ABRASS Innovation Award crowns investment in research and solutions

The Smart Warehouse for Seeding project, led by systems analyst Ricardo Venceslau, is the winner of the ABRASS Innovation Award, granted by the Brazilian Association of Soy Seed Producers. The chosen candidate was announced at the 2nd National Meeting of Soy Seed Producers, ENSSOJA, an event that takes place in Mogi das Cruzes (SP) and brings together researchers, seed industries, technology obtaining companies and rural producers from different parts of the country.

Three finalist projects competed for the prize of R$50. Public recognition and legacy for the entire sector. The ABRASS Innovation Award was created in 2020, with the aim of promoting the development of projects and research with innovations that help improve the soybean seed production chain.

Feasibility, relevance in the face of the difficulties faced in the soybean seed production chain in Brazil, use of technologies and various forms of innovation and improvement of different areas of the seed sector are criteria adopted in the award notice. Finalists are chosen by a panel of judges made up of renowned researchers and professionals in the sector.

Check out the three finalists and the final classification of the ABRASS Innovation Award:

• 1st place – Smart Warehouse for Seeding; appointed by Ricardo Venceslau, system analyst, postgraduate in telecommunications and information systems technologies.

• 2nd place - Increase in Agricultural Production from Seed Treatment with Carbon dioxide; presented by João Américo Macori Barboza, agricultural engineer.

• 3rd place - Detection of Agricultural Pests by Image Sensors in Fixed Devices; presented by João Henrique Lopes, administrator/analyst in system development.

Quality in debate

The challenges of storage, logistics and damage due to imbibition (absorption of liquid by soybean seeds) were also highlighted during ENSSOJA's technical programming. In promoting the exhibitions, researchers from the private market, Embrapa and federal universities, gathered at ENSSOJA.

Fatima Zorato, one of the most respected seed quality consultants in the country, reminds us that the process of imbibition and hydration of soybean seed tissues is crucial for the process of full development of the seed and the future oilseed plant. “Seed quality is the cultivar’s calling card. The changes that have emerged in cultivar patterns in recent times are very large. We know that soybeans are one of the most responsive species to changing environmental conditions.”