Brazil\u00a0and\u00a0Bolivia\u00a0signed an agreement for fertilizer production<\/strong><\/p>\n In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approve<\/strong>s\u00a0five toxicological evaluations<\/strong>: glufosinate – ammonium salt (Syncrom); etiprole 200 g\/L SL (Rainbow); glufosinate – ammonium salt (Proregistros); amicarbazone\u00a0700 g\/kg WG (Rainbow); and cyproconazole 100 g\/L SL (Cropchem). (Anvisa)<\/p>\n Ministry of Agriculture approved\u00a08 equivalent technical product pesticide registrations<\/strong>. (MAPA)<\/p>\n Petrobras and the Ministry of Mines and Energy have five days to provide information about irregularities highlighted in a contract signed with Unigel for the supply of fertilizers. Deadline was given by Minister Benjamin Zymler, of the Federal Court of Auditors. According to the TCU, there are\u00a0signs of flaws in the agreement between the companies, which could mean losses of up to US$ 97.90 million.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThere are several problems encountered in qualifying risks and quantifying the expected economic value of the alternatives that were evaluated\u201d. (TCU)<\/p>\n Renato Mendes<\/strong>\u00a0is the new vice president of strategic accounts at Verde Agritech. Mendes will lead a team focused on 431 clients, who together cultivate more than nine million hectares. (Green Agritech)<\/p>\n According to Jeferson Souza, market analyst at Agrinvest Commodities, fertilizer purchases for 2024\/25 are “moving\u00a0more slowly” in 2024, when compared to the same period of last year (for the 2023\/24 season). “However, over the last 15 days, the number of conversations I’ve been having with farmers about KCl [potassium chloride] has increased. Many want more information about potassium trends. And, most importantly: are we in a good time for purchasing?” said Souza.\u00a0“CFR [Cost and Freight] price of KCl has fallen by more than 43% in the last 12 months.<\/strong>\u00a0We are back to what we had in February of 2021. However, the farmers’ biggest complaint at the moment is not even the price of fertilizers, but the price of soybeans. This has been an obstacle to negotiations”. (Agrinvest Commodities)<\/p>\n Deliveries of fertilizer\u00a0in\u00a0Brazil increased by 11.9%<\/strong>\u00a0from January to November of 2023, reaching 42.21 million tonnes. Mato Grosso do Sul was the State that had the\u00a0biggest\u00a0volume in the period (22.2%), reaching 9.38 million tonnes, followed by Rio Grande do Sul (4.87 million), Paran\u00e1 (4.56 million), Goi\u00e1s (4.52 million), Minas Gerais ( 4.15 million) and S\u00e3o Paulo (4.07 million). (National Association for Fertilizer Diffusion)<\/p>\n Tarc\u00edsio Mozini\u00a0<\/strong>is the new commercial director at Ourofino Agroci\u00eancia. (Ourofino Agroci\u00eancia)<\/p>\n \u201cBrazil is at the forefront in the adoption of bioinputs. It is the country that has been leading the introduction of the use of bioinputs in farming, especially in large-scale agriculture.\u00a0We have approximately 10% of the Brazilian area using bioinputs for pest control.<\/strong>\u00a0This would be around 10 million hectares. Regarding fertilizers, we have almost 40 million hectares being treated with inoculants\u201d, said the executive director of the Brazilian Bioinputs Association, Reginaldo Minar\u00e9. (CB.Agro; ABBINS)<\/p>\n According to a survey performed by FAO,\u00a0Brazil uses more pesticides than China and the USA combined.<\/strong>\u00a0In 2021, 719.5 thousand tonnes of pesticides were applied in Brazil, compared to 244 thousand tonnes in China and 457 thousand tonnes in the USA. (FAO)<\/p>\n National Congress should analyze President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva’s\u00a0vetoes to the law that modifies the rules for registration and sales of pesticides<\/strong>\u00a0(Law\u00a0 No. 14785\/2023), approved in November\/2023 and sanctioned on December 28th<\/sup>\u00a0of 2023. Five of the vetoes refer to the determination that only the Ministry of Agriculture would be responsible for analyzing the risks of already approved pesticides and changes in production processes, excluding Ibama and Anvisa from the analysis. (R\u00e1dio Senado)<\/p>\n Drop in soybean prices reduced farmers’\u00a0fertilizer purchasing\u00a0power.\u00a0<\/strong>In the spot market, the parity is above the historical average for Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP). Exchange rate of soybeans for potassium chloride (KCl) has also worsened, but is still below the average of recent years. (Ita\u00fa BBA)<\/p>\n Annual research performed by LinkedIn concluded that\u00a0drone pilot is “one of the professions that\u00a0will be in high demand\u00a0in 2024”<\/strong>. To work with pesticide spraying, the pilot must undergo a Remote Aeroagricultural Application Course. According to LinkedIn, the average salary for an agricultural drone pilot ranges from US$ 400 to US$ 2,000 per month. “The jobs that pay the most are ‘premium’ jobs, which require more training from pilots,” said Josu\u00e9 Vieira, regional development agent at the National Union of Agricultural Aviation Companies. (Sindag; LinkedIn)<\/p>\n Anvisa\u00a0approves\u00a0toxicological evaluation of\u00a0bixlozone 450 + sulfentrazone 150 g\/L SC<\/strong>, with active ingredient\u00a0not yet registered in Brazil, from FMC. (Anvisa)<\/p>\n Bruno Giudicissi<\/strong>\u00a0is the new commercial director – East at FMC. (FMC Corporation)<\/p>\n Soybean cultivated area increase and climatic conditions during 2023\/24 have favored the\u00a0occurrence\u00a0of pests, promoting a 3.7% increase in the area treated with pesticides. Regarding the volume of pesticides, a total of 811 thousand tonnes was recorded during the 2H of 2023. Of this, 49% are herbicides, 24% fungicides, 18% insecticides, 1% are seed treatment products, and 8% are classified as “other”. Amount used corresponds to 1.25 billion hectares treated. \u201cClimate problems create uncertainty and increase the incidence of diseases, which require the use of pesticides<\/strong>\u00a0so that farmers can guarantee good yields\u201d, said the president of Sindiveg, Julio Borges. (Sindiveg)<\/p>\n Suzano, Portocel and Aduf\u00e9rtil closed a partnership to develop a\u00a0“new fertilizer route”<\/strong>\u00a0through Portocel’s port terminal, which is expected to move between 120 thousand and 180 thousand tonnes of imported fertilizers per year. Aduf\u00e9rtil intends to invest US$ 13.01 million in the installation of a fertilizer mixer facility in an area close to Portocel and to the Suzano factory, both located in Aracruz, State of Esp\u00edrito Santo. Operations are expected to begin in 2026. This should allow the\u00a0fertilizers to serve farmers in the States of\u00a0Esp\u00edrito Santo, Minas Gerais and Bahia. According to\u00a0Carlos Nassur,\u00a0executive manager of Forestry Operations at Suzano, the investments should\u00a0reinforce the competitiveness of their operation. \u201cMuch of the fertilizer we use in our forestry farms will arrive via Portocel, which contributes to strengthening our port\u201d, said Nassur. (Suzano; Portocel; Aduf\u00e9rtil)<\/p>\n Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of Minas Gerais, National Rural Learning Service of Minas Gerais (Senar – MG), and the Union of Farmers from C\u00e1ssia are promoting a\u00a0training course about the application of pesticides<\/strong>\u00a0using tractors in the city of C\u00e1ssia, State of Minas Gerais. According to\u00a0Caio Sandoval, an instructor from\u00a0Senar – MG, the course is provided for by law, in accordance with the Regulatory Norm No. 31, which states that every person who handles pesticides must\u00a0participate in pesticide application training courses. (Senar – MG; Sistema Faemg; Union of Farmers from C\u00e1ssia)<\/p>\n According to Marcia Jos\u00e9, director of Product Safety at Bayer for Latin America, the company’s new generation of GMO soybeans will be resistant against five herbicides, in addition to caterpillars.\u00a0Fourth generation of GMO soybeans should be resistant, in addition to dicamba and glyphosate, to 2,4-D, mesotrione and glufosinate.<\/strong>\u00a0Launch is scheduled for 2029\/30. (Bayer)<\/p>\n Ricardo Landgraf<\/strong>\u00a0is the new general director of Synap, Syngenta’s agricultural inputs retail platform. Job was held by\u00a0Andre Savino<\/strong>, who became president of the company’s crop protection area in Brazil. (Syngenta)<\/p>\n The use of bioinputs in soybean farming generates significant savings, worth billions of dollars. Studies highlight that\u00a0nitrogen-fixing microorganisms replace synthetic fertilizers<\/strong>, providing more than 300 kg of nitrogen\/ha in soybean crops, with costs up to 95% lower. (Crop Care Holding)<\/p>\n Agricultural Defense Agency of the State of Goi\u00e1s – Agrodefesa, together with the Road Inspection Battalion,\u00a0seized 1,000 L of counterfeit pesticides with Bayer’s brand name (Fox Xpro)<\/strong>\u00a0in Catal\u00e3o, State of Goi\u00e1s, on February\u00a001st<\/sup>. Products were sent to the Civil Police. Bayer will provide support in the analysis, to conclude the investigation, and should assist in the disposal of the products. \u201cThese actions are important to ensure the quality of the product that reaches the market. These are products that, if used irregularly, can cause damages to human health and economic losses\u201d, said L\u00facio Costa, regional coordinator at Agrodefesa. (Agrodefesa)<\/p>\n Diego Palota<\/strong>\u00a0is the new commercial head for the Brazilian Cerrado Biome at Syngenta. (Syngenta)<\/p>\n Dealers of agricultural inputs, agro-industries, agricultural wholesalers, agricultural support services, industries and resales of agricultural machinery, etc., had a\u00a0record number of requests for judicial recovery<\/strong>\u00a0[a court-supervised process that allows insolvent companies to suspend debts and negotiate new terms for them]\u00a0in the State of Goi\u00e1s. In 2023, the State came in second place in the ranking of requests for judicial recovery, behind only the State of Mato Grosso. (Serasa Experian)<\/p>\n In 2023,\u00a0Ibama approved 28 formulated pesticide\u00a0evaluations\u00a0through legal action<\/strong>, compared to 48 in 2022. Most of the products approved through legal action in 2023 were from Rainbow (4), Tecnomyl (4), and CHDS (3), with the majority of products consisting of 2,4-D (5)\u00a0and\u00a0glyphosate (5). In 2023 there was a jump in the approval of formulated products by Ibama, reaching a total of 342 approved products, compared to 170 in 2022, which represents twice the number of approvals in the annual comparison. Most approved products were glyphosate (26) and flumioxazin\u00a0(20). (Ibama)<\/p>\n Alexandre de Moraes,\u00a0Minister at\u00a0the Supreme Federal Court, asked for a review of the judgment requesting\u00a0declaration of unconstitutionality for measures that grant tax exemption for pesticides.<\/strong>\u00a0So far, there are three votes to maintain tax benefits and two to reconsider them. This is the fourth time that the trial has been interrupted by a request for review, which gives more time for analysis, since it began in 2020. (STF)<\/p>\n Bayer’s Herbicides Manager for Latin America, Matheus Palhano, warned that\u00a0resistance of weeds against herbicides should increase in the coming years.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cIn the more than 44 million hectares with soybeans in Brazil, approximately 60% of this area has a weed resistant to at least one active ingredient. By 2030, there is a possibility that this percentage will exceed 65% of the area with soybean, with the tendency for there to be more than one weed resistant to multiple types of active ingredient,” said Palhano. “The first step is to abandon the individual weed control approach for each crop and adopt a comprehensive management system for the entire season, including soybeans, corn, cotton and other crops in the rotation”. (Bayer)<\/p>\n Plaucius Figueiredo Seixas<\/strong>\u00a0is the new managing partner at Agriconnecion Essentials Southeast. (Agriconnection)<\/p>\n Agrivalle,\u00a0a Brazilian bioinputs company, announced a partnership<\/strong>\u00a0with Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotech company from the USA. Companies aim to collaborate on the development of cutting-edge technologies to advance biological products, including fertilizers and biological control agents. (Agrivalle; Ginkgo Bioworks)<\/p>\n Welles Pascoal\u00a0to\u00a0leave\u00a0his position as CEO of AgroGalaxy after March 01st<\/sup>, being replaced by\u00a0Axel Labourt<\/strong>, the company’s current COO.\u00a0AgroGalaxy is going through a restructuring process, in which approximately 19 stores and 80 corporate positions will be closed<\/strong>, according to Eron Martins, CFO and director of investor relations. “Today, for example, if I have five stores in a certain region, which are within a short distance, I can have four stores or even three, without failing to serve the farmers well”, said Martins. In total, the company will still have 150 stores in the country. (AgroGalaxy)<\/p>\n President of the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation,\u00a0senator K\u00e1tia Abreu,\u00a0<\/strong>defends greater\u00a0agility in approving registration of new pesticides<\/strong>, with the aim of expanding the supply of these inputs on the market and reducing food prices for consumers. \u201cIn the USA, the registration period for a pesticide reaches a maximum of two years. We cannot accept this slowness here in Brazil\u201d, said the senator. (CNA)<\/p>\n
\nBrazil<\/h3>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nLatin America<\/h3>\n