It is necessary to produce with technology and zeal

After major technological developments focused on agriculture, the time has come for a broader look at the soil-plant-machine system

We have long heard talk about the necessary care with different production systems and, over time, attention has turned even more towards new technologies that, invariably, include the use of larger machines, with greater autonomy and management systems. of operations, more resistant and productive varieties, in addition to increasingly efficient inputs. And this, without a doubt, is of unique importance and contributes to increased productivity. However, to better understand this complex ecosystem, we know the need to look at all the factors that impact it.

I remember, when I graduated from the State University of Londrina (UEL), that there was a lot of talk about the possibility of agriculture with less environmental and social impact. A time when the initiatives of José Lutzenberger, Anna Maria Primavesi, Johanna Döbereiner, Herbert Bartz, Nonô Pereira, Franke Dijkstra, Alysson Paulinelli, Norman Borlaug and many others, echoed in universities, research centers, technical assistance institutions, focusing on agriculture more conscious and full of life.

The world has moved towards this: more refined techniques, new varieties, greater assertiveness in management, intelligent machines, all of this has evolved and given us the certainty of a thriving agriculture capable of feeding a growing and increasingly demanding world population.

But something was neglected, perhaps something that should never have happened: we take little care of the soil! As some of my undergraduate professors said: “the largest living organism”! He is very dynamic, resilient, but suffers from neglect and a lack of zeal.

For the late agronomist, Dirceu Gassen, “high productivity agriculture is carried out by capricious people, who do it well and at the right time, who have good knowledge and who are passionate about the activity”. Therefore, with the focus on agriculture that delivers greater profitability and is more sustainable, we must be aware of the necessary commitment to the technical knowledge that leads us to this.

Starting from the soil, we urgently need to look at it and ensure that it will allow us sustainable production, since most of them today have a very low microbiota activity and we need to improve it.

Giving the soil this better condition depends on techniques that rescue its “biota” and are related to straw management, good nutrition, quality biological products, machines that guarantee better deposition and less compaction, among other techniques. “We are dealing with living organisms”, emphasize the scholars, and to do this we need to take good care of this ecosystem, so that these microorganisms can reach their maximum potential.

Brazil is experiencing a revival of the techniques implemented in the 1980s and 1990s (direct planting, integrated pest management, biological control, biological nitrogen fixation), many of them already at a mature stage and guaranteeing extraordinary results. But we can't stop here, we have to make this count in all areas of production and we need to move quickly.

It is a moment of great importance for the segment, as we can see with the exponential growth in sales of biological inputs. Research has shown incredible results with the use of bioinputs: use of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, bionematicides, bioinsecticides, among many others. Crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton, potatoes, peanuts, oats, barley, rice, beans and vegetables have made significant use of inoculants and/or other biological products.

Institutions and companies are moving to meet the growing market, the technologies already exist, as does the interest and technical capacity of producers in a more balanced agriculture. We just need to put all this together and we will be unbeatable when it comes to the challenge of feeding the world, responsibly and sustainably: our commitment is to make the plant produce more and better.

It has been more than 35 years since the introduction of most of the concepts described (of direct planting we are already celebrating 50) and everything that the precursors did in favor of more sustainable and balanced management, today, has the power to positively impact our agricultural modus operandi. Congratulations to them; challenge for us!