Crop Protection and Nutrition - Weekly Update Brazil & Latin America (08/15/24 – 08/21/24)

After four years, Petrobras reopened the fertilizer factory in the State of Paraná, estimated to cost US$ 160.61 million. The State-owned company officially restarted operations at Araucária Nitrogenados, suspended in 2020, as part of its strategy to return to the fertilizer market. Production effectively begins in 2025. The reopening of the factory should create 2,000 jobs. (Petrobras)

With the purpose of validating its portfolio in Brazil, SML Limited maintains partnerships with research institutions to conduct fixed and long-term research programs. The company works with IAC, Esalq, Embrapa Cerrados, Unesp and the Cerrado Agricultural Research Institute. “In recent years we have tested crops such as: grapes, mangos, coffee, potatoes, soybeans, corn, garlic, pineapple, onions, melons, beans, wheat and sugarcane. This year alone, 74 field trials have already been conducted, in collaboration with partner farmers”, said SML manager, Danilo Nunes. (SML Limited)

During a Senate’s gathering to honor the 40^th anniversary of the Peasant Women’s Movement, on August 12^th, the Minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, defended that, in the context of tax reform regulation, pesticides that pose a high risk to health and ultra-processed food products should receive a different, selective taxation, in order to promote nutritional health. (MDA)

According to SindiTabaco, tobacco farming requires the least pesticides when compared to other crops, with 1.01 kg of active ingredient per hectare. This is possible because tobacco can be grown in adverse conditions and is considered resistant, which means that the use of pesticides only occurs when there is a real need. “When it comes to pesticides, the sector operates on three main fronts: farmers’ health and safety, making them aware of the need to protect themselves; environmental protection, with guidance on the correct storage, handling and disposal of these products; and, finally, innovation, with investment in research to continue reducing the need for the use of pesticides”, said Iro Schünke, president of SindiTabaco. (SindiTabaco)

The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed the detection of the fungus Ceratobasidium theobromae (Rhizoctonia theobromae) in cassava in the northern region of the State of Amapá. This is the first time the fungus has been detected in Brazil. The disease, also known as “cassava witch’s broom”, was considered an absent quarantine pest. (MAPA)

1H/2024 was marked by the expansion of 9.3% in areas treated with pesticides, exceeding 1 billion hectares. From January to June, the amount of pesticides used to control pests, diseases and weeds grew 8.3%, between herbicides (40%), insecticides (28%), fungicides (24%), seed treatments (1 %), and others (9%). The methodology used to reach the conclusions projects market data in Product per Treated Area (PAT), highlighting the volume effectively used by farmers and the number of pesticide applications in the cultivated area. (Sindiveg; Kynetec Brasil)

With the start of the rainy season, which runs from September to mid-April in some regions, sugarcane farmers must prepare to face the sugarcane root leafhopper (Mahanarva spp). Since the beginning of the 2000s, this pest has been a growing problem, potentially reducing sugar quality (ATR) by up to 30% and causing yield losses of up to 80% per hectare. “This leafhopper is a pest of great importance, which becomes more aggressive during the rainy season. Some sugarcane varieties are extremely susceptible, resulting in significant drops in yields and in sugar quality”, said Leila Luci Dinardo-Miranda, researcher at the Sugarcane Center of the Agronomic Institute. (IAC)

Ibama published on August 14^th the Ordinance No. 108 on “Strategic Planning for the four-year period 2024-2027”, which establishes the Institute’s objectives and goals. One of Ibama’s plans involves reviewing the current standard for the environmental evaluation of pesticides, which aims to “improve regulatory instruments for the control of pesticide products with a view to protecting biodiversity”. (Ibama)

AgroGalaxy announced a 30% growth in ordering between June and July of 2024. Gross margin increased 19.5% in the 2Q/2024. However, adjusted gross profit fell when compared to the same period of the previous year. For Axel Labourt, the company’s CEO, the results for the 2Q/2024 were within expectations in a market still considered challenging. (AgroGalaxy)

Parties allied with the government and trade unions appealed to the Federal Supreme Court calling for a rejection of the new Pesticides Law, No. 14785/2023, in force since December of last year. The action was filed on August 14^th. The political parties PT, PSOL and Rede, in addition to the Single Workers Central Union and the National Confederation of Rural Workers filed a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality against the new Law. (Observatório do Clima)

Guilherme Trotta is the new CMO of Sempre Agtech, a Brazilian company that works in plant genetic improvement, transgenics, genome editing and “biodirected” pesticides, based on RNAi. (Sempre Agtech)

According to data from the National Association for Fertilizer Diffusion, fertilizer deliveries to the market from January to May 2024 reached 14.24 million tonnes. This represents a drop of 1.8% when compared to deliveries recorded in the same period of 2023. (ANDA)

Agrion Fertilizantes Especiais and the management company Pegasus Capital Partners, from the USA, have reached an investment agreement that could exceed US$ 46.23 million. Resources will be used to build ten new special fertilizer factories. Ernani Judice, CEO and founder of Agrion, will remain as the majority shareholder and controller, still responsible for managing the company. “This relevant investment from a North American fund will bring us a global ESG endorsement from the UN, in addition to allowing us to expand, as we have more than ten memorandums signed for new factories. It will also allow the development of new product lines”. (Agrion Fertilizantes Especiais; Pegasus Capital Partners)

Anvisa published on August 14^th the Public Consultation No. 1272 about monographs of pesticide active ingredients. “Article No. 1 – From the date of publication of this Public Consultation, a period of 60 (sixty) days remains open for criticisms and suggestions to be presented regarding the proposed Normative Instruction that updates the Monographs of Pesticide Active Ingredients”. (Anvisa)

Corteva introduced to the market in Brazil and Paraguay a new formulation with three active ingredients: oxathiapiprolin, picoxystrobin and ipconazole. The product is focused on seed treatment. (Corteva Agriscience)

In the Cerrado Biome region, during the 2023/24 season, the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) had very high population rates. “Whiteflies in years with milder climates have a development cycle of around 25 days. Under the conditions experienced in the current harvest, combined mainly with the increase in temperature, there was an acceleration in its development cycle to something around 18 days. Therefore, there was a greater number of generations throughout the harvest”, according to Jacob Crosariol Netto, researcher at the Instituto Mato-grossense do Algodão. (IMA)

Mosaic estimates savings of US$ 2.03 million with an automation process that reuses the steam released by its operations. According to Emílio Rosa, the company’s Process Engineering Manager, the idea was born from a process used by the sugar and alcohol industry. In addition to financial gains, the measure makes the operation more sustainable and aligned with ESG practices. (The Mosaic Company)

Bayer’s ag division, in partnership with Farmtech, launched the CropCredit Program. The initiative aims to boost input sales in a safe, predictable and 100% digital way. Starting this month, Bayer’s dealers and direct purchase customers will be able to access a financing program to purchase the company’s solutions. Analysis of customers’ credit information will allow for a pre-approval of limits, without the need for real guarantees. Marcos Arruda, director of finance for Bayer’s agricultural division in Brazil, highlights that the partnership with Farmtech aims to expand farmers’ and distributors’ access to credit lines, helping with the management and forecasting of purchases. To date, more than 2 thousand customers have had their credit pre-approved, totaling more than US$ 460 million in available credit. (Bayer)

Fertilizer imports through the State of Paraná’s ports grew 47% in July, reaching 918,321 tonnes, compared to 623,831 tonnes in July of 2023. “The attractive price of the commodity and the heated agricultural market allowed these high numbers, consolidating the State of Paraná as the main port of entry of fertilizers into Brazil”, explained the CEO of Portos do Paraná (State of Paraná’s ports), Luiz Fernando Garcia. (Ports of Paraná)

After coordination between the National Union of Federal Agricultural Inspectors and the productive sector and the federal legislature, Bill No. 3179/2024 was filed, which aims to reactivate the Federal Agricultural Defense Fund. The proposal also includes other measures to improve the working conditions of agricultural inspectors. “The measure is seen as a way to alleviate the burden on federal agricultural inspectors”, said Janus Macedo, president of the Union. (Anffa Sindical)

With the aim of helping farmers in the State of Rio Grande do SUl to optimize agricultural practices and increase crop yields, Cooperativa Central Gaúcha Ltda. and Rede Técnica Cooperativa (CCGL/RTC) will launch, during Expointer 2024, the Guide for Liming and Fertilization Recommendations. The guide brings together essential information for managing soil fertility in soybean, corn, wheat and corn for silage. “In this new form of approach, the guide differs from the traditional approach, as it defines the potential technical return that building soil fertility can have”, said the researcher Jackson E. Fiorin, from CCGL/RTC. (CCGL/RTC)

Ministry of Agriculture published Act No. 36, from August 12^th of 2024, containing the pesticide registration requests of 78 equivalent technical products. (MAPA)

Pesticide sales for soybean seed treatment increased 18% in the 2023/24 season when compared to the 2021/22 season, reaching US$ 660 million. Currently 99% of the area cultivated with soybeans – a total of 44 million hectares in the last harvest – were sown with protected seeds. “The use of fungicides, insecticides and nematicides in seed treatment constitutes a preventive measure: it aims to guarantee productive potential and protect the crop from initial attacks by pests and diseases,” said Lucas Alves, research specialist at Kynetec. (Kynetec Brasil)

The second week of monitoring the corn leafhopper (Dalbulus maidis) during the 2024/25 harvest in the State of Santa Catarina found an average of four insects per trap. Maria Cristina Canale, researcher at the Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Company, said that this is a low average, considering that the traps are exposed for seven days in the places where the corn crop will be sown in the next agricultural cycle, which begins in September. (Epagri)