies, and climate adaptation planning. You integrate satellite intelligence, field analytics, financial modeling, and LLM/SLM  modules into one architecture. What governance and validation frameworks ensure that  AI-driven recommendations remain accurate, unbiased, and farmer-centric? Our governance approach is built on transparent model validation, human-in-the-loop  oversight, and continuous field calibration. We have multilayered feedback mechanisms where  field level outcomes feed back into model refinement; AI outputs are benchmarked against  independent ground truth data with strong accuracy; and agricultural experts continuously  review recommendation sets to ensure they are actionable and context relevant. Importantly, we  adhere to strict data governance standards so that actionable insights improve outcomes without  replacing domain expertise or farmer judgment. Agriculture contributes significantly to GDP but remains vulnerable to climate volatility.  Can AI meaningfully de-risk farming at scale—or does it simply make uncertainty more  measurable? AI’s strength is that it reduces uncertainty by quantifying it. By converging climatic data with  crop, soil, and economic variables, AI does not eliminate risk — but it significantly sharpens  visibility into risk patterns at scale. This enables stakeholders to take preventative and adaptive  actions rather than reactive ones. In practice, this leads to earlier drought warnings, optimized  input application, better credit decisions, and more robust supply chain planning — all of which  cumulatively reduce systemic vulnerabilities. Data sovereignty is emerging as a geopolitical issue. As you expand into Brazil and  potentially other regions, who owns the agricultural data generated on your platforms — the farmer, the state, or the enterprise? Data sovereignty is central to our architecture. Farmers and sovereign institutions retain  ownership rights of their data — the enterprise acts as a custodian tasked with secure  processing and analytics. This means: Data collected from farms remains under farmer control. Aggregated and anonymized insights can be used by governments for public planning in various project we partner with. Enterprises can operationalize analytics, but access and sharing are governed by  consent, compliance, and privacy safeguards. This framework aligns ethical stewardship with utility. The corridor begins with the cashew value chain in collaboration with EMBRAPA. Why  start with cashew, and how does value-chain digitization—from plantation science to  structured markets —create a replicable global model? Cashew Pulp (Cashew Apple) offers a compelling entry point because it has high latent value  and complex systemic inefficiencies, especially in fiber utilization — a challenge that  technology can directly address. Both India and Brazil are among the world’s largest cashew  producers, yet nearly 80–85% of the cashew apple pulp produced alongside the nut in India  goes to waste. This represents a massive untapped bio-economic opportunity. We identified this as a critical gap — particularly in India — where there is currently no large scale technological implementation focused on upcycling cashew apple fibre into high value food products. Through our collaboration with EMBRAPA and Amazonika Mundi, we aim  to bring proven Brazilian food-processing technology and plantation science expertise to India,  effectively converting waste into structured value. Our 360° model integrates plantation science, AI-enabled farm advisory, value-chain analytics,  financial services, sustainable processing through patented fibre technology, and structured  market integration. By digitizing and linking every node — from farm to processing to markets — we are building a full-stack, intelligence-driven value chain. What makes this globally relevant is its replicability. Once a traditionally inefficient commodity  ecosystem is digitized and structurally optimized, the same architecture can be extended to other  crops and geographies. Cashew is not just the starting point — it is the proof of concept for a  scalable, waste-to-wealth, AI-enabled agro-industrial model. Looking toward 2047 and beyond, do you see AI-enabled command centers like ICCRI  becoming public digital infrastructure embedded within national agricultural systems — or remaining enterprise-led innovation engines driving private-sector transformation? We envision a hybrid future where AI-enabled command centres like ICCRI are ready to become  part of the national agricultural digital backbone, interoperable with public data ecosystems  and accessible to multiple stakeholders — while enterprise innovation continues to drive speed,  scale, and domain depth. ICCRI is architected to seamlessly align with Government of India initiatives such as Agri Stack  and VISTAAR, which aim to create structured digital public infrastructure for agriculture. Our  platform complements further to these frameworks by adding hyperlocal risk intelligence,  financial analytics, climate modelling, and parcel-level insights that can strengthen public policy  planning, targeted subsidy design, crop insurance frameworks, and credit delivery systems. The objective is not to position enterprise systems outside public infrastructure, but to ensure  interoperability, data sovereignty, and transparent governance, where private innovation  enhances national capability. By 2047 and beyond, we see such command centres functioning as  trusted digital infrastructure — enabling resilient, intelligence-driven agricultural economies at  scale. --- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3804/dji-says-agricultural-drones-have-saved-410-mn-tons-of-water-globally.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3804/dji-says-agricultural-drones-have-saved-410-mn-tons-of-water-globally.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:30:41 +0530 New industry report says more than 600,000 agricultural drones are now operating across 100 countries, helping reduce carbon emissions and improve precision farming practices DJI Agriculture has said the growing global adoption of agricultural drones has helped farmers save an estimated 410 million tons of water and reduce carbon emissions by 51 million tons, according to its latest Agricultural Drone Industry Insight Report for 2025–26. The report was unveiled at Agrishow 2026 in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, and highlights the rapid expansion of drone-based precision agriculture worldwide. According to the company, more than 600,000 DJI agricultural drones are now in operation across over 100 countries and regions, supported by a global network of more than 600,000 trained operators. DJI said the estimated water savings are equivalent to the annual drinking water consumption of approximately 740 million people, while the carbon reductions match the annual carbon absorption capacity of around 240 million trees. The company said agricultural drones are increasingly becoming mainstream farm equipment as growers adopt precision spraying, seeding, and crop management technologies to improve productivity and reduce environmental impact. Brazil Emerging as Major Drone Agriculture Market DJI highlighted Brazil as one of its fastest-growing agricultural drone markets, with drones now widely used across major crops including soybeans, corn, coffee, sugarcane, and forage grass. According to the report, Brazilian farmers are using DJI Agras drone models for full-cycle forage management operations, including spraying and seeding activities aimed at improving pasture productivity and operational efficiency. The company said precision spot-spraying through drones can reduce herbicide use by up to 35 per cent, while also lowering soil compaction, minimizing chemical drift, and reducing the carbon footprint of livestock farming operations. Precision Agriculture Gains Regulatory Support The report also noted increasing regulatory support for agricultural drone adoption across several countries. In Brazil, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has updated drone regulations to establish standard operating scenarios for recurring agricultural activities. Canada has also simplified operational rules for agricultural drones through amendments to aviation regulations aimed at supporting precision farming applications including spraying, monitoring, and mapping. DJI said growing academic research and field trials are strengthening evidence around the operational efficiency, sustainability, and precision benefits of agricultural spraying drones. The report highlighted updated field-drift studies and pesticide application guidelines developed by organizations such as UAPASTF to improve safe and compliant drone operations in agriculture. Industry Expansion Supported by Training Network DJI Agriculture said it has expanded its global support infrastructure with approximately 3,500 service and repair centers and more than 7,000 certified drone instructors worldwide. The company said continued investment in operator training and standardization is helping accelerate adoption of agricultural drones across global farming systems. Industry analysts say agricultural drones are becoming increasingly important as farmers seek technologies that improve resource efficiency, reduce chemical use, and support climate-resilient farming practices. The report said drone adoption is expected to continue expanding as governments, agribusinesses, and growers increasingly integrate precision agriculture technologies into mainstream farming operations. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3802/grao-direto-and-barchart-launch-partnership-to-improve-transparency-in-brazil-grain-trade.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3802/grao-direto-and-barchart-launch-partnership-to-improve-transparency-in-brazil-grain-trade.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:15:57 +0530 More than 120 regional grain price assessments across Brazil will now be accessible to international traders and analysts Commodity market data provider Barchart and Brazilian digital grain trading platform Grão Direto have announced a strategic partnership to expand international access to pricing data from Brazil’s physical grain and oilseed markets. Under the agreement, proprietary datasets and price benchmarks generated through Grainsights, Grão Direto’s market intelligence platform, will be distributed globally through Barchart’s commodity analytics platform cmdtyView and its API licensing network. The companies said the partnership aims to improve transparency and market visibility in Brazil’s grain trade, particularly for soybeans and corn, where pricing information often remains fragmented across regional markets and commercial intermediaries. Brazil is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of soybeans and corn, but international traders and analysts have historically faced challenges accessing standardized and real-time pricing data from the country’s interior agricultural markets. The partnership will provide access to more than 120 regional soybean and corn price assessments covering major producing regions across Brazil. The agreement also includes distribution of proprietary export benchmark indices such as the FOB Santos Soybean Index and FOB Rio Grande Soybean Index, developed in line with IOSCO benchmark principles. Barchart said the new datasets will help traders, financial institutions, hedge funds, agribusiness companies, and commodity analysts monitor regional price movements, export competitiveness, logistics costs, and arbitrage opportunities with greater precision. According to the companies, the data is derived from thousands of daily interactions, price consultations, and transactions occurring on Grão Direto’s digital trading platform. Unlike traditional survey-based market assessments, the companies said the platform captures transaction-linked signals that reflect real-time market liquidity and physical price formation. Industry analysts say access to localized pricing information is becoming increasingly important in global grain trade as market participants seek better visibility into regional supply conditions, logistics bottlenecks, and export competitiveness. The companies said integrating Brazilian physical grain pricing into global commodity intelligence systems will improve analytical capabilities for commercial trading, logistics planning, and hedging decisions. The partnership also marks a broader push toward digitization and data standardization within agricultural commodity markets, where demand for transparent and real-time intelligence continues to grow among global traders and institutional investors. Grão Direto said the collaboration represents a significant step in expanding the international reach of Brazilian agricultural market data and strengthening transparency across the country’s grain supply chain. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3800/brandt-expands-industrial-capacity-in-brazil-as-agri-input-demand-grows.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3800/brandt-expands-industrial-capacity-in-brazil-as-agri-input-demand-grows.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:55:05 +0530 The company is actively hiring across technical, commercial, and administrative functions to support expansion plans U.S.-based agricultural technology company BRANDT is accelerating its expansion in Brazil, projecting 22 per cent revenue growth in 2026 as it ramps up investments in manufacturing, product development, and commercial operations across one of its fastest-growing global markets. The company said the growth target follows consecutive gains of 12 per cent in 2024 and 16 per cent in 2025, reflecting continued demand for advanced agricultural input technologies in Brazil despite broader volatility in the farm sector. As part of its expansion strategy, BRANDT plans to inaugurate two new manufacturing facilities in Paraná state by the end of 2026 to strengthen local production capacity and improve supply chain efficiency. The company said the new facilities will enhance manufacturing flexibility, support localisation of formulations designed for Brazilian farming systems, and reduce logistics-related delays during critical planting periods. Brazil has emerged as one of the company’s most strategic international markets, driven by rising adoption of plant nutrition products, adjuvants, seed treatment technologies, and biological solutions. According to the company, Brazil is currently BRANDT’s second-largest market globally after the United States. Expansion Continues Despite Sector Volatility BRANDT said it has continued investing in growth even as parts of the agricultural sector face pricing pressure, tighter farm margins, and macroeconomic uncertainty. The company reported a 22 per cent increase in product volumes applied in the field during 2025, indicating sustained demand for agricultural technologies aimed at improving productivity and crop efficiency. Industry analysts say Brazilian farmers are increasingly adopting high-efficiency input technologies as they seek to improve yields and optimise input usage amid fluctuating commodity prices and climate-related risks. Brazil Central to Global Growth Strategy BRANDT operates in more than 80 countries and continues to expand its presence across key agricultural markets. The company said Brazil remains central to its long-term global growth strategy due to the country’s scale as an agricultural producer and its increasing demand for technology-driven farming solutions. According to data cited by the company from Pristine Market Insights (https://www.pristinemarketinsights.com/foliar-fertilizers-market-report), BRANDT currently holds a 3.56 per cent share of the global foliar fertilizer market, placing it among the top ten companies in the segment. The company’s strategy is focused on technological differentiation, particularly in plant physiology, nutrient efficiency, and advanced application technologies. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3768/agronova-launches-high-concentration-soil-biostimulant.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3768/agronova-launches-high-concentration-soil-biostimulant.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:45:45 +0530 Peptiva Rhyzo features microencapsulation for improved microbial performance Agronova Biotech has introduced Peptiva Rhyzo, a next-generation soil-applied biostimulant designed to strengthen root development and improve soil functionality under challenging agronomic conditions. The launch reflects the company’s continued focus on advancing biological solutions that support early-stage crop establishment and long-term productivity. Engineered to act directly within the rhizosphere, Peptiva Rhyzo combines two carefully selected Bacillus strains—Bacillus siamensis PB12 and Bacillus halotolerans PB13. These microorganisms work synergistically to enhance nutrient availability, stimulate beneficial microbial activity, and improve soil structure, creating a more balanced and efficient environment for plant growth. A key differentiator of the product lies in its high-concentration soluble powder formulation, which significantly exceeds conventional liquid standards. This format not only optimises storage and logistics but also simplifies field application, making it particularly suited for large-scale and professional farming operations. The formulation is further supported by advanced microencapsulation technology, which protects the viability of the microorganisms and enables their gradual release into the soil. This ensures consistent performance across varying field conditions while maximising the effectiveness of the biostimulant. By promoting a more active and extensive root system, Peptiva Rhyzo enhances the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients efficiently. The result is improved crop uniformity, stronger resilience to environmental stress, and more efficient utilisation of available resources. The product is especially recommended during critical growth phases such as transplanting and early crop establishment, as well as in soils affected by stress factors including salinity, water imbalance, and temperature fluctuations. With this launch, Agronova Biotech aims to equip growers with a robust tool to improve crop performance from the ground up, reinforcing the role of biological innovation in modern agriculture. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3767/syngenta-brings-real-time-farm-monitoring-tool-to-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3767/syngenta-brings-real-time-farm-monitoring-tool-to-brazil.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:41:19 +0530 Platform integrates machinery data to improve operational efficiency In a significant step toward advancing digital agriculture, Syngenta has introduced Cropwise Operations to the Brazilian market, strengthening its Cropwise platform with a powerful new layer focused on real-time farm execution. The launch marks a strategic effort to address a long-standing challenge in agriculture—the disconnect between crop planning and on-ground implementation. Designed as an integrated operational management tool, Cropwise Operations provides farmers with end-to-end visibility into activities within the farm gate. By capturing and analysing real-time data from field operations, the system enables producers to monitor execution closely, identify inefficiencies, and make timely, data-driven decisions throughout the crop cycle. Already established globally, the platform connects tens of thousands of machines and supports operations across millions of hectares, generating actionable insights through continuous operational alerts. With its entry into Brazil—one of the world’s largest agricultural markets—the solution aims to empower producers to move beyond estimations and gain precise, ground-level understanding of operational performance. A defining feature of Cropwise Operations is its ability to integrate planning, execution, and analysis within a single ecosystem. By transforming execution data into measurable insights, the platform allows farm managers to pinpoint variations in field performance, track resource utilisation, and uncover hidden inefficiencies that can impact productivity and cost structures. The system also offers multi-brand compatibility, enabling seamless consolidation of telemetry data from diverse machinery fleets into one unified interface. This ensures comprehensive operational oversight without the constraints of equipment-specific systems. Additionally, its flexible adoption model—ranging from manual data inputs and mobile-based tracking to advanced telemetry integrations—lowers entry barriers and accommodates farms at different stages of digital maturity. The rollout in Brazil will begin with a targeted deployment in Mato Grosso, a key agricultural hub, before expanding to other regions over the course of 2026. Initially, the solution will be made available to a select group of producers, reflecting a phased approach to adoption. With Cropwise Operations, Syngenta Digital is reinforcing its vision of connected, data-driven farming—where precision, transparency, and operational intelligence converge to enhance productivity and sustainability across modern agricultural systems. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3766/upl-invests-86-7-mn-in-sinova.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3766/upl-invests-86-7-mn-in-sinova.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:36:15 +0530 Stake to rise to 55.81 per cent as company strengthens Brazil presence In a strategic move to reinforce its presence in one of the world’s most critical agricultural markets, UPL Limited has announced a further equity investment in its associate entity, Sinova Inovacoes Agricolas S.A.. The investment, valued at approximately $ 86.7 million (BRL 450 million), will be channeled through UPL’s subsidiary in Brazil and is aimed at strengthening Sinova’s financial position. The capital infusion is designed to support working capital requirements while also enabling a reduction in existing debt, thereby enhancing the operational resilience of the Brazilian entity. Following the completion of the transaction—expected by mid-May 2026—UPL’s shareholding in Sinova will increase from 49.97 percent to 55.81 percent. Sinova plays a pivotal role in Brazil’s agricultural ecosystem, particularly within the Cerrado region, a vast savanna known for its large-scale grain production. As a key reseller of agricultural inputs and commodities, the company also serves as an important distribution partner for UPL, facilitating deeper market penetration across this high-growth geography. Despite the increase in stake, UPL has clarified that Sinova will continue to be treated as an associate entity, as the company will not assume management control. This underscores a partnership-led approach, where strategic alignment is prioritised over operational integration. The transaction is being executed via United Phosphorus Holdings Brazil B.V., a step-down subsidiary of UPL, and reflects the company’s continued focus on strengthening its global distribution network. By reinforcing its alliance with Sinova, UPL aims to enhance its reach in South America while supporting the long-term growth and stability of its regional partner. As global agriculture continues to evolve amid shifting market dynamics, investments of this nature highlight the increasing importance of resilient, locally anchored distribution ecosystems in driving sustainable growth. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3755/minerva-foods-and-rumin8-report-50-cut-in-cattle-methane-emissions-in-brazil-study.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3755/minerva-foods-and-rumin8-report-50-cut-in-cattle-methane-emissions-in-brazil-study.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:39:06 +0530 Feed additive trial delivers significant environmental gains alongside improved livestock productivity Minerva Foods, South America’s leading beef exporter, and Rumin8, an Australian climate technology company, have announced the results of a collaborative study demonstrating significant reductions in methane emissions from cattle alongside measurable improvements in feed efficiency. The research was conducted in partnership with the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ/USP) and evaluated the impact of Rumin8’s feed additive on enteric methane emissions and productive performance in Nellore cattle under conditions simulating commercial Brazilian feedlot operations. Over the 120-day study period, cattle receiving the feed additive as part of a total mixed ration (TMR) exhibited a 50.4 per cent reduction in methane emissions compared to a control group fed the same diet without the additive. The study also recorded a statistically significant 5 per cent improvement in feed conversion efficiency, indicating enhanced productivity alongside environmental benefits. Methane intensity per kilogram of liveweight gain declined from 77.2 grams to 39.6 grams in cattle receiving the additive. In total, the trial achieved an estimated reduction of 29.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions, while also delivering lower feed consumption and improved production performance. The experiment involved two groups of Nellore bulls. A group of 80 animals housed in individual pens enabled precise measurement of feed intake and methane emissions, while a second group of 200 animals in collective pens replicated commercial-scale operational conditions. Throughout the study, cattle were fed a typical Brazilian feedlot finishing diet consisting of 12 per cent roughage and 88 per cent concentrate, with ground corn as the primary ingredient. Independent verification of the study results is currently underway by agricultural carbon certification organizations, including Athian and FoodChain ID. The findings highlight the potential of feed-based innovations to reduce the environmental footprint of beef production while supporting productivity gains. The initiative reflects ongoing efforts to advance sustainable practices across the livestock value chain and supports the progression of methane-reducing technologies toward broader commercial deployment in Brazil. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3667/casterra-positions-castor-oil-as-promising-candidate-for-economically-viable-biofuel-feedstock.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3667/casterra-positions-castor-oil-as-promising-candidate-for-economically-viable-biofuel-feedstock.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:26:12 +0530 Today, castor oil is a premium sustainable industrial feedstock for bio-based products Casterra Ag Ltd. , a developer of high-yield castor seed varieties and integrated castor farming solutions, and a subsidiary of Evogene Ltd, today announced successful commercial field trials in Brazil, highlighting castor oil as a compelling candidate for economically viable biofuel production. At present, castor oil is widely recognized as a high-value, sustainable feedstock for bio-based industries (lubricants, surface coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and resins). Casterra’s development efforts aim to reduce the farming cost of castor grains for oil production while maintaining farmer profitability. Success in these efforts will enable competitive castor oil pricing across applications, creating value for all stakeholders along the value chain. The commercial field trials in Brazil confirm that large-scale, mechanized castor farming is economically viable using Casterra’s advanced seed varieties across diverse growing conditions. These proprietary seeds, designed for mechanization and low-input cultivation, support profitable farming and offer further potential through optimized practices. The field trials were conducted across 74 hectares of commercial farmland in the State of Bahia. Of this area, 64 hectares were grown under rainfed conditions, and 10 hectares were grown using center pivot irrigation. Total rainfall during the growing cycle amounted to 382 mm. The trials evaluated a range of plant populations and nutrient application rates. Comprehensive data was collected on all field operations, including nutrient and crop protection applications, enabling a full assessment of direct farming costs. Building on these promising results, Casterra’s 2026 operations in Brazil will concentrate on two key objectives: first, driving commercial penetration through the establishment of a local subsidiary and strategic partnerships with leading castor oil producers; and second, expanding castor farming trials across varied agricultural and climatic zones in several Brazilian states. Yoash Zohar, CTO of Casterra, stated: “I am very satisfied with these results, which reaffirm Casterra’s concept for developing economic castor farming. These results are a milestone in positioning castor as a sustainable and scalable feedstock for the growing biofuel and bio-based industries." ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3607/korea-strengthen-bilateral-agriculture-cooperation-with-brazilil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3607/korea-strengthen-bilateral-agriculture-cooperation-with-brazilil.html Mon, 02 Mar 2026 11:27:48 +0530 Revision of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation, as well as food security and the expansion of agricultural input exports. H.E. Song Miryung, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea (ROK), held a bilateral meeting in Seoul with H.E. Carlos Henrique Baqueta Fávaro, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of the Federative Republic of Brazil, on the occasion of the State Visit to the Republic of Korea by H.E. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil. During the meeting, the two sides discussed practical measures to expand bilateral cooperation in agriculture. The discussions covered the revision of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation, as well as food security and the expansion of agricultural input exports.  Held alongside the ROK–Brazil Summit, the bilateral meeting provided an opportunity for the ROK to strengthen its food security through cooperation with Brazil, a major global agricultural producer, and to promote the entry of Korean smart farming technologies and agricultural inputs, including agricultural machinery and agrochemicals, into Latin America and the Caribbean.   The ROK and Brazil agreed to reorganise the Agricultural Cooperation Committee, established in 2005, into a platform for comprehensive cooperation encompassing food security, digital agriculture, agricultural machinery, pesticides, private sector investment, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. In particular, the two sides agreed to convene the Committee annually, rather than biennially, thereby establishing a more regular and structured mechanism for dialogue. Through strengthened partnership with Brazil, one of the world’s largest grain producers, the ROK aims to further reinforce its national food security framework.   In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will seek to enhance substantive cooperation with Brazil by leveraging the technological expertise of Korean companies in areas such as smart farming, agricultural machinery, and agrochemicals. This is expected to contribute to the expansion of export opportunities for Korean agricultural inputs across the wider Latin American region.   With regard to K-Food exports, the two ministers had in-depth discussions on facilitating the entry of Korean red ginseng into the Brazilian market. Minister Song noted that the lengthy review period by the Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) posed challenges for Korean exporters and requested Brazil’s cooperation in expediting the relevant quarantine inspection procedures. The two sides also agreed to address key quarantine matters, including those related to the export of Korean grapes, in accordance with international standards within the framework of the reorganised Agricultural Cooperation Committee. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3583/futuragene-secures-world-first-regulatory-approval-for-gene-edited-eucalyptus.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3583/futuragene-secures-world-first-regulatory-approval-for-gene-edited-eucalyptus.html Fri, 13 Feb 2026 14:34:25 +0530 Brazil's National Technical Biosafety Commission (CTNBio) classifies FuturaGene’s gene-edited eucalyptus as a conventional organism. FuturaGene, the biotechnology subsidiary of the world’s largest pulp supplier, Suzano, has received formal regulatory approval from Brazil's National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) for its new variety of gene-edited eucalyptus. CTNBio has confirmed the variety meets the criteria for exemption under Normative Resolution No. 16 (RN 16). This development was produced using CRISPR-Cas9, a New Breeding Technique (NBT), which allows for precise, targeted edits within the eucalyptus genome. Because the process introduces no genetic material from other species, the resulting modification is functionally comparable to genetic variations that may occur naturally or through conventional breeding methods. The specific edit in the new variety is designed to improve wood quality. By optimizing the wood’s lignin composition, FuturaGene’s new development supports more sustainable industrial processing, by enabling the reduction of chemical inputs and energy consumption during pulping. Following this regulatory approval, which also sets out an applicable biosafety and governance framework, FuturaGene will proceed with controlled field trials across different growing conditions in Brazil. Trials will be conducted in line with the highest safety and governance standards, in strict compliance with all regulatory requirements. FuturaGene is a pioneer in tree biotechnology in Brazil and globally, having now obtained 11 approvals from CTNBio for genetically modified (GM) eucalyptus varieties, with traits including yield enhancement, herbicide tolerance, and insect resistance, and this first approval for gene-edited eucalyptus. All the products aim to support sustainably meeting growing global demand for bio-based products, at the same time as adapting commercial tree farming to the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity. This new regulatory milestone reinforces FuturaGene’s track record of responsible innovation, aligned with Brazil’s biosafety policy framework. Gene editing now complements the company’s existing portfolio of approved genetically modified eucalyptus varieties, providing a diverse technological toolkit with methodologies that can suit specific challenges. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3455/brazils-biologicals-at-inflection-point-marcelo-de-godoy-oliveiras-vision-for-high-science-high-quality-bioeconomy.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3455/brazils-biologicals-at-inflection-point-marcelo-de-godoy-oliveiras-vision-for-high-science-high-quality-bioeconomy.html Fri, 05 Dec 2025 15:30:33 +0530 In an exclusive Agrospectrum interview, Marcelo de Godoy Oliveira, President of ABINBIO, explains that Brazil’s more than 30 per cent bioinputs surge is driven by pest pressure, chemical resistance, fertilizer dependence, and rapid scientific advances. He stresses that strict MAPA–industry oversight is essential to prevent a “wild west” of substandard products as the sector scales. Brazil’s biodiversity, combined with strong public–private R&D and emerging IP frameworks in gene editing, positions the country for global leadership. Marcelo highlights that biologicals in Brazil already deliver >90 per cent positive ROI in monitored applications and are fast becoming core to decarbonisation strategies. Looking ahead to 2035, he predicts only companies with deep science, industrial scale, and elite agronomic support will survive in a rapidly maturing market. Market Dynamics & Inflection Point Brazil’s bioinputs market is growing 30 per cent + annually even as global agrichem slows. What is the real inflection point—scientific breakthroughs, fertiliser volatility, climate pressures, or structural shifts in Brazil’s agri-economy ? The growth in bio-input use in Brazil is associated with four fundamental factors. The first factor relates to the significant increase in pest and disease incidence in agricultural systems. Being a tropical climate country, Brazil develops high-intensity agriculture, characterized by so-called "green bridges," which offer constant food supply for the accelerated proliferation of pests. Consequently, there is an increase in the number of pesticide applications in crops. This scenario leads to the second factor: the development of pest and disease resistance to chemical pesticides, resulting from continuous and repeated exposure to these products. Faced with this, rural producers begin seeking complementary management tools, such as biodefensives, to achieve greater efficacy in controlling phytopathogenic agents. The third factor is related to the country's high dependence on fertilizer imports, combined with the high prices charged for these inputs. This situation encourages producers to seek alternatives that increase the utilization of nutrients already present in the soil or enhance the efficiency of applied fertilizers, allowing, in some cases, dose reduction. An example is the use of phosphorus solubilizers to reduce the need for phosphate fertilization. Finally, the fourth and, in my opinion, most important factor refers to the advancement of scientific research and development of microbiological technologies, as well as the modernization of manufacturing facilities dedicated to the sector. Brazilian industries have distinguished themselves through high production capacity, elevated technological level, and experienced professionals in manufacturing both pesticides and other microbiological inputs. The combination of these factors makes Brazil stand out globally in adoption, technological development, and business investment in the bio-inputs segment. Quality, Oversight & “Wild West” Risk With 400+ manufacturers and thousands of on-farm biofactories, how is ABINBIO working with MAPA to ensure enforceable quality standards and avoid a fragmented “wild west” of inconsistent products? Our work with the Federal Government aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining rigorous rules for bio-input production, preventing the entry or manufacture of low-quality products in the country. Brazil is a global reference in the microbiological segment applied to agribusiness, and therefore requires legislation that safeguards product quality and continuously stimulates technological development, guaranteeing effective and safe tools so that our main partner—the rural producer—achieves increasing success in their activity. Additionally, there is a determining factor for company competitiveness in the market: people. Producers will always prioritize technologies that deliver proven results and add intelligence to their operation. Therefore, companies that do not invest in high-performance professionals will hardly remain competitive in the long term, and this investment, while essential, requires resources. Finally, we have reinforced to the Federal Government that the national bio-inputs industry is a true diamond in the making, becoming an important source of income for countless Brazilian families. The sector has been generating a significant number of jobs, contributing directly to the country's social development. R&D Leadership & Microbiome Advantage Brazil’s biodiversity gives it a strong edge in nitrogen-fixing, phosphate-solubilising and pest-suppressive microbes. What R&D platforms, public–private models, or IP frameworks can convert this into true global competitive advantage ? Yes, our biodiversity favors us extraordinarily. Brazil has different biomes that function as true open-air collections, providing numerous discoveries of microbiological actives that stand out in performance when processed through our advanced bioprocesses, formulations, quality standards, and high industrial capacity. Additionally, we have highly qualified public institutions that support the identification and study of these new actives, such as Embrapa, globally recognized as a reference in the bio-inputs segment. Regarding intellectual property protection, we are working together with the government and advancing in the use of gene editing and genetic engineering techniques. When associated with microorganism functions and our formulations, these technologies make products patentable, creating an important level of protection. However, biopiracy is still a reality and will continue to be combated by both industry and Brazilian regulatory agencies. Biologicals vs Chemicals: Real Economics Growers report variable field results. What does the real economic equation look like—yield stability, input substitution and ROI—when biologicals complement or replace synthetics at scale ? We have a rigorous performance monitoring system, advanced quality control, well-defined technical positioning, and differentiated follow-up conducted by our field specialists. As a consequence, more than 90 per cent of our technology applications show positive results. This level of efficiency is reflected in a high repurchase rate, since ultimately, we manage to generate excellent return on investment for the producer. As for the substitution or combined use of chemical and biological products, this depends greatly on the segment. A clear example is the use of biological nematicides, which has been growing for several years and, in many cases, already replaces the use of conventional pesticides. I believe that in the near future, bio-inputs will replace chemicals in other segments as well. However, it is important to understand that our main objective is to support rural producers in their mission to produce more food for the world. And for this, the combination of chemical and biological tools—when well positioned and integrated—makes all the difference. Brazil as a Global Bioinputs Powerhouse Foreign firms are validating products under Brazil’s tropical stress conditions. Can Brazil become a global exporter of biological technologies? What capabilities—regulatory strength, manufacturing, consortium science—must improve ? We are exporting, each year, a greater volume of microbiological technologies to various international markets. I believe that soon Brazil will globally lead this segment, as large foreign companies have been seeking to establish strategic partnerships with us. This movement is only possible thanks to the high quality of our products, the large industrial capacity installed in the country, consistent investments in international registrations, and the development of strong regulatory expertise by our teams, who work closely with regulatory agencies in other countries. I have no doubt that the global bio-inputs market will be largely led by major Brazilian players in the coming years. Fast-Tracking vs Environmental Risk Brazil’s fast regulatory approvals accelerate innovation but raise biosafety concerns. Do rapid pathways risk blind spots, especially for microbial consortia and next-gen metabolic boosters ? The rapid approval of biodefensives in Brazil is only possible due to the excellent work developed by our regulatory agencies (MAPA, Anvisa, and IBAMA). Our legislation is strict and requires, in addition to efficacy tests, various toxicological and ecotoxicological tests, thus generating low environmental risk when the product is approved by these agencies. Soil Carbon, ESG & Bioeconomy Transition With tighter MRL norms and carbon-linked premiums emerging, will biologicals become central to Brazil’s ESG and decarbonisation strategy ? What policy tools could speed this transition ? Undoubtedly, bio-inputs play a critical role in decarbonization mechanisms, as they act directly in reducing GHG emissions associated with the use of energy-intensive inputs and increasing the biogeochemical efficiency of production systems. Growth-promoting microorganisms, solubilizers, biological nitrogen fixers, and biocontrol agents contribute to reducing CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄ emissions, while favoring carbon sequestration processes in soil through increased microbial biomass, enhanced aggregate stability, formation of humic substances, and improved nutrient cycling dynamics. For these impacts to be fully integrated into decarbonization policies, strengthening the regulatory and methodological framework is essential. Priority needs include: Enhancement of MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) protocols Inclusion of specific methodologies to quantify GHG reductions and removals resulting from bio-input application, with standardized parameters according to GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, ISO 14067, and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodologies. Harmonization of certification rules Creation of regulatory flows that enable official recognition of these gains in instruments such as voluntary carbon markets and regulated programs (e.g., methodologies analogous to RenovaBio, REDD+, and Carbon Farming frameworks). Integration with government agencies and technical institutions Establishment of guidelines for credit monetization, including definitions of baseline, additionality, emission factors, permanence, and reversal risks, providing legal certainty to the industrial sector and producers. Official recognition of biotechnological pathways Formalization of emission reduction routes via nutrient solubilization, biological fixation, energy-intensive pest biocontrol, and root biostimulation processes, ensuring eligibility in carbon markets. The consolidation of these elements will allow bio-input use to be robustly incorporated into mitigation policies, increasing national industry competitiveness and positioning Brazil as a scientific, regulatory, and commercial leader in the global carbon market associated with agricultural biotechnology. The 2035 Horizon By 2035, what will separate leaders from laggards in Brazil’s bioinputs industry—strain IP, digital agronomy, consortium formulations, farmer extension networks, or something else? There is no doubt that in the coming years, the national industry will undergo an intense differentiation process, in which only the most structured companies will remain competitive. This movement will be driven by the launch of truly disruptive technologies, the high production capacity of our industries, and the qualification of technical service offered to producers. Increasingly, rural producers will demand highly skilled professionals—well-compensated and up-to-date agronomists who bring not just products, but applied scientific knowledge to all areas of their business. These factors will be decisive in separating the wheat from the chaff, resulting in a competitive market, but one of higher quality and with fewer competitors. Although many wish to enter the bio-inputs sector, few have investment capacity, operational robustness, and technical preparation to maintain and grow, especially given the challenges faced in recent years. In other words, by 2035, only truly strong and technically prepared players will survive. -- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3396/brazilian-bioinput-industry-faces-decisive-moment-as-regulatory-framework-takes-shape-says-abinbio.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3396/brazilian-bioinput-industry-faces-decisive-moment-as-regulatory-framework-takes-shape-says-abinbio.html Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:49:19 +0530 Brazil’s biological inputs industry is entering a decisive regulatory phase as the Ministry of Agriculture drafts rules under the newly approved Civil Framework for Biological Inputs. ABINBIO, which has secured a central role in the negotiations, is pushing for unified industry participation to shape regulations, correct outdated tax classifications, and unlock federal financing mechanisms. The association is also working to position Brazil globally, leveraging its biodiversity to expand international markets for biocontrol and biofertiliser products. With the domestic market expected to double to over $ 3 billion by 2030 and biologicals rapidly replacing synthetics, ABINBIO leaders warn that industry unity now will determine competitiveness for decades. Brazil's biological inputs industry stands at a critical juncture as regulators begin drafting rules that will govern one of the world's fastest-growing agricultural sectors, according to the Brazilian Association of Bioinput Industries (ABINBIO). The trade group is urging companies to unite during what it characterizes as a "historic window" that will determine competitive dynamics for decades. "We are at a historic moment. The rules of the game are being discussed now and will be established, with the Ministry of Agriculture as protagonist," said Auro Ruschel, ABINBIO's legal director and head of Auro Ruschel Advogados Associados, a firm specializing in agricultural input regulation. "The industry needs to unite around ABINBIO to participate in this public debate and build regulation that serves the sector's interests." Regulatory Architecture Under Construction The urgency stems from ongoing Ministry of Agriculture technical working groups tasked with implementing Brazil's newly approved Civil Framework for Biological Inputs. ABINBIO, which secured a seat at the negotiating table, successfully inserted key provisions into the legislation and now faces the challenge of translating broad legal principles into operational regulations. The association's "purposeful bias," as Ruschel describes it, focuses on pragmatic problem-solving for an industry previously constrained by regulatory frameworks designed for synthetic agrochemicals rather than biological alternatives. Since its official launch, ABINBIO has expanded beyond core regulatory advocacy to address taxation classification issues with the Federal Revenue Service, where biological products remain erroneously categorized alongside chemical pesticides for customs and tax purposes—a legacy classification system that creates compliance burdens and competitive disadvantages. Financial Infrastructure and Global Positioning The organization is simultaneously pursuing access to federal incentive mechanisms, including financing lines from FINEP (Financier of Studies and Projects), EMPRAPII (Brazilian Company for Research and Industrial Innovation), and BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), which historically favored established chemical input manufacturers. International market development represents another strategic priority. "The bioinput industry in Brazil, due to our country's characteristics, can adapt and sell products for all biomes. Internationalization is fundamental for opening new markets," Ruschel explained, highlighting Brazil's unique biodiversity advantage in developing biological solutions applicable across diverse global agricultural systems. Despite its recent formation, ABINBIO has secured institutional recognition typically reserved for established trade associations. "Despite being a young association, ABINBIO already has relevant seats within the federal government and public debate, alongside traditional entities. We've achieved the same spaces and speaking opportunities despite our youth," Ruschel noted. Market Dynamics Drive Urgency The stakes justify the mobilization effort. According to Dunham Trimmer, an international bio-intelligence agency, Brazil's biological inputs market currently exceeds 1.5 billion and is projected to surpass 3 billion by decade's end. The country accounts for over 20 per cent of global biocontrol growth between 2021 and 2030. The sector comprises approximately 145 companies, with significant expansion anticipated as biological products increasingly substitute synthetic chemicals—a global trend driven by sustainability mandates and consumer preferences. Ruschel projects substantial market amplification through 2032, characterizing biological inputs as "a highly relevant, highly sustainable economic vertical with a significant growth trajectory." Coordination Imperative Ruschel's message echoes ABINBIO President Marcelo de Godoy Oliveira's positioning, distilled to a single directive: "Unity." "All sector companies must understand that the rules of the game are being discussed now. It is imperative that all input industries pay attention and participate," Ruschel warned. Participation channels through ABINBIO membership, which enables companies to integrate into regulatory discussions, designate board representatives, and collaborate on technical arguments presented to government working groups. The objective, Ruschel emphasized, centers on "building regulation that serves industry interests, without creating market reserves or impediments, but allowing the industry to grow increasingly." The call reflects recognition that regulatory architecture established during this formative period will either facilitate or constrain an industry positioned as a cornerstone of sustainable Brazilian agriculture. As synthetic input substitution accelerates globally, Brazil's regulatory approach could establish templates for emerging markets while determining whether domestic producers capture value or cede market share to international competitors operating under different frameworks. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3368/from-feed-grain-to-functional-food-brazil-turns-sorghum-into-gut-boosting-health-drink.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3368/from-feed-grain-to-functional-food-brazil-turns-sorghum-into-gut-boosting-health-drink.html Mon, 03 Nov 2025 13:46:23 +0530 In an exclusive conversation with AgroSpectrum, Professor Hercia Stampini Duarte Martino and her research team at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) detailed their pioneering work on sorghum-based synbiotic beverages developed in collaboration with Embrapa and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The innovation combines whole-grain sorghum with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei to deliver metabolic benefits linked to obesity reduction, improved lipid profiles, and enhanced gut microbiota balance. The researchers emphasized strong translational potential for Brazil, noting the product’s alignment with public-health priorities and suitability for vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers. They highlighted commercialization opportunities within the fast-growing global plant-based market, while underscoring the need for broader consumer education and regulatory validation. Looking ahead, the team is advancing larger clinical studies, new probiotic strains, and metagenomic analyses to scale functional sorghum innovation from lab to marketplace. Innovation & Rationale Your team developed extruded whole-grain sorghum beverages with and without Lacticaseibacillus paracasei. What motivated Embrapa to explore non-dairy, plant-based synbiotic products, and how do they address current public health challenges related to obesity and metabolic health in Brazil ? The motivation was to address two strategic demands: first, to expand food alternatives for vegan and lactose-intolerant consumers seeking functional plant-based options; and second, to develop solutions utilizing Brazilian-adapted crops like sorghum, with relevant nutritional potential. The whole-grain sorghum provides dietary fibers, resistant starch, and phenolic compounds that modulate gut microbiota and aid in glycemic control. By combining it with the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, we created a synbiotic product with a combined effect on satiety, insulin sensitivity, and low-grade inflammation. This innovation is aligned with obesity management policies, offering an accessible, sustainable, and culturally appropriate dietary intervention for the Brazilian population. Nutritional & Functional Insights The study highlights high levels of resistant starch, phenolic compounds, and antioxidants in the BRS 305 sorghum beverage. How do these bioactive compounds mechanistically contribute to improvements in visceral fat, lipid profiles, and overall cardiovascular risk markers, such as Castelli index I ? These components act via complementary mechanisms. Resistant Starch reaches the colon, where it is fermented into Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) like butyrate and propionate. These metabolites improve insulin sensitivity, stimulate satiety hormones, reduce inflammation, and decrease visceral fat accumulation. Phenolic compounds and antioxidants protect against oxidative stress and the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol, a key factor in atherogenesis. This combination of actions favors the reduction of total cholesterol and LDL-c and can contribute to increased HDL functionality, resulting in a better total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio (Castelli Index I), a direct indicator of lower cardiovascular risk. Probiotic Synergy Could you elaborate on the interplay between the probiotic and the sorghum matrix, particularly how sorghum nutrients enhance probiotic viability and short-chain fatty acid production? Sorghum provides dietary fibers, resistant starch, and micronutrients that function as prebiotic substrates for Lacticaseibacillus paracasei and the resident microbiota. This nutritional environment favors the viability of probiotic during storage and passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The fermentation of these fibers intensifies the production of SCFAs, which potentiate the beneficial intestinal and metabolic effects. The result is a true synbiotic relationship: the sorghum protects and feeds the probiotic, and the probiotic maximizes the beneficial conversion of fermentable compounds naturally presents in the grain matrix. Clinical & Public Health Implications Given that this was a pilot study with 30 overweight and obese adults, how do you envision scaling these findings to broader populations? What role could sorghum-based synbiotic beverages play in national dietary guidelines or obesity prevention programs? The pilot study demonstrated safety and positive outcomes in overweight and obese individuals, although the sample size was limited. We are currently analyzing data from a subsequent study conducted with a larger number of individuals with overweight and obesity in order to validate the pilot findings. The next steps will likely involve larger, multicenter clinical trials that include more diverse population groups and long-term follow-up with robust clinical and metabolic endpoints. If the benefits are confirmed, sorghum-based synbiotic beverages could be incorporated into national healthy eating guidelines and implemented in schools, primary healthcare settings within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and obesity prevention initiatives, given that this technology is accessible, affordable, and readily scalable throughout Brazil. Market & Consumer Adoption Plant-based, non-dairy probiotics are gaining traction globally. From Embrapa’s perspective, what are the key opportunities and challenges for commercializing these sorghum beverages in Brazil and internationally, especially for vegan and lactose-intolerant populations? Opportunities are clear: the continuous growth of the plant-based market, driven by vegans, lactose-intolerant individuals, and health-conscious consumers. Sorghum adds nutritional value and sustainability. Challenges include ensuring sensory acceptance (taste/texture), achieving probiotic stability in non-dairy matrices, navigating functional claim regulations, and needing educational campaigns, as sorghum is still unfamiliar to many Brazilian consumers. Robust scientific proof and sustainability certifications can facilitate access to the international functional food market. Future Research & Technological Horizons Looking ahead, what are the next steps for Embrapa in optimizing sorghum-based functional foods? Are there plans to explore longer-term interventions, other probiotic strains, or potential impacts on gut microbiota diversity and metabolic health outcomes? Research will advance on several fronts: longer and multi-center clinical studies to assess sustained effects on weight control, lipids, and insulin. We will also explore new probiotic strains and technologies like microencapsulation to maximize bioactive compounds and probiotic viability. The metagenomic and metabolomic analyses will deepen the understanding of how the beverage modulates the gut microbiota diversity and function, including the role of the mycobiota, and its direct relation to the observed metabolic effects. Sustainability & Crop Valorization Sorghum is underutilized in Brazil for human consumption. How does this research contribute to crop valorization, climate-resilient agriculture, and the development of functional foods that are both nutritionally and environmentally sustainable? By developing a high-value product for human consumption, we are valorizing sorghum and creating a new market beyond animal feed, which is crucial for national food security. Sorghum is a drought-resistant and water-efficient crop, strengthening agricultural systems resilient to climate change. The use of whole-grain maximizes the uptake of dietary fibers and micronutrients while reducing the environmental footprint compared to animal-based inputs. This approach aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 – Climate Action and SDG 15 – Life on Land; linking environmental sustainability, public health, and economic development. Translational Potential Beyond clinical markers, do you see potential for these beverages in sports nutrition, elderly care, or other specialized dietary applications? How might Embrapa collaborate with the private sector to accelerate innovation in plant-based functional foods? The product has potential in sports nutrition, offering gradual-release energy and recovery support via SCFAs, as well as in elderly care, aiding intestinal health and reducing chronic inflammation. It is also applicable in specific clinical diets requiring prebiotics and probiotics. To accelerate innovation in plant-based functional foods, Embrapa seeks private sector partnerships for technology licensing, industrial scale-up, functional certification, and sensory acceptance studies. Collaboration through Research and Development (R&D) consortia and technology transfer agreements is essential to ensure that scientific advances are effectively translated into accessible, commercially viable consumer products. --- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3275/brazils-drought-resilient-sorghum-powering-diversified-bioenergy-future-alexandre-ferreira-da-silva-embrapa.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3275/brazils-drought-resilient-sorghum-powering-diversified-bioenergy-future-alexandre-ferreira-da-silva-embrapa.html Fri, 19 Sep 2025 16:05:38 +0530 An exclusive Agrospectrum interview, Alexandre Ferreira da Silva, Research Scientist at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, reveals why sorghum is no longer just a supporting player—it’s becoming a star of Brazil’s bioenergy revolution. With unmatched drought resilience and off-season planting advantages, sorghum acts as climate insurance while supercharging existing corn ethanol plants. High-starch hybrids and valuable co-products like DDG are driving its economic edge, making every hectare count. Silva highlights how RenovaBio’s carbon credit program turns sorghum’s low-carbon profile into a tangible revenue boost. Looking beyond borders, Brazil’s sorghum is poised to hit the global stage, with China emerging as a key export destination, signaling a new era for the crop in energy and trade. Brazil has long been the gold standard in sugarcane ethanol. Why is sorghum now entering the conversation, and does it represent an insurance policy against climate volatility or the next growth frontier? Brazil's bioenergy matrix is widely recognized as a global model of sustainability and efficiency, historically supported by ethanol production from sugarcane. However, the sector has undergone significant diversification in recent years, driven by the quest for greater resilience and the expansion of production into new agricultural frontiers. National biofuel production reached a record volume of almost 46 billion liters of ethanol and biodiesel in 2024, a milestone that reinforces Brazil's leadership role in the global energy transition and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within this context of growth and diversification, corn has emerged as a protagonist, with its ethanol production growing 25 per cent in the 2024/2025 harvest and reaching 7.6 billion liters. In this scenario, sorghum, which has historically been seen as a supporting actor in Brazilian agriculture, is emerging as a promising alternative and a strategic pillar for the continued expansion of the bioenergy matrix. The rise of sorghum is not a simple market fluctuation but rather a structural change, based on its unique ability to serve as "climate insurance" and its industrial synergy with existing ethanol production chains. Sorghum's agronomic resilience, especially under conditions of water stress and high temperatures, provides a direct economic and industrial benefit. Its ability to thrive in regions where sugarcane is not adapted and to maintain productivity even in late plantings reduces the risk of crop failures for producers. For the industry, this predictability in the supply of raw material allows for the extension of ethanol production beyond the sugarcane harvest period, ensuring a stable supply throughout the year. The crop's physical robustness thus translates into a more secure business model that is less susceptible to climate risks. While sorghum’s off-season planting and use of degraded pastures reduce direct competition with corn and food crops, how do factors like climate variability, land-use pressures, or policy incentives impact the long-term sustainability and scalability of sorghum for ethanol in Brazil ? Sorghum is a warm-climate crop with efficient drought tolerance mechanisms, making it ideal for regions with lower water availability. As a C4 plant, sorghum tolerates high levels of solar radiation, responding with high photosynthetic rates and minimizing water loss through its stomata. Although sorghum is resilient, its ideal productivity is achieved at temperatures ranging from 20ºC to 33°C, while temperatures above 38ºC or below 16ºC can limit its plant development. The most significant cultivation strategy for sorghum in Brazil is its positioning in the "off-season," or second crop, typically planted after the soybean harvest. This planting dynamic provides a crucial competitive advantage, as sorghum maintains good productivity even in later plantings, after February, when corn crops usually experience yield drops. This characteristic eliminates direct competition with corn for more favorable planting windows, allowing sorghum to capitalize on existing areas. The increase in sorghum cultivation and processing in Brazil reflects a substantial growth movement in the sector. In the 2024/2025 harvest, sorghum production in the country reached 5.96 million tons, a 34.8 per cent growth compared to the previous cycle. This advance was driven by a 9.6 per cent increase in planted area, which reached 1.59 million hectares, and a 23 per cent improvement in the national average productivity, reaching 3,731 kg/ha. Table 1. Sorghum Production in Brazil: Area, Yield and Production (Conab 2025) Indicator2024/2025 HarvestAnnual GrowthPlanted Area1.59 million hectares+9.6 per centYield3,731 kg/ha+23 per centProduction5.96 million tons+34.8 per cent The expansion of using food crops for biofuel production often raises the global "food vs. fuel" debate. However, the use of sorghum in Brazil minimizes this conflict. As a versatile crop used for both human and animal consumption as well as for biofuel production, sorghum integrates into an agricultural model that, in the Brazilian case, frequently uses the conversion of degraded pasture areas into croplands, reducing direct competition with food production on highly fertile lands. Given that sorghum’s economic competitiveness relies heavily on high starch content and co-product value, how do variations in hybrid performance, growing conditions, or market demand for DDG affect the reliability of these economic advantages ? The yield of grain sorghum in ethanol production is equivalent to or even surpasses that of corn, directly depending on the starch content in the grains. Ethanol production is directly correlated with the starch content of the grains. Therefore, knowing the characteristics of each hybrid and the most effective management strategies can lead to gains in ethanol production yield. Obtaining starch contents above 70 per cent is important for sorghum to be competitive with corn. This correlation between a specific agronomic characteristic (high starch content) and the economic viability of industrial processing is a determining factor. The successful development of high-starch hybrids reduces the cost of the raw material per liter of ethanol produced, serving as a technological and economic driver for sorghum's competitiveness. The co-products generated during processing, such as DDG (Dried Distillers Grains), are of high importance for the economic viability of grain ethanol production. Although the sorghum ethanol production process does not yield oil like corn, sorghum DDG is a valuable protein meal for animal nutrition, generating additional revenue that helps offset production costs and increases the grain's competitiveness. While sorghum is presented as a cost-effective alternative to corn for ethanol, how do fluctuations in sorghum prices or potential supply constraints affect its economic competitiveness, and does this risk offset the advantages of blending it with corn ? The economic competitiveness of sorghum as a raw material for ethanol is based primarily on its lower cost compared to corn. Market analysis indicates that during periods of high corn prices, ethanol production from this cereal can become less economically favorable, which reinforces the need for raw material diversification. Additionally, the industrial synergy between sorghum and corn is a key economic factor. Plants that already process corn require only "a few modifications" to their facilities to also process sorghum. This technological compatibility minimizes the capital investment barrier for production expansion. Many plants indicate their intention to work with blends of corn and sorghum, so that the percentage of sorghum used results in the minimum possible alterations to the production line already established for corn ethanol. In this way, sorghum emerges as an economic strategy to amortize production costs. On the other hand, some plants operate with exclusive lines for the production of ethanol from sorghum. These are being strategically installed in areas suitable for its cultivation, associated with the fostering of producers through the predictability of raw material purchase (futures market). Table 2. Economic Advantage Comparison between Ethanol Raw Materials Raw MaterialRelative Cost of Raw MaterialEthanol Yield (L/ton)Value of Co-productsIndustrial AdaptationSorghumLower than cornSimilar to cornHigh-value DDGRequires few modifications in corn plantsCornHigher than sorghumReference parameterDDG and oilConsolidated industrial facilitiesSugarcaneVaries with sugar priceVaries with harvest and genotypeBagasse, electrical energy, by-productsRequires dedicated facilities The low capital investment barrier is the direct cause of the rapid expansion of sorghum ethanol production. With the minimum investment required to adapt existing units, the industry can quickly integrate sorghum into its supply chain, allowing for decentralized and efficient expansion. This synergy between corn and sorghum plants is the main mechanism that elevates the cereal from a simple alternative to a "protagonist" in the Brazilian bioenergy matrix. Sorghum also contributes to the overall competitiveness of the biofuel sector. Brazil’s RenovaBio has put carbon intensity at the center of ethanol economics. How is sorghum positioned in the CBIO market compared with sugarcane ? The National Biofuels Policy, known as RenovaBio, is a regulatory framework aimed at incentivizing the decarbonization of the Brazilian transport sector. The program is structured into three main axes: decarbonization targets, production certification, and the market for Decarbonization Credits (CBIOs). The central mechanism is the CBIO, in which each credit is equivalent to one ton of avoided carbon emissions. To issue CBIOs, the biofuel producer must obtain an Energy-Environmental Efficiency Note (NEEA), which is a value inversely proportional to the carbon intensity (CI) of their product. The carbon footprint of sorghum ethanol is being quantified by EMBRAPA for registration with the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel. The calculator used to calculate the NEEA and CI, called RenovaCalc, is being updated so that sorghum can be used as one of the raw materials. It is believed that its accreditation will increase the interest of certified plants due to the generation of CBIOs. RenovaBio acts as a powerful mechanism that goes beyond mere incentive, creating a feedback loop that directly influences producers' investment decisions. By monetizing the environmental benefits of a biofuel, the policy makes crops like sorghum more economically attractive, whose sustainable profile translates into an additional revenue stream via CBIOs. In this way, the program not only encourages but financially rewards the adoption of more resilient and lower carbon footprint raw materials, accelerating the diversification and sustainability of the Brazilian bioenergy matrix. With the U.S. and China dominating global sorghum trade, how does Brazil carve out a role as both a sorghum grower and ethanol exporter ? In the global sorghum scenario, the United States is the main exporter, followed by Australia and Argentina. Brazil, which historically exported modest volumes, mainly to South Africa and Spain, is positioned for a significant change. Commercial tensions between the USA and China, which resulted in the imposition of tariffs and the suspension of American sorghum imports due to sanitary concerns, created a market gap that Brazil is in a strategic position to fill. China's urgency in finding an alternative supplier was evidenced by the signing of a "pre-listing" agreement between the two countries. This agreement accelerates the process of qualifying exporters, allowing the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture to certify and qualify companies, streamlining commercial flow and strengthening mutual trust. The first shipments of Brazilian sorghum to China are expected to begin in 2026, with projections that the new market could demand up to 7.9 million tons per year. The emergence of a robust export market to China, while it may initially generate an increase in domestic sorghum prices, serves as a powerful catalyst for the maturation of the Brazilian value chain. The influx of guaranteed revenue and the demand from such a large market incentivize farmers to significantly expand the planted area and invest in productivity improvements. This increase in scale, in turn, attracts more investment in plant breeding and processing infrastructure, creating economies of scale and a more resilient sector. The geopolitical scenario, therefore, transforms a potential risk of price increasing into a long-term opportunity to consolidate the sorghum industry in Brazil, promoting both the export market and the domestic bioenergy value chain. While sorghum is positioned as a strategic pillar for Brazil’s bioenergy resilience, what risks or limitations—such as market volatility, policy changes, or technological bottlenecks—could prevent it from fully realizing this potential ? The analysis demonstrates that sorghum is a vital and growing component of the Brazilian bioenergy matrix. Its rise is driven by a confluence of technical, economic, and political factors that position it not just as an alternative, but as a strategic pillar for the resilience of the sector. Sorghum offers agronomic insurance against climate variability, an industrial complement that optimizes corn ethanol infrastructure, and a sustainability profile that perfectly aligns it with decarbonization policies like RenovaBio. To maximize the crop's potential, continued and intensified investment in research and genetic improvement is recommended. The focus should be on developing hybrids with higher starch contents for grain sorghum. From a political perspective, the continuous integration of sorghum into national bioenergy strategies is suggested, with policies that recognize and reward its specific environmental benefits within programs like RenovaBio. In summary, sorghum is on track to become a fundamental element for a more diversified, resilient, and sustainable Brazilian bioeconomy. Its ability to thrive in challenging conditions and to integrate efficiently into existing infrastructure allows the country to meet domestic demand for renewable energy while strengthening its position in the global scenario of food and energy security. ---- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3264/verde-agritech-granted-patent-for-advanced-fertilizer-production-technology-combining-glauconitic-siltstone-and-beneficial-microbes.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3264/verde-agritech-granted-patent-for-advanced-fertilizer-production-technology-combining-glauconitic-siltstone-and-beneficial-microbes.html Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:15:06 +0530 The patented process enables the production of powdered, granulated, or microgranulated fertilizers by combining glauconitic siltstone with beneficial microorganisms through industrial spraying techniques. Verde AgriTech Ltd., a specialty multi-nutrient potassium fertilizer innovator offering tailored solutions to support sustainable farming practices, has announced that its subsidiary Verde Fertilizantes LTDA has been granted a Brazilian pate for its industrial process, which produces powdered, granulated, or microgranulated mineral fertilizers enriched with biological additives; in addition, the product produced from this process is also protected under this patent. The patent, granted by Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) under the Ministry of Economy, covers a process that combines glauconitic siltstone – a sedimentary rock composed of silt-sized iron-potassium phyllosilicate minerals – with beneficial microorganisms, advancing sustainable fertilizer technology and strengthening Verde’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Cristiano Veloso, CEO and Founder said, “Fertilizers remain the most important technology for boosting agricultural productivity, and continuous innovation is essential to meeting farmers’ evolving needs. With growing demand for sustainable and biological solutions, this patent represents a breakthrough by applying diverse microorganisms with glauconitic siltstone to improve soil and plant health, enhance agricultural productivity, and reduce chemical inputs, all while being cost effective.” The patented process enables the production of powdered, granulated, or microgranulated fertilizers by combining glauconitic siltstone with beneficial microorganisms through industrial spraying techniques. Unlike conventional fertilizer manufacturing, this innovation eliminates the drying stage, reducing production costs while preserving viability of beneficial microorganisms for up to 180 days. This allows the integration of a wide range of bacteria and fungi enhancing sustainable agriculture practices through: nitrogen fixation - process by which certain microorganisms convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into forms usable by plants; phosphate solubilization – the conversion of insoluble forms of phosphorus into soluble forms that plants can absorb; biocontrol – the use of living organisms to suppress pests, weeds, or plant diseases; and growth promotion, creating a differentiated offering for the global fertilizer market. This patent positions Verde at the forefront of agricultural innovation and allows the company to capitalize on the growing demand for sustainable agriculture solutions. Verde remains dedicated to delivering advanced fertilizer technologies that meet farmers’ needs while supporting long-term business growth. The Company holds five patents in Brazil with INPI and has three patent applications pending. Singapore headquartered, Verde AgriTech is dedicated to advancing sustainable agriculture through the innovation of specialty multi nutrient potassium fertilizers. With the mission to increase agricultural productivity, enhance soil health, and significantly contribute to environmental sustainability. Utilizing its unique position in Brazil, Verde AgriTech harness proprietary technologies to develop solutions that not only meet the immediate needs of farmers but also address global challenges such as food security and climate change. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3239/indonesia-and-brazil-forge-economic-cooperation-in-energy-transition-and-agriculture.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3239/indonesia-and-brazil-forge-economic-cooperation-in-energy-transition-and-agriculture.html Mon, 08 Sep 2025 09:45:26 +0530 Focuses on bilateral trade cooperation with several potential export commodities beyond palm oil and coconut oil, including machinery and other manufactured goods The Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia), Anindya Novyan Bakrie, met Ambassador of Brazil to Indonesia, George Monteiro Prata, at The Convergence Indonesia, Rasuna Epicentrum, and discussed the growing economic ties between Indonesia and Brazil, with a particular focus on collaboration in energy transition and agriculture. President Prabowo Subianto met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his recent state visit to Brazil in July. Anindya emphasized the importance of strengthening bilateral economic cooperation, noting that both countries have significant potential to expand partnerships in critical sectors. He added that several strategic topics were discussed during the meeting, including biofuel-based energy transition and agricultural development. According to Anin, Brazil’s advanced agricultural sector offers valuable insights and opportunities for Indonesia. “We talked about energy transition, and also about agriculture a sector in which Brazil is highly advanced. They’re even focusing their energy transition efforts on biofuels. In general, the relationship between Brazil and Indonesia is very good, and we believe there’s room to strengthen it even further,” Anin added. On the issue of the Indonesia–Brazil trade balance, which currently remains in deficit, Anin emphasized the need to explore new sectors to create a more balanced trade relationship. “What matters most is ensuring trade continues to grow. As more sectors are developed, trade will become more balanced. We need to work hard to create export products with added value that are in demand in Brazil,” he said. Anin highlighted several potential export commodities beyond palm oil and coconut oil, such as machinery and other manufactured goods. “There are many product categories with export potential from machinery to various manufactured products that we can develop more strategically,” Anin added. Meanwhile, Ambassador George Monteiro Prata underlined the importance of strengthening the economic ties and deepening bilateral cooperation between the two countries. “There are huge business opportunities between Brazil and Indonesia, and we want to tap into them. We also see President Lula's upcoming visit to Indonesia as a key moment. That’s one of the reasons I came today to thank Kadin for receiving me and to explore what we can do together to enhance business relations between Brazil and Indonesia,” concluded Ambassador George. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3200/basf-corteva-and-m-s-technologies-to-bring-industry-first-soybean-trait-stack-to-brazil-marketspace.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3200/basf-corteva-and-m-s-technologies-to-bring-industry-first-soybean-trait-stack-to-brazil-marketspace.html Wed, 20 Aug 2025 10:58:26 +0530 An innovative biotech soybean nematode resistance trait will be combined with leading herbicide and insect resistance traits to optimize yield BASF, Corteva Agriscience and M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. announced that they have entered into a trait licensing agreement to bring BASF’s novel nematode resistant soybean (NRS) trait with Enlist E3® soybeans and Conkesta E3® soybeans to farmers in Brazil. The NRS trait offers the first ever biotech solution for effectively managing root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus brachyurus) and soybean cyst nematodes – difficult-to-control microscopic pests that damage soybeans and threaten yields. “This novel trait has demonstrated more than 90% control of root lesion nematodes in more than 160 field trials over the past 7 years,” said Adolfo Vitorio Ulbrich, Director Regional R&D Seeds Director BASF Agricultural Solutions in Latin America. “We will cooperate with Corteva and M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. to bring to Brazilian farmers the first commercially available biotechnology trait for soybeans to provide a critical management tool against nematodes.” The Enlist® weed control system is an industry-leading system for soybeans, corn, and cotton. Enlist E3 soybeans are tolerant to 2,4-D choline, glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides, giving growers additional herbicide options to manage resistant and hard-to-control weeds. Conkesta E3 soybeans additionally incorporate two Bt proteins (Cry1F and Cry1Ac) for the management of the main caterpillar pests in soybean crops, a tailored option for farmers in Latin America.  “This is a opportunity to combine our Enlist E3 and Conkesta E3 soybean technology with the nematode resistant soybean (NRS) trait from BASF to offer growers across Brazil a critical new tool to help protect against Pratylenchus brachyurus and soybean cyst nematode,” said Christian Pflug, Licensing Director -- Brazil & Paraguay, Corteva. The transgenic soybean event in Enlist E3 soybeans and Conkesta E3 soybeans is jointly developed and owned by Corteva and M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. “Since the beginning, M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. has been focused on developing the industry’s highest-performing soybean genetics,” said Joe Merschman, president of M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. “Pairing Enlist E3 and Conkesta E3 genetics from M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. with this new NRS trait developed by BASF represents a step change in value protection for soybean growers in South America.” BASF, Corteva, and M.S. Technologies, L.L.C. anticipate that commercial varieties containing BASF`s innovative NRS trait in Enlist E3 soybeans and Conkesta E3 soybeans will be available to farmers in Brazil by the end of the decade or early next decade, pending applicable regulatory reviews and completion of field testing. Additional countries remain a possibility. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3164/bernhard-kiep-on-making-agriculture-groundwater-positive-tech-policy-and-mindset-shifts.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3164/bernhard-kiep-on-making-agriculture-groundwater-positive-tech-policy-and-mindset-shifts.html Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:58:01 +0530 From Punjab to Paraná, aquifers are silently collapsing under the weight of modern agriculture. Yet the world’s food systems remain dangerously dependent on groundwater—a resource long considered infinite, now revealing its limits. As irrigation expands, rainfall becomes erratic, and global trade scrutinizes embedded water footprints, a radical rethink is underway. To unpack this inflection point, Agrospectrum spoke to Bernhard L. Kiep, Managing Director at Bermad Brazil and a key board member across pioneering platforms like Pessl Instruments, MAIZALL+ Abramilho, InLida and InstaAgro. A Business Administrator by training and an agri-innovator by conviction, Kiep offers a panoramic yet grounded take on the future of farming in a water-constrained world. India: Aquifer Stress Meets Agri Ambition India extracts over 250 cubic kilometers of groundwater annually—more than the U.S. and China combined. But its irrigation remains notoriously inefficient. What structural reforms are most urgent? The numbers speak for themselves: nearly 90 per cent of groundwater extracted in India goes to agriculture, and much of it is wasted through unlined canals, flood irrigation, and poor scheduling. India needs a layered approach. First, introduce real-time groundwater monitoring networks—what we in Brazil call the aquifer accounting layer. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Second, decentralize water governance. India’s federal and state coordination on water is still weak. District-level groundwater stewardship councils, composed of hydrologists, farmers, and panchayat leaders, could radically shift behavior. However, most critically—unlock access to technology finance. The best technologies—pressure-compensated drippers, soil-moisture sensors, variable rate fertigation systems—are already available. But a smallholder in Vidarbha or Bundelkhand cannot afford a Rs 75,000 system. The answer lies in government-backed payment guarantees for suppliers and credit lines where repayment is indexed to water saved, not just yields. India has one of the world’s largest drip irrigation coverage areas, yet adoption remains uneven. What are the real barriers to scale? We often conflate installation coverage with active, optimized use. A large portion of India’s drip systems lie underused due to poor after-sales service, lack of agronomic advisory, and power outages that disrupt pressure dynamics. We must move toward closed-loop systems where: Drip irrigation is sensor-controlled based on real evapotranspiration rates; Fertilizer is injected with precision in microdoses (nutrigation); Water use is metered and priced modestly to reflect scarcity. The central problem isn’t technological—it’s behavioral and financial. In Israel, they made hydraulics and fluid mechanics a part of primary education. Every schoolchild understands the math of a leak. In India, we need to create the same water literacy revolution, especially among rural youth. India’s agri-export growth is being questioned for its water footprint. Should the country revise its export priorities based on aquifer stress? To answer this question the first thing that needs to be done is to calculate the value /volume of the water, labor and general efficiency and see if the export revenue makes an economical and sustainable sense. Just calculating the amount of water used per kilogram of food is not the correct answer ! However, we can’t frame this as simply abandoning certain crops. Instead, we must: Diversify the export basket toward crops like millets, oilseeds, and legumes that are less water-intensive; Promote water footprint labelling to help buyers make informed decisions; Shift subsidies from crop-based incentives to resource-use-based incentives. Designing a ‘Groundwater Positive’ District in India- If you could co-create one, what technologies and policies would you deploy? Here’s what I would include: First, hydrological intelligence grid—real-time borewell-level telemetry integrated with rainfall and cropping patterns. Second, zero-leakage infrastructure—all canals lined, community ponds renovated, pressure-managed micro-irrigation promoted. Third, water-linked credit access—loans indexed to water savings, not land size; payments to tech providers guaranteed by public finance instruments Fourth, behavioral nudges—water tariffs (even symbolic) to instil accountability; water budgeting workshops in villages. Fifth, tech cooperatives—shared ownership of fertigation units, digital dashboards, mobile labs—so no farmer is left behind. In short: Make water management aspirational, affordable, and accountable. United States: Farming the Dust Bowl Again? The Ogallala Aquifer—lifeline of the U.S. grain belt—is shrinking. What lessons should the United States draw from its own Dust Bowl history and what it has done since? The story of the Ogallala Aquifer is a study in both ecological overreach and policy reinvention. Stretching beneath eight states—from South Dakota to Texas—the Ogallala once supported nearly 30 per cent of U.S. irrigated agriculture, including America’s wheat, corn, cotton, and beef industries. However, decades of over pumping—especially during the post-World War II agricultural boom—brought the aquifer dangerously close to collapse in several zones. By the 1990s, in states like Kansas and Texas, water tables had dropped by more than 100 feet in some places. The 1930s Dust Bowl was no longer just history—it was a looming sequel. However then came a paradigm shift. Farmers, policymakers, and water managers didn’t wait for federal mandates. They created localized, stakeholder-driven water governance models that offer a blueprint for other countries, including India. Key lessons from the Ogallala experience: First, Decentralized Aquifer Governance:Instead of top-down imposition, states like Kansas established Groundwater Management Districts (GMDs)—democratically elected bodies where farmers had direct control over water policies in their region. These GMDs could set pumping limits, incentivize recharge, and even coordinate collective water-saving efforts. Second, Transparent Monitoring and Enforcement:Over 95 per cent of wells in Nebraska and Kansas are now monitored using flow meters, telemetry, and satellite verification tools. Water rights are digitally tracked, and violations are recorded transparently. Unlike in India, where many borewells are unregistered, Ogallala states treat water as an accountable public asset. Third, Water Allocation Caps and Incentives:In Sheridan County, Kansas, for instance, an innovative pilot known as the Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) helped farmers voluntarily reduce water use by 20 per cent over five years—without any drop in yields. How? Through precision irrigation, crop-switching, and rotation-based planning backed by state-verified savings certificates. Fourth, Water as Currency—The Banking Analogy:Ogallala farmers now understand that groundwater is like money in a savings account: withdrawals must be lower than deposits. Some states allow “water banking”—where conserved water in one season can be stored (on paper) and withdrawn in drier years, mimicking fiscal budgeting. Fifth, Civic Engagement, not Bureaucracy:Farmers weren’t just passive implementers—they were co-creators of water policy. Peer-to-peer pressure often proved more effective than fines. The community structure instilled shared responsibility, which India currently lacks due to fragmented jurisdictions. Can such a model work in India? Yes, but with adaptations. India must build community aquifer associations—like Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), but with water as the common currency. These groups should: Set local pumping norms; Monitor rainfall-aquifer recharge ratios; Maintain shared water infrastructure; Engage in real-time water budgeting. However, the backbone must be reliable data infrastructure—telemetry wells, flow meters, satellite-aided monitoring systems—integrated into district-level dashboards. India’s National Aquifer Mapping Programme (NAQUIM) is a start, but it needs farmer-facing digital extensions. With the Inflation Reduction Act unlocking billions for climate-smart farming, is the U.S. beginning to monetise water stewardship like carbon programs? The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed in 2022, allocated over $20 billion for climate-smart agriculture, including soil moisture conservation, cover cropping, and water-use efficiency. This marks a pivotal moment—water savings are no longer just good practice, they are economic assets. There is growing interest in turning verified water savings into tradable credits—akin to carbon markets. While this market is nascent, it signals a shift from compliance-driven to incentive-driven stewardship. However, caution is needed. If these systems rely solely on subsidies, we risk killing entrepreneurial initiative. Farmers must feel empowered, not dependent. That’s why I believe in the EESG framework—where: Environment protection is integrated with Economics of sustainability, Social equity in rural communities, and Governance via participatory institutions. This is not just a Western template. With tailored execution, India’s sugar belts, Mexico’s maize plains, and Kenya’s tea highlands can all adapt the Ogallala model. In summary: The Ogallala experience shows that groundwater conservation is not a sacrifice—it’s an investment. With local governance, transparent metering, and data-powered feedback loops, aquifers can be stabilized without sacrificing yields. But the first step is to acknowledge that business-as-usual is no longer sustainable. Brazil: Abundant Rain, Emerging Risk Brazil is often viewed as a water-abundant nation. But regions like the Cerrado and Northeast are under growing water stress. Is Brazil prepared for an irrigation-centric future? The illusion of abundance is deceptive. While Brazil holds 12 per cent of global freshwater reserves, water access is highly skewed. The Southeast and Northeast, where much of Brazil’s food and export crops are grown, are increasingly hydrologically fragile. Western Bahia, a booming agricultural frontier, illustrates the looming crisis vividly. Rainfall in the region, once as high as 1,800 mm/year, has been declining steadily since the 1980s, now averaging as low as 950 mm in some parts. Satellite and field data reveal that irrigation withdrawals in Western Bahia surged from ~30 m³/s in 2001 to 76 m³/s in 2020, far outpacing aquifer recharge rates. A major study on the Urucuia Aquifer, one of Brazil’s critical groundwater reserves, shows: Total recharge: 607.8 m³/s; The amount 121.6 m³/s is effectively available; Just 12.4 m³/s is formally granted for use—a mere 10 per cent of what could be sustainable. This gap between hydrological potential and actual governance is Brazil’s Achilles’ heel. At Bermad Brazil, we’ve worked with over 3,000 farmers across +100,000 hectares of irrigated land using: Advanced valve-control systems; Precision fertigation aligned with crop uptake curves; SCADA-linked telemetry for remote water flow optimization. However, nationally, less than 20 per cent of Brazil’s irrigable potential is in use. In Mato Grosso, for example: Out of 10.3 million ha of potential irrigable area, only 178,000 ha are under irrigation (as of 2019). Causes range from lack of tradition, unclear water rights, and external financing bottlenecks. Brazil’s irrigated area is growing by 5,000–6,000 ha per year in Western Bahia alone, and projections suggest: +829,000 ha of expansion in the short-term (Scenario I); +620,000 ha possible in the longer term (Scenario II). However, the question looms: If we measure and understand that some years with more rain, we can irrigate during the following dry season more we will be in harmony with Nature, what we can not do is nothing and not use the watershed to feed the World. Use today’s technology in a smart way to have economical prosperity + sustainability ! How is Brazilian agribusiness approaching irrigation from a resilience—not just yield—perspective? There’s a visible transition underway. High-performing agribusinesses, especially in soy, sugarcane, and cotton, are shifting toward climate-smart irrigation as a competitiveness strategy. These include: Smart Pivot Irrigation with no till practice has improved Organic material in the soil by more than 50 per cent in less than 2-3 years; Drip-to-drone integration: Canopy stress imaging from drones triggers subsoil drip irrigation with surgical precision; Digital twins of irrigation networks: Simulate hydraulic losses and fine-tune runtimes; Nutrient-water synchrony: Fertilizer dosing is guided by real-time crop growth models, not seasonal guessing. Our experience at Bermad shows that in a broad-spectrum when smart irrigation is implemented holistically: Yields rise by +35 per cent; Water use drops by 40 per cent; Energy costs fall by 25 per cent Could Brazil and India collaborate on water governance through BRICS+ channels? Absolutely—and not just in principle. There are already active policy exchanges between Brazil’s ANA (National Water Agency) and Indian think tanks. The recent territorial study visits to Nebraska (2022–2024) by Brazilian stakeholders underscore the appetite for learning from global best practices like the Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) model. Brazil has one clear institutional edge: Faster irrigation financing. A farmer can secure funding for water infrastructure, thanks to: Digitized farm records; Streamlined agri-lending; Fewer bureaucratic layers. India, in contrast, is hampered by delayed credit, fragmented water governance, and slow aquifer data integration. A South-South Water Innovation Platform (India–Brazil–South Africa) could focus on: Aquifer-based irrigation credit models; Joint development of real-time water-use monitoring tools; Blended capital pools for scalable water-tech. By collaborating, nations could shift from being technology takers to becoming innovation architects for groundwater stewardship. —- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com) ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3063/brazil-invests-in-nigerias-agricultural-transformation-with-1b-commitment.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3063/brazil-invests-in-nigerias-agricultural-transformation-with-1b-commitment.html Thu, 26 Jun 2025 12:30:46 +0530 Nigeria and Brazil have signed a landmark $1 billion agreement aimed at accelerating agricultural development, food security, energy innovation, and defense cooperation in Nigeria. The announcement was made by Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima following high-level bilateral talks in Abuja with visiting Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. The agreement marks a significant milestone in strengthening ties between Latin America’s largest economy and Africa’s most populous nation, focusing primarily on transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector. “We are moving from subsistence to scale in agriculture,” said Vice President Shettima. “This agreement will deliver mechanised farming equipment, training, and service centers across the country—laying the foundation for a more productive and food-secure Nigeria.” The deal includes a framework for deploying over $1 billion toward agricultural mechanization and technical support, with long-term goals of boosting productivity, enhancing rural livelihoods, and modernizing farm operations nationwide. The partnership also extends into energy, where Nigeria aims to deepen investments in gas production, refining, and renewables—sectors long seen as underleveraged despite the country’s natural resource wealth. The agreement was signed during Vice President Alckmin’s official visit to Abuja, symbolizing Brazil’s growing commitment to economic and strategic collaboration with Africa. Shettima emphasized that reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration—across agriculture, energy, education, and public finance—have already begun reshaping the Nigerian economy. As part of this transformation agenda, Nigeria is pursuing a vision of reaching a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Financial sector reforms, including recent calls for bank recapitalization, are also aimed at attracting increased foreign direct investment. “We are building the foundation for long-term prosperity, and this partnership with Brazil shows the growing global confidence in Nigeria’s direction,” Shettima said. The Nigeria–Brazil agreement is expected to have a significant impact on employment, food production, and value chain development, further positioning Nigeria as a regional agricultural powerhouse. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3050/koppert-to-invest-200-mn-in-two-new-biocontrol-factories-in-brazil-by-2030.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3050/koppert-to-invest-200-mn-in-two-new-biocontrol-factories-in-brazil-by-2030.html Wed, 25 Jun 2025 11:29:00 +0530 Dutch biological inputs giant Koppert is set to invest $ 200 million to establish two new manufacturing plants in Brazil by 2030, strengthening its foothold in tropical agriculture and addressing the rising pest and disease pressure. The investment aligns with Koppert’s strong focus on research and development (R&D), particularly in biological crop protection for tropical environments. According to Gustavo Herrmann, Koppert’s Commercial Director, the new plants—expected to be operational within two to three years—will ramp up the company’s high-tech production capabilities. One facility will specialise in bacteria, while the other will produce fungi-based solutions, both tailored to growing market needs. Herrmann explained that this expansion is the outcome of a strategic decision taken years ago, which also led to the 2021 launch of SPARCBio, an advanced research hub at ESALQ–University of São Paulo. The center currently runs over 30 R&D lines across four domains, including efforts to develop a bioherbicide—a long-awaited addition to the biological inputs market. Koppert currently channels around 7–8 per cent of its global revenues into R&D, equivalent to up to €4 million, from expected revenues exceeding €50 million in 2025. Besides Brazil, the company also runs a production facility in Argentina. The planned expansion will multiply Koppert’s production capacity by five to seven times, a move Herrmann sees as future-ready, anticipating growing global demand for biocontrol solutions. Despite biological inputs currently making up just 7 per cent of the global plant protection market, Herrmann believes they could surpass chemical inputs within 20 years as control paradigms shift. With Brazil emerging as a global leader in large-scale biological control adoption, Koppert intends to use its enhanced production to serve international markets, especially the United States and Europe. The company is already registering products overseas based on the same Brazilian-developed technologies. “Brazil leads the world in biological control for major crops,” Herrmann said, adding that teams from the US, Germany, and France frequently visit to study the country’s successful model. Koppert currently markets 40 registered biological products in Brazil and is actively developing another 40, including next-generation bioherbicides. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3026/milestone-for-brazil-declared-free-of-foot-and-mouth-disease-without-vaccination.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3026/milestone-for-brazil-declared-free-of-foot-and-mouth-disease-without-vaccination.html Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:00:39 +0530 The recognition was awarded at the 92nd General Session of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in Paris. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral infection impacting cloven-hoofed animals like cattle, often leading to major economic losses and trade restrictions. Brazil has been officially declared free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) without the use of vaccination, marking a historic milestone for its livestock industry. The announcement was made during the 92nd General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), held in Paris. The recognition applies to Brazil’s entire territory, solidifying its status as a leading global player in animal health and meat exports. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Agriculture and Livestock Minister Carlos Fávaro were present at the June 6 certification ceremony, where Brazil, alongside Bolivia, was formally recognised as FMD-free without vaccination. The certification, awarded by WOAH—an international standard-setting body operating under the World Trade Organization—underscores Brazil’s success in eradicating a highly contagious viral disease that has long posed a threat to global livestock systems. With over 234 million head of cattle, Brazil’s achievement is regarded as a breakthrough in veterinary science and public policy. Officials say the recognition will significantly enhance Brazil’s access to high-value international markets, expand export opportunities, and bolster confidence among trading partners. It is also expected to drive sustainable development, support economic growth, and contribute to global food security. The milestone follows years of strategic planning and implementation by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock under the National Foot-and-Mouth Disease Surveillance Program. Developed in collaboration with state governments and the livestock sector, the program included extensive modernisation of veterinary services, advanced disease monitoring systems, and a gradual transition from vaccination zones to zones certified free of the disease without vaccination. A cornerstone of the effort was the expansion of veterinary service coverage to more than 85 per cent of Brazilian municipalities, including remote and hard-to-reach regions. These efforts ensured robust disease prevention and early detection mechanisms, key requirements for WOAH certification. Foot-and-mouth disease is a severe and fast-spreading illness affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. It leads to fever, blisters, and lameness, with significant economic consequences through reduced meat and milk production and trade limitations. Historically, vaccination has been the primary defense against FMD, making Brazil’s achievement without it especially noteworthy. WOAH’s recognition is not only a boost for Brazil’s trade ambitions but also a validation of its commitment to science-based livestock management. The move is expected to inspire other nations aiming to transition to vaccine-free disease control models, while strengthening local economies and protecting rural livelihoods across Brazil. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3009/mapa-regulation-fuels-surge-in-brazils-agri-drone-industry.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/3009/mapa-regulation-fuels-surge-in-brazils-agri-drone-industry.html Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:29:52 +0530 The agricultural drone sector in Brazil, primarily used for aerial spraying, saw a major breakthrough in 2021 following the publication of Ordinance No. 298 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), which officially regulated their use. That year, sales were estimated at 3,000 units. Fast forward to today, and the number has soared to an estimated 35,000 drones in operation—a clear sign of how regulatory clarity can unlock rapid technological adoption in agriculture Brazil’s agricultural drone market is experiencing rapid expansion, driven in large part by regulatory clarity introduced through MAPA’s Ordinance No. 298 in 2021, which legalized and structured the commercial use of drones for aerial spraying. Since then, the market has taken off—from an estimated 3,000 drones in 2021 to around 35,000 units in operation today. This data was presented by consultant Eugênio Schroder during Droneshow, a key agri-tech trade fair held at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, focused on agricultural drone service providers. At the same event, MAPA announced that new regulatory updates are on the way, including a new decree and ordinance aimed at modernizing legislation to match technological advancements. “Drones have evolved, and the legislation needs to keep up,” said Uéllen Colatto, head of the ministry’s Agricultural Aviation Division. Two public hearings have already been held, and the proposed decree is being sent to the Civil House. Once signed by the President, MAPA will publish new ordinances with more specific and updated rules. Among the upcoming changes is the transition from the Sipeagro system to SDA Digital—a modern platform that will streamline the accreditation of training institutions and the certification of technical personnel in agricultural aviation. Despite the boom, challenges remain. A key issue is the use of unregistered drones. While Ordinance 298 mandates registration and training for drone operators, only 2,618 drones have been officially registered for spraying so far, highlighting a gap in enforcement and compliance. Schroder emphasized the accessibility of drones, describing them as “democratic” tools that are viable for farms of all sizes. Service provider André Veiga underlined the market’s untapped potential, estimating that 50,000 drones would be needed to meet demand across all Brazilian crops. He also advised new entrants to keep backup equipment and batteries, noting, “If you have one, you don’t have any.” The event also featured key figures from MAPA, including Estanislau Steck, the ministry’s superintendent in São Paulo, and Lucas Fernandes de Souza, an agricultural engineer who discussed regulatory developments in agricultural aviation. As Brazil moves forward, the combination of strong demand, advancing technology, and updated policy is setting the stage for a more structured and expansive agricultural drone ecosystem. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2999/japanese-govt-agency-jica-invests-in-brazilian-digital-banking-platform-agrolend.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2999/japanese-govt-agency-jica-invests-in-brazilian-digital-banking-platform-agrolend.html Fri, 06 Jun 2025 08:41:30 +0530 Financing small- and medium-sized farmers in Brazil Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is supporting Brazilian digital bank Agrolend which has raised $3 million in a Series C extension, bringing the round’s total to $56 million. The additional funding comes from JICA, supports economic growth in developing countries with long-term, low-interest loans and access to partnerships with private-sector companies, among other things. Agrolend’s platform offers farmers credit for purchase of agricultural inputs (e.g., seeds, crop protection products), formalizing these loans via the issuance of a Cédula de Produto Rural Financeira (CPR-F), a common financial instrument in Brazilian agribusiness. The idea is to help small- and medium-sized farmers in Brazil bypass many of the bureaucratic barriers that would normally stand in their way when it comes to obtaining much-needed credit. Agrolend says it can speed up the loan process to a matter of days, rather than weeks or months; it currently provides credit to around 3,700 farmers. The company sees itself as a digital bank, rather than simply another agrifintech platform. Last year, Agrolend obtained a BBB+ rating from Moody’s, officially making it investment grade. Alternative source of funding to finance rural producers The Series C round, first announced in October 2024, included participation from Creation Investments and Syngenta Group Ventures, along with Japanese agribusiness bank Norinchukin Bank. The latter was instrumental in bringing access to Japanese capital markets to Agrolend, according to the company. “The arrival of JICA brings us an alternative source of funding to finance rural producers around Brazil, thanks to its ability to offer [credit] to financial institutions at highly competitive costs,” Agrolend noted a LinkedIn post announcing the Series C extension. JICA provides capital to many banks in Brazil, including cooperative financial initiative Sicredi and BTG Pactual, Latin America’s largest investment bank. He notes that over the last several months, Agrolend has entered the wholesale banking space. Cofounder and CEO André Glezer notes that over the last several months, Agrolend has entered the wholesale banking space. “The benefit for us is making a partnership with an investor that is willing to support the company with a lot of capital, both equity and debt, and in the very long term. We are doing structured credit deals with very large industries, cooperatives and other players in the agribusiness space. For example, Agrolend did a ~R$100 million (around $18 million) structured loan to UPL, one of the largest agribusiness companies in the world. All credit loans are supported by our tech and data team, with a lot of usage of AI, which is transforming the whole banking business, including Agrolend, making all processes much more efficient.” Glezer says. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2981/apexbrasil-and-croplife-unveil-brazil-bio-inputs-initiative.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2981/apexbrasil-and-croplife-unveil-brazil-bio-inputs-initiative.html Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:59:52 +0530 The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) and CropLife Brasil announced the launch of the “Brazil Bio-Inputs Project” this week The initiative aims to boost the global presence of Brazilian companies in the bio-inputs sector and was officially launched at an event in Brasília. Organizers highlighted Brazil’s ambition to become a global leader in biological agricultural solutions through this project. Key activities include participation in international trade fairs, business matchmaking, trade missions, institutional promotion, and market research, with the initial focus on developing the project’s institutional brand. The project’s objective is to showcase Brazil’s competitive advantages and leadership in sustainable agricultural technologies, helping Brazilian bio-input companies expand into international markets. It seeks to generate business and investment opportunities within the bioeconomy and establish Brazil as a hub for nature-based agricultural solutions. The bio-inputs market in Brazil is rapidly growing, with a 13 per cent increase in usage during the 2024-2025 harvest, covering 156 million hectares. A CropLife Brasil and Blink survey showed the adoption rate rising from 23 per cent to 26 per cent of the planted area nationally. The sector has grown by an average of 22 per cent annually over the past three years, far outpacing the global average. CropLife Brasil CEO Eduardo Leão emphasized Brazil’s strong position as a major tropical agriculture market with a highly competitive sector and noted that 90 per cent of bio-input raw materials are sourced domestically. Leão added, “Of the thousand registered bio-input products, half have been registered in the last three years, making this an ideal time to launch this project. Brazil is expected to produce one-third of the world’s bio-inputs within the next decade, and we aim to share the benefits globally.” The crop protection market, which includes both biological and chemical inputs, grew 7 per cent last season, with bio-inputs surging over 35 per cent, making it one of the fastest-growing areas in Brazilian agribusiness. According to CropLife Brasil, this growth is supported by three pillars: high technical quality of products, economic competitiveness, and increasing adoption of low-environmental-impact production methods demanded by both domestic and international markets. Representing the Brazilian government, Rodrigo Rollemberg, Secretary of Decarbonization and Green Economy at the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Trade, emphasized the sector’s promising potential. He stated, “This project is vital for showcasing to the international community what Brazilian agriculture truly stands for—a sector backed by the world’s most advanced environmental laws, cutting-edge technology, and now bio-inputs. These advancements help reduce reliance on external inputs, lower costs, and boost sustainability. It presents a significant opportunity to reshape the global perception of our agriculture at this year’s COP in Brazil.” Brazil is home to over 170 bio-input manufacturers, offering more than 1,000 registered products, which firmly establishes the country as a center of excellence in sustainable agricultural solutions tailored for tropical farming. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2971/abinbio-strengthens-brazil-china-ties-in-bioinputs-industry.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2971/abinbio-strengthens-brazil-china-ties-in-bioinputs-industry.html Wed, 28 May 2025 15:31:37 +0530 The Brazilian Association of Bioinputs Industries (ABINBIO) has made a significant move to link Brazil's bioinputs sector with emerging opportunities in the Chinese market During an official visit to the Chinese Embassy in Brasília, representatives from the organization showcased the potential of the bioinputs sector to Xiang Yu, Counselor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, and explored opportunities for strategic collaboration between the two nations. The Brazilian Association of Bioinputs Industries (ABINBIO) has taken a significant step toward strengthening ties between Brazil’s biological inputs sector and the Chinese market. During an official visit to the Chinese Embassy in Brasília, ABINBIO representatives presented the sector’s potential to Xiang Yu, Counselor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, and explored possibilities for strategic cooperation between the two nations. ABINBIO’s Legal Director, Auro Ruschel, and International Relations Director, Mauro Heringer, were joined by Enrico Ribeiro of the political consulting and government relations firm Consillium. Together, they briefed the Chinese diplomat on the current landscape of Brazil’s bioinputs industry, highlighting the research, development processes, and key concepts behind this rapidly expanding sector. Expanding Opportunities in BioinputsThe organization outlined several avenues for bilateral collaboration, such as technical cooperation, acquisition of Brazilian companies by Chinese investors, direct export of bioinput products, and the potential establishment of Brazilian bioinput companies within China. Counselor Xiang Yu expressed strong interest in enhancing cooperation, emphasizing the importance of Brazil as China’s leading partner in agriculture. He underscored China’s intent to deepen this relationship, particularly in areas like low-carbon agriculture and increasing agricultural productivity. According to the diplomat, the bioinputs sector could play a vital role in China’s broader strategy to achieve agricultural self-sufficiency, minimize environmental impact, and reinforce Sino-Brazilian ties. His remarks underscore the sector's growing global importance in the transition toward more sustainable agricultural practices. Strategic Exposure at Major Trade EventA concrete outcome of the meeting was an invitation for ABINBIO to participate in the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the country’s largest business trade fair, held annually each November in Shanghai. The event offers a valuable platform for suppliers and buyers to connect, showcase innovations, and foster business deals. "This is a prime opportunity for ABINBIO to present its products directly to Chinese buyers and engage with industry stakeholders for future collaborations," noted Counselor Xiang Yu. He also highlighted the support of APEX Brasil in coordinating the presence of Brazilian bioinput companies at the event. This engagement between ABINBIO and the Chinese Embassy marks a major milestone in the internationalization of Brazil’s bioinputs sector. It opens up access to one of the world’s largest agricultural markets and paves the way for increased innovation and investment in sustainable farming technologies. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2965/brazil-sees-launch-of-lalguard-c99wp-bioinsecticide.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2965/brazil-sees-launch-of-lalguard-c99wp-bioinsecticide.html Tue, 27 May 2025 15:33:15 +0530 LALGUARD C99WP bioinsecticide stood out as a key attraction at AgroBrasília 2025 Lallemand Plant Care, in collaboration with Brazil’s agricultural research agency Embrapa, has introduced LALGUARD C99WP, a new biological insecticide developed to combat two of Brazil’s most damaging crop pests — whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) and corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis). Formulated as a wettable powder containing Cordyceps (Isaria) javanica isolate BRM27666, the bioinsecticide is designed for use in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems. It contains a high concentration of viable fungal spores (1x10¹⁰ conidia/g) and is compatible with other crop inputs, leaving no harmful residues. The product acts by adhering fungal spores to the insect’s outer surface, where they germinate, penetrate, and colonize the pest’s body. This process, enhanced by fungal toxins, ultimately kills the insect. Remarkably, the fungus can also sporulate on dead insects, spreading new spores and potentially triggering an epizootic that controls further pest populations — a trait the company highlights as a key advantage. Another standout feature is its room-temperature stability, unlike many biologicals that require refrigeration. Packaged under vacuum to preserve spore viability, LALGUARD C99WP has a shelf life of four months at 21–25°C and up to 18 months under refrigeration. The launch comes as Brazilian farmers grapple with growing pest resistance to chemical insecticides and tighter global regulations on pesticide use. Last season, whiteflies caused widespread damage to multiple crops, while corn leafhoppers emerged as a top threat to maize. Lallemand notes that such trends underline the urgent need for effective and sustainable alternatives like LALGUARD C99WP. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2952/olam-food-ingredients-expands-in-brazil-with-new-sustainable-coffee-factory.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2952/olam-food-ingredients-expands-in-brazil-with-new-sustainable-coffee-factory.html Fri, 23 May 2025 15:02:03 +0530 OFI’s New Linhares Facility expands instant coffee operations with emphasis on traceability and renewable energy Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), a business unit of Singapore-headquartered Olam Group, has inaugurated a cutting-edge instant coffee manufacturing facility in Linhares, Espírito Santo, Brazil. The 570,000-square-foot plant is set to significantly boost ofi’s presence in the global soluble coffee market, which is projected to reach $52.2 billion by 2031. Strategically located near Espírito Santo’s rich supply of Conilon coffee—which accounts for approximately 70 per cent of Brazil’s production—the facility will convert beans sourced from ofi’s nine processing units across Brazil into premium instant coffee products. These include spray-dried, freeze-dried, and liquid coffee concentrates. The new facility positions ofi among the world’s top three independent players in the fast-growing soluble coffee segment and strengthens its role as a major Brazilian coffee exporter. It also complements ofi’s existing instant coffee operations in Spain and Vietnam, expanding its global production network. In line with ofi’s “Choices for Change” sustainability strategy, the Linhares facility is powered entirely by renewable energy. Biomass boilers repurpose waste from coffee processing to generate power, supporting a closed-loop, environmentally responsible system. The site is also equipped with advanced, energy-efficient technologies, including a state-of-the-art Freeze Dryer designed to deliver high-quality soluble coffee with a reduced carbon footprint. All coffee processed at the plant is fully traceable and certified by the Rainforest Alliance, underscoring ofi’s commitment to ethical sourcing and transparency. The facility will also contribute to local economic development through job creation and value addition in one of Brazil’s key coffee-growing regions. “This inauguration represents a triple win—for local communities, for our customers, and for the environment,” said Vivek Verma, Managing Director and CEO of Coffee at ofi. “Processing coffee at origin enhances our integrated supply chain and builds stronger farmer partnerships while meeting global demand for traceable, sustainable coffee.” Since entering the Brazilian market in 2002, ofi has established a robust coffee export operation, supplying roast, ground, and instant coffee to markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. The Linhares facility also strengthens ofi’s innovation ecosystem, complementing its global network of 19 innovation centres focused on cocoa, dairy, nuts, spices, and coffee. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2950/brazilian-food-giants-marfrig-and-brf-merge-forming-new-entity-mbrf.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2950/brazilian-food-giants-marfrig-and-brf-merge-forming-new-entity-mbrf.html Fri, 23 May 2025 14:51:36 +0530 MBRF emerges as Brazil’s 7th largest company with $152 Billion in annual revenue, uniting two meat industry giants into a global multi-protein leader Marfrig Global Foods and BRF have officially merged to establish MBRF, forming one of the largest food companies in the world. The consolidation brings together two of Brazil’s biggest players in the meat and food processing industry, uniting their multi-protein portfolios and global brand networks under a single corporate entity. Citing strategic, operational, and tax efficiencies, the companies stated that MBRF will employ 130,000 people and operate in 117 countries. With a reported combined net revenue of US$152 billion over the past 12 months, the new entity becomes the seventh-largest company in Brazil by revenue. Marcos Molina, appointed Controller and Chairman of the Board for MBRF, called the merger a pivotal move to accelerate growth and realize synergies across international markets. He emphasized that MBRF represents the start of a new phase focused on creating long-term value. The announcement follows a robust financial year for both companies, with BRF achieving its highest-ever annual profit in 2024. Both BRF and Marfrig posted strong financial results in 2024, reinforcing the strategic rationale behind their merger into the newly formed food industry giant, MBRF. BRF saw its net income surge by 297.5 per cent, reaching $637 million , while EBITDA jumped 155 per cent to $1.81 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, BRF reported net profit of $149 million, marking a 15 per cent year-over-year increase. The company attributed its improved performance to effective cost management—particularly in raw material procurement such as corn—and a strong export strategy, securing 84 new international permits in 2024. Since 2022, BRF has obtained 175 new market approvals, significantly broadening its global footprint. Marfrig, meanwhile, reported net income of $571 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $2.77 billion for the year. The company highlighted its focus on protein and geographic diversification, as well as the expansion of value-added product lines, as key drivers of its financial success. In addition to its financial achievements, Marfrig earned top recognition for its sustainability efforts. The FAIRR Initiative ranked it the best performer in its sector, and the company received grade 'A' ratings across all three CDP environmental categories: Climate Change, Water Security, and Forests—a first in its corporate history. The strong performances of both companies provide a solid foundation for MBRF as it begins operations as one of the largest food businesses in the world, with ambitions for sustained global growth and leadership in sustainability. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2850/japans-tsubame-bhb-signs-loi-with-brazilian-company-on-green-ammonia-manufacturing-facilities-project.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2850/japans-tsubame-bhb-signs-loi-with-brazilian-company-on-green-ammonia-manufacturing-facilities-project.html Fri, 11 Apr 2025 11:00:41 +0530 This new plant will produce 20,000 tons of ammonia per year to replace fossil-based fertilizers in agriculture Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd. , which is aiming for the social implementation and commercialization of distributed ammonia manufacturing plants, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with ATVOS AGROINDUSTRIAL PARTICIPAÇÕES S.A in Brazil, one of the leading biofuels companies in Brazil regarding a green aqueous ammonia factory in Mineiros (GO), where Atvos's Morro Vermelho Unit (UMV) is located, responsible for ethanol production. The new plant will have an installed capacity of 20,000 tons of the product. It will be used to replace fossil-based fertilizers applied to agricultural areas at both UMV and the Alto Taquari Unit (UAT), located in the homonymous municipality in Mato Grosso. With this solution, Atvos estimates it will avoid the emission of approximately 11 thousand tons of CO2 per year, significantly reducing its carbon footprint. The execution of this LOI was witnessed by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, at the Japan-Brazil Economic Forum held in Tokyo on March 26, 2025. On 28th March, Mr. Caio Dafico, Investment and Business Development VP at Atvos, visited Tsubame BHB for a tour of the pilot plant, and to conduct discussions on future directions for the project. Tsubame BHB will further accelerate its efforts to secure this first order for an overseas unit, and to rapidly promote overseas deployment. Atvos CEO Bruno Serapião said, "As one of the largest biofuels producers in Brazil with the purpose to lead the energy transition to move the world and transform lives, Atvos seeks to contribute to the decarbonization of the globe's leading economies while also reducing the carbon footprint of its own operations. Thus, the partnership with Tsubame to produce green ammonia represents a significant step toward achieving this goal, as it will enable us to reduce the use of fossil-based nitrogen fertilizers and further strengthen our commitment to fostering the social and economic development of the countryside cities where we are located through job and income generation. Tsubame BHB CEO Koji Nakamura explained "Brazil has great potential to become a major producer of green hydrogen, by leveraging its abundant renewable energy resources, and it is also a major agricultural nation that consumes nitrogen-based fertilizers in high volumes. As such, I believe that it is one of the countries that can manufacture green ammonia as a fertilizer at the small distributed ammonia synthesis plants offered by Tsubame BHB. I consider it a great honor to be able to collaborate with a major Brazilian bioethanol manufacturing company like Atvos, and I hope that through this collaboration, we can contribute to the decarbonization of agriculture in Brazil. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2448/vitales-launches-bionematicide-gratto-nema-in-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2448/vitales-launches-bionematicide-gratto-nema-in-brazil.html Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:26:24 +0530 Gratto Nema, a solution that controls eggs, juveniles and adults of the main phytonematodes. Vitales, part of the UbyAgro Group, a company specializing in biological control solutions has launched Gratto product portfolio, which includes the highly efficient and sustainable Gratto Nema solution for integrated pest management. Gratto Nema, a solution that controls eggs, juveniles and adults of the main phytonematodes. Formulated with the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum, strain PL11, the product is recommended for soil application and seed treatment to control the nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne javanica. The prodcut is expected to have proven agronomic efficiency in lettuce, carrot, and soybean crops, and can be used in any crop where the biological target occurs. Vitales unveiled the product at the Brazilian Congress of Nematology (CBN) held in the city of Foz do Iguaçu (PR) in support of Brazilian Society of Nematology, the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America and the State University of Maringá (UEM). “Nematodes are difficult to control. They attack plant roots, causing the formation of lesions, galls and cysts that impair the absorption of water and nutrients by the roots. Recommended for different crops, the producer obtains a series of benefits, such as the reduction of the nematode population through parasitism of the female, eggs and nematodes in the mobile phase, without causing any imbalance in the soil microbiota or harm to the environment, thus improving their productivity” explains Fernando Sousa, Marketing and Biologicals Manager at Vitales.  ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2433/vitales-collaborates-with-ginkgo-to-launch-advanced-biocontrol-products-for-brazilian-agri-market.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2433/vitales-collaborates-with-ginkgo-to-launch-advanced-biocontrol-products-for-brazilian-agri-market.html Mon, 09 Sep 2024 10:58:13 +0530 Ginkgo has announced new partnership with Vitales, a subsidiary of Uby Agro, to accelerate the development and launch of two new Generation 1 biocontrol products. These innovative products aim to combat critical soybean diseases in Brazil, including Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and target spot, caused by the pathogens Fusarium virguliforme and Corynespora cassiicola, respectively. Leveraging Ginkgo’s extensive strain collection, the strains selected for Vitales previously underwent rigorous in vitro and in planta screenings so that Vitales can introduce these biocontrol solutions to the market more swiftly. This partnership showcases Ginkgo’s capability to provide pre-validated strain assets, allowing for a faster product development cycle. Additionally, Ginkgo’s expertise in formulation will enable the development of various prototype formulations, such as seed treatments and foliar applications, specifically tailored for the unique needs of Brazilian agriculture. The growing bioinputs market, which includes control products, inoculants, biostimulants, and solubilizers, is especially vital for Brazilian agriculture. According to Kynetec, a firm that tracks agricultural inputs, biocontrol products have enjoyed an average growth rate of 35% a year for the past five seasons and now constitute 4.2% of the entire crop protection market. This surge highlights the importance of developing sustainable agricultural solutions. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2318/yara-and-petrobras-sign-master-agreement.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2318/yara-and-petrobras-sign-master-agreement.html Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:27:00 +0530 Yara Brasil Fertilizantes S.A. (Yara) and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras have signed a non-binding Master Agreement, as next step forward in the negotiations to structure a potential business partnership. In the next phase Yara and Petrobras will jointly finalize the analysis on the potential synergies between their operations, to increase efficiencies in the local fertilizer and industrial products market, including possible decarbonization paths. Brazil is a significant market for both agricultural and industrial applications with focus on domestic production growth and future decarbonization. Yara is playing a leading role in tackling the food crisis and is committed to decarbonizing the food value chain, essential industrial and air-quality applications, and zero-emission shipping fuel and energy solutions. To be successful, collaboration across the entire value chain is essential. Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. Supporting our vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, Yara pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions. Yara’s ambition is focused on growing a nature positive food future that creates value for our customers, shareholders and society at large and delivers a more sustainable food value chain. Yara is developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the food value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production. Through focus on clean ammonia production, Yara aim to enable the hydrogen economy, driving a green transition of shipping, fertilizer production and other energy intensive industries. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2204/syensqo-partners-with-agtech-innovation-in-brazil-to-drive-open-innovation-in-agricultural-technologies.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/2204/syensqo-partners-with-agtech-innovation-in-brazil-to-drive-open-innovation-in-agricultural-technologies.html Tue, 11 Jun 2024 14:01:42 +0530 The collaboration is set to elevate Syensqo's agribusiness capabilities and forge stronger ties within the dynamic regional agribusiness ecosystem Syensqo teams up with Agtech Innovation located in the Piracicaba Technology Park, São Paulo, Brazil to boost Syensqo's agribusiness capabilities and strengthen connections within the South American agribusiness ecosystem. “Demonstrating Syensqo's keen interest in innovation within the South American agricultural landscape, our partnership with Agtech Innovation positions us to establish robust connections with both major corporations and burgeoning startups,” says Ana Paula Bodemeier, Research & Innovation Agro Lab manager for LATAM at Syensqo. Agtech Innovation, is recognized as a leading center for agricultural innovation. It is dedicated to fostering initiatives that bring together startups, producers, investors, academics, scientists, and various stakeholders to develop technological solutions that enhance sustainability, competitiveness, and social inclusivity across the entire agribusiness value chain. Supported by industry leaders, Agtech Innovation cultivates an ecosystem characterized by openness, connectivity, collaboration, and agility. Syensqo’s close ties to Agtech Innovation's extensive partner network provide invaluable opportunities to help accelerate the group’s innovation agenda for the agriculture market, including formulation solutions for biologicals. This partnership embodies the essence of open innovation and underscores our commitment to being a catalyst of responsible agriculture. Through the use of living microorganisms, natural substances, or semiochemicals, biopesticides prevent or reduce damage from pests, weeds, and pathogens, emerging as one of the most promising tools to empower a sustainable future of agriculture. As the industry leader in the development of agrochemicals for pesticide formulation, Syensqo aims to design innovative ingredients and formulation solutions for biopesticides, to address each specific application challenge of biopesticide formulations.  ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1689/brazil-approves-teikko-phc68949-to-control-nematodes-in-soybeans.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1689/brazil-approves-teikko-phc68949-to-control-nematodes-in-soybeans.html Thu, 04 Jan 2024 18:19:15 +0530 Plant Health Care® (AIM.PHC.L), a leading provider of peptides used by growers to improve crop production and quality within global agriculture markets, announced that its nematicide, TEIKKO, has received federal approval in Brazil in time for commercial launch for the 2024/25 soybean growing season.  Highlights TEIKKO is an entirely novel peptide product which offers farmers good control of nematode pests, without resorting to conventional agrochemicals; Brazilian farmers spent more than $200m on nematode control in the most recent season; and The Company is in discussion with potential distributors for launch of TEIKKO during 2024. TEIKKO is a novel product, from the Company's PREtec peptide platform, that amplifies a plant's natural defense pathways to provide protection against plant parasitic nematodes which damage plant roots and limit crop yield. TEIKKO is now approved as a seed treatment for the control of root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus brachyurus) in soybean. Research carried out during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 soybean crop seasons showed that TEIKKO gave similar or superior performance to standard agrochemical treatments. TEIKKO offers farmers the opportunity to avoid use of toxic agrochemicals, without sacrificing performance.  Compared with alternative biological products, it brings benefits such as three-year shelf-life and no special requirements for storing, allowing flexibility on distribution to the farmers, low rates for easy industrial seed treatment, no interference or incompatibility with other traditional seed treatments, such as fungicides and insecticides, and reliable performance under different environmental conditions, such as drought or humidity. For the 2023/24 season, the soybean harvested area in Brazil is forecast to be 45 million hectares. According to the latest research published by Kynetec, Brazilian growers spent $215 million on soybean nematode control for the 2022/23 season, which reflects an annualized growth rate of 55% over the last six years.  Additional crops and nematode species will be added to the TEIKKO product label in the future, further expanding its potential use. Plant Health Care is progressing discussions with several distribution partners who will launch TEIKKO in 2024, for use for the 2024/25 soybean growing season. TEIKKO is based on the Company's innovative PREtec technology platform. Derived from natural proteins, PREtec is an environmentally friendly technology which stimulates plant defense and pathogen resistance mechanisms within plants, resulting in improved crop growth and quality along with the ability to withstand a variety of abiotic stresses ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1661/syngenta-opens-its-technology-rd-hub-in-latin-america-to-develop-new-corn-hybrids.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1661/syngenta-opens-its-technology-rd-hub-in-latin-america-to-develop-new-corn-hybrids.html Tue, 26 Dec 2023 12:07:37 +0530 The facility includes 14 new greenhouses that simulate the same temperature, humidity, and light conditions Syngenta announced that its Aracati facility in Brazil has become the primary technological hub for research and development of new corn hybrids in all of Latin America.  This innovation powerhouse in the interior of Ceará is responsible for supplying corn hybrids to the North American market, and it will make new technologies available in the region in a shorter timeframe. Alongside a laboratory and two netted areas, the facility includes 14 new greenhouses that simulate the same temperature, humidity, and light conditions as the region where the new seeds are being developed. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1502/huida-tech-agricultural-drones-boost-agriculture-tech-innovation-expansion-in-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1502/huida-tech-agricultural-drones-boost-agriculture-tech-innovation-expansion-in-brazil.html Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:16:29 +0530 HUIDA TECH promotes digital management of agriculture ecosystem, process - agronomic standardization, officialization of agricultural work, operational automation and management elaboration From September 26 to 28, 2023, Super Importadora, the distribution company of Heilongjiang Huida Technology Co., Ltd. ("HUIDA TECH", the main Chinese manufacturer of agricultural drones, autopilot tractor systems and smart water-saving irrigation systems) in Brazil, participated in the 2023 Brazilian Innovation Week with HD540Pro agricultural drones which attracted attention for their high-quality and reliable performance. The HD540Pro agricultural drones have stable performance and are easy to operate, and can be used for propagation and spraying in various contexts, such as fields and orchards. Drones can effectively improve the quality of operations, save water and fertilizers, reduce labor costs, and achieve the goal of increasing production and income. With the exception of agricultural drones, the company has also developed other products, such as autopilot systems for agricultural machinery, intelligent irrigation systems to save water, operations monitoring systems, among others, covering the entire process of plowing, planting, management and harvest. The company changed the plant protection method of traditional agriculture and implemented digital management throughout the agricultural process - agronomic standardization, officialization of agricultural work, operational automation and management elaboration. "HD540Pro's agricultural drones bring great surprises and bring new impetus to the agricultural technology sector. We are confident that, with our joint efforts, we will promote innovation in agricultural ecology and the intelligent development of Brazilian agriculture." said Victor Mascarenhas , CEO of Super Importadora. HUIDA TECH continues to improve and iterate all types of intelligent agricultural machinery products and to empower the global agricultural market through its products and technologies. Aside from online remote video support, offline local services, and landing support, HUIDA strives to meet customer needs and protect the rights and interests of each user. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1270/korea-and-brazil-agreed-to-promote-the-bilateral-cooperation-for-sustainable-agriculture.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1270/korea-and-brazil-agreed-to-promote-the-bilateral-cooperation-for-sustainable-agriculture.html Mon, 07 Aug 2023 11:15:32 +0530 Negotiated cooperation in the food supply chain between the two countries and in smart agriculture Hwang keun of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea had a bilateral meeting with Minister Carlos Henrique Baqueta Fávaro of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil in Sejong discussed ways of cooperation in the food supply chain between the two countries and in smart agriculture.  Minister Chung highlighted its partnership with Brazil's stable grain export amid growing uncertainties over international grain supply due to climate change, COVID-19 and Russian aggression against Ukraine last year. Minister Chung asked for Brazil's cooperation so that agri-food exchange between the two countries can continue without export restrictions.  Brazil is the 2nd largest importer of Korea's beans and corns. In addition, Minister Chung explained the importance of transition into smart agriculture to promote sustainable agriculture in a situation where stable food production is under threat due to recent climate change and the aging rural population and asked for the exchange of information and cooperation regarding smart agriculture between the two countries.  Minister Fávaro agreed to the importance of cooperation of the international community for food security and bilateral cooperation between Korea and Brazil in terms of innovation of agricultural technologies and wished a close exchange and cooperation between the quarantine authorities of the two countries to enable safe and stable agri-food trade in response to animal diseases.  Minister Chung explored interest and cooperation of Brazil to further accelerate export procedures of Korean strawberries to Brazil as a long term interest since 2017. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1220/syngenta-launches-broad-spectrum-fungicides-targeting-soybean-spot-control.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1220/syngenta-launches-broad-spectrum-fungicides-targeting-soybean-spot-control.html Tue, 25 Jul 2023 11:05:10 +0530 MIRAVIS® Pro is an innovative solution with a broad spectrum of action for target spot control in soybeans. Syngenta Agricultural Protection presents MIRAVIS® Pro, a product developed from the ADEPIDYN® technology molecule, which enables a new generation of fungicides that provide greater control power, in addition to a broad spectrum of action.  During field tests, the novelty demonstrated great effectiveness for the first applications in target spot scenarios, an increasingly common disease in  soybean crops , caused by the fungus Corynespora cassiicola . Combining the excellent preventive effect of ADEPIDYN® with the curative effect of Protioconazole amplifies target spot control in high pressure environments. In addition, MIRAVIS® Pro also stands out in the complex of DFC's (end-of-cycle diseases), especially septoria and cercospora , considered as some of the main problems in crops in the Brazilian Cerrado. “ For a efficient management of diseases in the soybean crop Syngenta launches MIRAVIS® Pro,an innovative product that has high control power, long residual and broad spectrum of action, which can increase productivity by more than 4.4 bags per hectare”, explains Pedro Altomar, Product Marketing Manager at Syngenta Protection of Crops. The use of MIRAVIS® Pro is indicated in the first applications, providing an excellent control of the main diseases that affect the soybean crop in this period. In addition, the new technology brings convenience to the farmer, since its formulation has the Empowered Control Technology , responsible for increasing the effectiveness of the product, dispensing with the use of adjuvants or additional solutions. Currently, MIRAVIS® Pro is used to provide excellent control of damage caused by target spot in soybean crops in the Cerrado in Brazil. l ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1061/new-trial-from-brazil-shows-effects-of-stalosan-f-for-piglets.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1061/new-trial-from-brazil-shows-effects-of-stalosan-f-for-piglets.html Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:26:49 +0530 According to the trial, enteric diseases in the farrowing phase are relevant problems due to economic losses Vilofoss, a global leader in the premix and animal nutrition sector, shared a new trial on a sow farm in Brazil that showed good effects for Stalosan F for piglets in the farrowing phase. According to the trial, enteric diseases in the farrowing phase are relevant problems due to economic losses. However, piglet losses (pre-weaning mortality rate) are only part of the economic problem. Future consequences of the non-uniformity of weaned piglets and the gut health of these animals are ignored. Therefore, strategic procedures focused on reducing infective pressure can be important control tools. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the concept of an environmental dry-cleaning procedure based on a mineral technology product used in farrowing piglets, naturally challenged by enteric agents. The trial was performed on a sow farm with 2 300 females, located in the West of Santa Catarina in Brazil. The result of this trial showed that the use of the environmental dry-cleaning concept was able to reduce the incidence of litters with diarrhea, the prevalence of omphalitis and the fall behind the rate in piglets, contributing to greater weight at weaning and homogeneity of the litters. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1037/vietnam-promotes-agri-commodity-trade-with-brazil.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/1037/vietnam-promotes-agri-commodity-trade-with-brazil.html Thu, 08 Jun 2023 14:19:00 +0530 Vietnam is Brazil's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia; Brazil is Vietnam's largest trading partner in South America Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has emphasized the importance of cooperation with Brazil as the two countries have significant potential to complement each other and cooperate for mutual development. In Hanoi on June 6, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien met with Brazilian Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Paes Saboia's delegation and worked with Mr. Marco Farani, Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam. 2024 marks 35 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Brazil. Brazil is a member of the South American Common Market and is Vietnam's largest trading partner in South America. Vietnam is also Brazil's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Similar to Vietnam, Brazil's current policy focuses on foreign policy, poverty relief, and developing a green economy. In July 2018, the two sides signed a ministerial Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation. They are also discussing the possibility of a Memorandum of Understanding on Forestry Cooperation. In order to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and develop agricultural cooperation, Brazil's Agriculture and Livestock Minister expressed interest in creating favourable conditions bilateraly to promote trade in agriculture, forestry and fishery between the two countries. Marco Farani, Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam, stated that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation in the future with the major markets for agricultural, forestry and fishery products. With its advanced technologies, experienced experts, and large research institutes, Brazil is willing to share and cooperate with Vietnam in the science and technology field. Deputy Minister speculated on the possibility of a high-level bilateral exchange between the two countries to discuss specific cooperation. ]]> https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/965/bayer-unveils-its-first-physical-outlet-for-farmers-in-rio-verde-go.html https://agrospectrumasia.com/news/129/965/bayer-unveils-its-first-physical-outlet-for-farmers-in-rio-verde-go.html Mon, 22 May 2023 10:04:39 +0530 The new Agro Bayer Store extends solutions in the third largest agribusiness hub in Rio Verde-GO in the Brazilian state of Goiás Bayer has unveiled its first-ever physical store pilot project in Rio Verde (GO), Brazil. The 700 m² space "Agro Bayer Store" is Bayer's first and only physical store. The Store is part of the distribution strategy of the company's agricultural division. It will act as an additional channel to ensure farmers in the region have access to seed and biotechnology solutions, crop protection, and digital tools. "Bayer has been present in Brazil for 126 years and we reinforced our strategy of focusing on the farmer, constantly seeking proximity to him to ensure that all Brazilian farmers have access to our solutions, providing more productivity and profitability to rural producers", explains the marketing director for Bayer in Brazil, Tiago Santos. The store will act as a catalyst with current partners in the region, strengthening demand generation, presence in the field, generating closer proximity and connection with the farmer, according to the director. According to the marketing director, the store itself will function as a large laboratory, making it possible to establish even closer ties with farmers. "We will learn more about the reality of our retail partners, thus modeling new solutions for the farmer and network of strategic partners, including distributors and cooperatives", emphasized Santos. "We are experiencing a major transformation in the market. Farmers are increasingly demanding and in recent years we have experienced an accelerated transformation in market access with the entry of new players seeking consolidation", says Santos. "In some regions this process was more accelerated, causing ruptures in the reciprocity of consolidated partnerships between distributors and Bayer". ]]>