Costa Rica has a high rate of pesticide use
Brazil
Ministry of Agriculture published, on August 07th, 178 pesticide registration requests: herbicides, 37 fungicides, 67 insecticides, etc. (MAPA)
Atlas Agro received a US$ 325 million investment from the global asset manager Macquarie Asset Management to expand the production capacity of nitrogen fertilizers, made from green hydrogen. (Atlas Agro; MAM)
Researchers from the University of São Paulo developed a “liquid bioactive biofertilizer”, made from agricultural residues. According to Giovanna Ribeiro, a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos, “the patent aims at the application of a biofertilizer that does not use chemical products that are harmful to the soil and animals present in the application environment”. Ribeiro points out that the product’s main difference is that it is made from waste, that would otherwise be discarded, such as “poultry litter”, used in the poultry shed, and cattle manure. (IQSC – USP)
Pesticide market was approximately US$ 20 billion in Brazil in the 2022/23 season, an increase of 43%, when compared to the 2021/22 season. According to Kynetec Consulting, the increase in pesticide sales followed the increase of the planted area in Brazil, that reached 90 million hectares. (Kynetec Consulting)
Roberto Hun, who recently left the job as CEO of Corteva in Brazil and Paraguay to lead the integration with Stoller Agro, will now also lead the integration of Corteva with Symborg. Both companies have a strong presence in the biological products market, and they were acquired by Corteva. (Corteva Agriscience)
Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index reached one of the best levels of the past two years. In July, the index reached 0.87, showing a significant improvement when compared to July of 2022. Even with fluctuations in commodity and fertilizer prices, the scenario remains favorable to farmers, allowing for a good exchange ratio. (The Mosaic Company)
According to Fabricio Andrian David, commercial manager at the Cooperative of Coffee Growers, Farmers and Ranchers – Cocapec, coffee farmers who delayed their purchases of fertilizers are already paying at least 30% more in July than if they had purchased inputs at the beginning of 2023. “At the beginning of the year, despite the higher prices, coffee prices were sustaining this positive difference, when we reached the best historical average of the exchange ratio. Coffee [price] has been falling a lot since March and this curve has started to change. Even with the decrease we had in fertilizers, the farmer stopped looking at this exchange ratio and, to pay now, the values are 20% to 30% more expensive”, said David. (Cocapec)
Goplan, a franchisor of dealers of agricultural inputs, ended 2022 with revenues of US$ 29.60 million, while the total revenue of its franchisees reached US$ 610 million. (Goplan)
According to the Soybean Farmers Association of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, the late purchase of fertilizers should reflect on the costs for planting soybeans. “The cost of these inputs should indeed impact production. However, the impact will be smaller than when compared to the 27% increase observed in the 2022/23 season, when prices were high because of the fear of not being able to import, caused by the Russia-Ukraine war”, according to the economic coordinator of Aprosoja-MS, Renata Farias. (Aprosoja-MS)
Fertilizantes Heringer announced a loss of US$ 27.44 million in the 2Q of 2023. Net revenue reached US$ 179.92 million in the period, an 18% decrease when compared to 2022. “The constant reduction in prices in recent months has resulted in a lower margin on the sale of products, that in some cases were sold below the cost of the purchase of inventory, since in general the purchase takes place months before the sale”, according to a note from the company. (Fertilizantes Heringer)
Inflora Bioscience is the new biological pesticides company of the Santa Clara Group. Inflora has more than 10 registered microorganisms, in addition to seven registrations of ready-to-use products, including bionematicides, bioinsecticides and biofungicides. (Santa Clara Group)
Coffee farmers purchased US$ 550 million in pesticides in the 2022/23 season. Coffee is ranked 5th in pesticide purchases in Brazil. Foliar fungicides led sales, representing 28% of the total, and reached US$ 154.13 million. (Kynetec Consulting)
Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira, said that pesticide registration approvals that happened during the last government should be revised. “We need to have a debate about pesticides in Brazil, what is more harmful, less harmful, what can and cannot yet be replaced. This status quo does not satisfy Brazilian society. In the previous period, there was an exaggerated approval of pesticides, that we need to review”, said Teixeira, during the National Seminar about Bioinputs and Family Farming. (MDA)
Federal Highway Police seized an illegal cargo of 5 tonnes of paraquat on BR 386, in Seberi, State of Rio Grande do Sul. The cargo contained 250 drums of 20 L of the herbicide. (PRF)
Researcher Ana Paula de Souza, from Unicamp, analyzed the presence of pesticides in honey and beeswax. Those products made from bees, according to Souza, are bioindicators of contamination, since directly analyzing bees is difficult because of their size. Of the 40 honey samples analyzed, six had glyphosate herbicide residues above the legal limit allowed. In the waxes, one or more pesticides were detected in 90% of the samples. (Unicamp)
Latin America
Secretariat of Agriculture of Córdoba, Argentina, carried out actions in three municipalities to verify compliance with Law No. 9164, that regulates the use of pesticides. The procedures took place due to complaints received in rural areas close to the cities of Oncativo, Tancacha and Ordoñez. 11 farmers were asked to present their Digital Phytosanitary Prescription, showing the latest product applications that were carried out on their farms. In addition, a self-propelled sprayer and three pesticide storages that did not have authorization were interdicted. (Secretariat of Agriculture of Córdoba)
Government of Bolivia estimates revenues of US$ 10 billion through the production of lithium, iron, steel and fertilizers in the medium term. Deputy Minister of Government Management and Coordination, Gustavo Torrico, said that these will be the “new pillars of the national economy in the coming years”, and that gas will no longer be “what leads income” in the country. According to Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos, the Ammonia and Urea Plant located in Cochabamba had revenues of US$ 228.7 million in 2022, when 364 thousand tonnes of fertilizers were produced. (Ministry of Government Management and Coordination; YPFB)
Costa Rica has a high rate of pesticide use, of approximately 34.45 kg of active ingredients/hectare/year, on average, according to the United Nations Development Program – UNDP. According to UNDP, the high use of these products is related to the lack of government research and monitoring of farmers. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that by February of 2025, 50% to 60% of pesticides sold will no longer be available. Through Executive Decree No. 43838, signed in December of 2022, that came into force in February, Costa Rica seeks to reduce the registration time for new imported components, lower the price of pesticides and reduce toxicity and pollution in the environment. The country had not registered new molecules for 21 years, but with the new decree, registrations of Technical Grade Active Ingredients issued by other OECD countries are now accepted. (Ministry of Agriculture; UNDP)
READ MORE: