Brazilian aeroagricultural fleet received 149 new planes in 2023

Brazilian agricultural aviation saw the addition of another 149 new planes in 2023. This is according to information collected this week by Sindag from the market. The data considers the aircraft already delivered and totals 84 turboprop aircraft. Plus the 65 Ipanema 203 model aircraft, with a piston engine, announced by Embraer and reported in Cultivar Magazine on Monday (15/1).

In the case of turboprops, 75 Air Tractor models (manufactured in Olney, Texas) entered Brazil. This account would include 16 AT-402 B model aircraft, 12 AT-502A (XP) aircraft, 25 AT-502 B aircraft, 13 AT-602 and nine AT-802A (the largest agricultural aircraft in the world, with a capacity of 3 thousand liters). nohopper). This includes nine more turboprops manufactured by Thrush Aircraft, in Albany, in the US state of Georgia. 

Although Sindag has not yet completed the updated survey of the entire Brazilian aero-agricultural fleet (which is estimated at more than 2,6 aircraft), preliminary numbers reaffirm the greater growth of the turboprop fleet. Especially because they are aircraft with greater capacity and greater performance, ideal for larger areas. A trend that has lasted more than 10 years and also comes with the largest variety of models in the segment.

National model

However, the national manufacturing model remains unbeatable, still accounting for at least 50% of the entire national fleet. And with the factory announcing the goal of increasing its production to 70 planes in 2024. This builds on not only the importance of the aeroagricultural sector for productivity in the country's main crops (read: producing more on a large scale, but without advancing the frontier agricultural). But, in the case of Ipanema, it is also due to the appeal (economic and environmental) of its ethanol-powered engine. In addition to other operational characteristics that place it in an important operational niche.

In fact, Ipanema is directly responsible for around a third of the Brazilian aero-agricultural fleet today being powered by green fuel. This is a project from the 1970s, but it is in its seventh generation, with the EMB-203 model (launched in 2015 and which had some modifications in the 2020 version). Furthermore, since 2004, the Ipanema has left the factory powered by ethanol – starting with the EMB 202A model, which was the first aircraft in the world approved to leave the factory powered by biofuel.

To top it all off, in December the factory in Botucatu reached the mark of 1,6 agricultural aircraft produced since the 1970s. This made the aircraft account for more than 50% of the Brazilian agricultural aviation fleet. In fact, the longevity of the Embraer project also contributed to another brand of the model: the Ipanema appears at the top of the list of the 10 aircraft models (planes or helicopters) with the greatest number flying in Brazil in 2023. This according to an article published at the end of 2023 in Aeroflap magazine.

Seventy-year-old in the country

Agricultural aviation has existed for over 100 years in the world and has been used in Brazil since 1947. And, since the 1960s, it has been the only tool for handling crops with specific (and broad) regulations. Therefore, it is also the most easily monitored. According to Sindag estimates, currently between 25% and 30% of applications on Brazilian crops are made by aircraft – which adds up to around 100 million hectares in all phases of plantation management, in 24 States.

With the advantages of avoiding crushing (since it does not rotate on the soil, over the plants) and having a speed that allows it to complete operations before changing the climatic window of applications (ideal conditions of wind, humidity and temperature – essential for both applications air and land). And other factors that mean that aviation even reduces the need for products applied to crops, generating savings for the producer.

This makes agricultural aviation essential for the productivity of the country's main crops, such as soybeans, corn, sugar cane, cotton and rice. Also influencing livestock farming, as soy and corn make up 27% of chicken feed, 30% of laying hens, 22% of pig feed, and 22% also in supplementation for dairy cows.

Furthermore, at least since the 1990s, the aeroagricultural sector has been involved in operations to combat forest fires in the country practically every year – a prerogative it has had since 1969. So much so that, in 2021 (last survey carried out by Sindag), agricultural planes launched almost 20 million liters of water against flames in several states. These operations involved around 30 aircraft, in addition to around 45 pilots and 40 support professionals at the bases. A force that also helped to guarantee the safety of hundreds of firefighters and volunteers in the teams that worked on the ground against the fires. 

Sindag currently covers more than 200 agricultural aviation companies (around 90% of the market). The sector also has around 700 private operators (which are rural producers and cooperatives that have their own planes or helicopters).