ABC+ Plan Committee reinforces action that seeks to increase the quality of soil management in RS

In a year in which Rio Grande do Sul has been recording losses resulting from a severe drought in the summer, reflected in the drop in exports and GDP in Rio Grande do Sul, the quality of soil management and the improvement of production systems are issues that gain even more importance . Recently, the coordination of the ABC+ Plan Management Committee, a group that encourages measures to expand practices within the context of Low Carbon Emission Agriculture (ABC), participated in an action of the Operation 365 program, conducted by Embrapa Trigo, Cooperativa Central Gaúcha Ltda (CCGL) and associated cooperatives, University of Passo Fundo (UPF) and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Ufrgs).

On the 14th of this month, a group of technicians and researchers visited rural properties belonging to two members of the Cooperativa Tritícola de Espumoso (Cotriel), in Estrela Velha, in the Centro Serra region, where “trench” were opened in the selected plots to assess the conditions soil physics and chemistry. Operation 365 aims to promote the improvement of soil quality in the State within the logic of implementing conservationist and profitable productive agricultural systems, via intensification and diversification of the cultivation of annual grain and forage producing species, maintaining soil care throughout the years. 365 days of the year.

The deputy head of Research and Development at Embrapa Trigo, researcher José Eloir Denardin, says that Operation 365 is still in the pilot stage. At this stage, soil samples are being collected in 30 crop plots on different rural properties assisted by 10 cooperatives associated with CCGL, located in different regions of the State. According to him, the forecast is that all the results of these analyzes will be available by August. In a second step, the work will be expanded to the entire coverage area of ​​the 30 cooperatives linked to CCGL.

Denardin explains that these assessments will aim to confirm/certify the rural producers participating in this stage of Operation 365 regarding the quality of soil management: producer with a Black card (with a score higher than 9); producer with Platinum card (score between 8 and 9); and producer with a Gold card (score between 7 and 8).

The idea of ​​these cards is to grant producers credit advantages from banking institutions, demonstrating that a producer with well-managed soil is able to increase their productivity and present fewer risks when taking out credit for their costs and investments. “This aspect of credit benefits is still being built”, points out the researcher.

Furthermore, Denardin reports that the program seeks to encourage all producers to expand good practices in their crops, an initiative that meets the recommendations of the ABC+ Plan Management Committee, of which Embrapa Trigo is a member. “We want the operation to help in the physical, chemical and biological recovery of soils throughout the State and that these results provide an increase in productivity and agricultural production, and rural producer income, also positively impacting the economy of Rio Grande do Sul” , highlights the researcher.

Representing the ABC+ Plan Committee and the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (Seapdr) at the field day in Estrela Velha, the forestry engineer from the Department of Agricultural Diagnosis and Research (DDPA), Jackson Brilhante, believes that Operation 365 will encourage producers to improve soil management by adopting the true Direct Planting System.

Brilhante recalls that, in Rio Grande do Sul, in the summer, there are around 7 million hectares cultivated with annual species, while, in winter, this area is reduced to just 2 million hectares. “There is a large area that ends up not being cultivated in the coldest period of the year, which results in greater exposure of the soil, which is susceptible to erosion, which can cause a series of problems in the summer crop cycle”, he highlights.

For the forestry engineer, this project gives more visibility to the importance of maintaining soil fertility, through crop diversification throughout the harvest, and adequate management with permanent soil cover. “This promotes greater structuring, which will allow for greater water and carbon storage capacity in the soil”, adds Brilhante, adding that this is one of the objectives of the ABC+ Plan.