Crop Protection and Nutrition - Weekly Update Brazil & Latin America (12/12/24 – 12/18/24)

In compliance with a court decision, Anvisa approves the toxicological evaluation of 9 products, which are 2 equivalent technical products and 7 formulated products based on equivalent technical products. (Anvisa)

Shortage of protective fungicides, such as mancozeb and chlorothalonil, is a challenge to crops during the current season. Amid the increase of foliar diseases in soybean, cotton and corn, bioinputs are becoming a sustainable alternative. According to Kynetec, more than 30% of agricultural areas have already adopted bioinputs in 2023. “With low doses, around 0.2 – 0.5 L/ha, and being easy to apply, biologicals can even replace some traditional chemical products such as mancozeb and chlorothalonil, increasing control efficiency and promoting a more sustainable agriculture”, said Vinícius Marangoni, product manager at Nitro (Kynetec Brasil; Nitro Agro)

EcoPhage, focused on the development and sales of bactericides with less environmental impact, has signed a distribution agreement with the company Maian Ltda. to access the Brazilian market. The product will be sold in Brazil to control bacterial diseases in tomatoes and peppers, with the aim of reducing the use of copper and other pesticides. (EcoPhage)

Agricultural Defense Agency of the State of Goiás – Agrodefesa began its annual survey of the quarantine pests Citrus Canker and HLB (greening), on commercial citrus farms and in seedling nurseries in Goiás. The survey began in October and will continue until December 22^nd, encompassing 64 farms, in 51 municipalities, and in 10 citrus seedling nurseries, in the city of Goiânia and nearby areas. “Our agricultural inspectors… are traveling through the regions of the State, where citrus farming predominates, to carry out this annual survey. Based on the data and official reports obtained, a technical report will be forwarded to the Ministry of Agriculture, to obtain an update on the phytosanitary status of pests in Goiás, thus ensuring the quality of seedlings and fruits”, said Agrodefesa’s plant health manager, Daniela Rézio. (Agrodefesa)

Ordinance SDA/MAPA No. 1212 was published, establishing a “Working Group with the purpose of discussing the development and operation of production control and safe tracking solutions for pesticides”. The Group’s responsibilities will be to: “I – analyze proposals for the technological development of traceability and certification tools for pesticides; II – analyze current normative acts; and III – propose the amendment or edition of a normative act that contemplates solutions for production control and safe tracking for pesticides”. (MAPA)

Anvisa Resolution No. 950, published on 12/17/2024, establishes “complementary requirements for optimizing analysis of petitions for the evaluation and toxicological classification of formulated products [pesticide] obtained from equivalent technical products and provides other measures”. (Anvisa)

Fundecitrus, Fapesp and Esalq join efforts to control the most important citrus diseases, such as  Citrus Variegated Chlorosis, sudden citrus death and greening, which reached 44% of São Paulo’s orchards in 2024. The institutions created the Center for Applied Research in Citriculture Innovation and Sustainability, launched on December 12^th. The Center will receive a total investment of US$ 33.27 million over the next five years. The objective is to develop research, disseminate knowledge and transfer technologies to the sector. (Fundecitrus)

Government of the State of Tocantins, through the Agricultural Defense Agency, celebrates the record in the collection of empty pesticide packages by the Itinerant Reception Project in 2024. In total, 49.9 tonnes of empty packages were collected, an increase of 75.22% when compared to 2023. 1,330 small and medium-sized farmers were served. (Adapec)

ICL is strengthening its Marketing and Innovation departments and its strategy for developing customer-oriented solutions. The directors of Innovation, Michel Castellani, and Marketing, Rafael Butke, will now report directly to the company’s CEO in Brazil, Alfredo Kober. “The arrival of directors to the company’s board reflects our ongoing commitment to evolving and adapting to the needs of the agricultural market, always keeping the customer at the center of our decisions”, said Kober. (ICL)

Embrapa has launched the publication “Potassium in soybean production systems”, available at: https://lnkd.in/dHhBf9_n. “The publication brings together technical contributions and seeks to promote a better understanding of the efficient management of K in production systems involving soybeans and emphasize its relevance as a crucial nutrient for the sustainability of agriculture”. (Embrapa Soybean)

On December 11^th, an Ordinary Meeting of the Agricultural Inputs Thematic Chamber was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, in the capital city of Brasília. The last meeting of the year included topics such as: Report on the advances of the Working Group to evaluate the National Pesticide Reduction Program’s National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production and the National Program for Reducing the Use of Pesticides; Update and next steps on the approval of the Bioinputs Bill in the National Congress, etc. (Abisolo)

Elmano de Freitas, Governor of Ceará and co-author of the law that banned pesticide spraying by plane in the State, now defends the spraying done by drones. Freitas stated that legislation allowing for drone spraying should be approved by the end of 2024. “I cannot conceive that the legislation allows workers to use [the equipment] on their back and spray herbicides, but it does not allow the workers to do the same using drones”, said Freitas. (Government of Ceará)

Delivery of fertilizers from January to September fell 1.8%, to 32.88 million tonnes, compared to 33.50 million in the same period in 2023. According to the National Association for Fertilizer Diffusion, despite the decline, the market “is fully supplied”. (ANDA)

Anvisa announced results from the Pesticide Residue in Food Analysis Program for 2023. In total, 3,294 food samples were analyzed, collected in 76 cities. Pineapple and orange were the crops with the highest number of samples with acute risk potential. No cases with potential for chronic risk were found in the 2023 analyses. According to Anvisa, 37% of the samples did not contain any pesticide residue, while 36.9% had residues detected within the Maximum Residue Limits. The remainder of the samples (26.1%) had some type of non-conformity. (Anvisa)

Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of the State of Santa Catarina – Fecoagro wants to reduce the waiting time for ships and guarantee the delivery of fertilizers in time for planting, in addition to minimizing “demurrage” costs. Fecoagro requested the Ministry of Agriculture to register a Production Establishment, which will allow it to import fertilizers directly through the Port of Rio Grande. (Fecoagro)

Archer Daniels Midland – ADM expects to increase fertilizer sales in Brazil by 20% in 2025. The company is betting on a positive scenario for soybean and an increase in barter operations. It is also expanding its business to the biological segment, through partnerships with suppliers. (ADM)

The use of bioinputs in the 2024/2025 season is expected to grow by 2% to 3% in the planted area. (CropLife Brasil)

Brazilian Public Health Association (Abrasco) and Fiocruz released an official position against pesticide spraying with drones. The note was published in defense of Law No. 16820/19, sanctioned by the State of Ceará in 2019, prohibiting the practice for the first time in Brazil. Authorizing the use of drones for this purpose, however, was once again discussed in the state Legislative Assembly. Abrasco and Fiocruz state that “there is robust scientific evidence proving the harmful impacts of exposure to human populations and biodiversity resulting from aerial spraying of pesticides”. (Fiocruz; Abrasco)

The Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Brazilian Senate approved on December 11^th the main Complementary Bill (PLP 68/2024) of the tax reform. A series of changes were made to the opinion presented by the rapporteur on the day before. Some sectors were included in the list that benefits from the 60% reduced rate, such as biscuits, agricultural inputs and pesticides, which tends to increase the standard rate of the new Value Added Tax (VAT). (Agência Senado)

According to Jeferson Souza, market intelligence analyst at Agrinvest Commodities, the pesticide market is already showing signs of pressure for 2025, especially in the context of chlorothalonil, one of the most used fungicides in Brazil. The price of this active ingredient, mainly produced in China, has increased by more than 65% since June of 2024. In Brazil, there was a record import of chlorothalonil, with 100% of the volume coming from China. Despite this, the market is still concerned about shortages, despite the high volumes that were imported. This reflects the growing domestic demand for pesticides, combined with the volatility of production costs in the international market. (Agrinvest Commodities)

In 2025, “conservative growth” is expected for the pesticide market. According to CropLife Brasil executive manager, Renato Gomides, the market has delayed purchases of inputs when compared to previous years, especially due to the delay in soybean planting. However, the recovery in corn prices has “encouraged farmers” to resume investments, and the crop area continues to grow. “Modest growth is expected, of 2% to 3% of the planted area, as well as great competition with regard to costs. Farmers are optimizing a lot because soybean prices, despite having grown a lot due to exchange rate variations, are at tighter margins. So, there are a lot of sales, a lot of repeat sales until the beginning of the season, but the prospects are good”, said Gomides. (CropLife Brasil)

Fertilizer Purchasing Power Index for November of 2024 closed at 0.98, a 3% decrease when compared to October, when the index reached 1.01. The indicator fell 3% for the second month in a row, which means an even better time to purchase inputs, since the lower the indicator, the better the exchange ratio for farmers. (The Mosaic Company)

Appointed in October of 2024 as the new president and executive director of Adama, Gaël Hili made his first official visit to Brazil. The new CEO, who succeeds Steve Hawkins, highlighted the strategic role of Brazil and Latin America for global agribusiness. (Adama)

According to the researcher at the Federal University of São Carlos – UFSCar, André Vessoni Alexandrino, the control of citrus canker, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas citri, causes “a cost of over US$ 32.61 million per season, in addition to causing environmental impacts due to toxicity of the metal [copper]. In addition, bacterial strains resistant to copper have already been identified, which reduces the efficiency of this control”. Research is being developed by UFSCar, together with other institutions, to search for new inputs to control citrus canker. The research group, led by professor Maria Teresa Novo Mansur, demonstrated that organic molecules derived from carbohydrates, inhibitors of the target protein XanB, were efficient in controlling the disease and could become active ingredients for new pesticides. (UFSCar)

The 2024/25 soybean season in the State of Rio Grande do Sul continues at a fast pace, with 90% of the projected area already sown. However, pests, diseases and weeds have demanded attention from farmers, who have adopted strategies to minimize impacts and reach the estimated yields of 3,179 kg/ha. The infestation of weeds, such as horseweed (Conyza spp.), is a concern. In the city of Hulha Negra, the severity of the infestation led some farmers to abandon the no-till system, replacing it with conventional soil preparation. Preventive applications of herbicides have been carried out to contain the spread of invasive plants. The presence of coleopteran and lepidopteran larvae, including the floodplain cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon), was reported in several locations. In the northwest of the State, ant control was necessary in crops that were at the beginning of their vegetative stages. (Emater/RS)

Evandro Keller is the new commercial and market development director at Openeem Bioscience. (Openeem Bioscience)