Rural Insurance is a fundamental tool on Brazil's path to self-sufficiency in wheat cultivation

One of the world leaders in the production of various commodities, such as soybeans, corn and rice, Brazil has in its history the need to import part of its internal demand for wheat. The cultivation of cereals, essential for the production of food consumed by all social classes, such as bread, pizza and pasta in general, has always been seen as a challenge by the country's farmers. To meet this strategic need, the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) and Embrapa joined together to develop tropical wheat cultivation and put Brazil on the path to self-sufficiency. Among the main guarantors of this growth is agricultural insurance.

The partnership between Mapa and Embrapa to intensify wheat cultivation in Brazil foresees an expansion of 100 thousand hectares in planted area over the next 3 years, with a focus on the Cerrado region. The investment in research is around R＄ 3 million reais and the Brazilian government's expectation is to achieve production above 300 thousand tons in the expanded area during this period. The final objective is to reach, in ten years, a total production of 14 million tons, a volume that would fully meet Brazil's internal demand (12,4 million tons) and generate a surplus for export.

BB Seguros is a leader in the rural insurance market and offers producers of wheat and several other crops Flex Agricultural Insurance. This insurance includes the well-known Crop Costing coverage, which protects production costs in the event of losses caused by adverse weather conditions, and Billing, which ensures the revenue expected by the farmer, calculated based on projected production and the price of the product. in the futures market.

BB Seguros' Flex Agricultural Insurance also offers the option of Productivity coverage, allowing a fixed value to be attributed to the bag of insured product in the physical market. This value will be used to calculate compensation if there is a drop in production. For newly planted crops that suffer damage caused by hail, excessive rain or waterspout, and that it is still possible to replant within the Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning (Zarc), the producer may activate the Replanting coverage, if already done. the option to hire them.

“Both Costing, Productivity and Billing coverage ensure the producer the possibility of continuing to invest in the crop even if weather events compromise production. Security for contributions allows the producer to use the best in seed technology and management, increasing the productive potential of the planted area”, says Aline Milani, Executive Manager of Rural Portfolio at Brasilseg, a BB Seguros company. It is estimated that in 2022 alone, the cost to wheat producers of seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides and foliar insecticides was R＄2,4 billion.