Apply Bem Program celebrates 15 years at Agrishow 2022

Focused mainly on training small and medium-sized producers to correctly use agricultural pesticides, in addition to extracting the maximum productive potential from these inputs, the Aplique Bem program celebrates 15 years of existence at Agrishow 2022. On the 28th, an official ceremony will commemorate the achievements from the program. The initiative constitutes a public-private partnership between the Engineering and Automation Center (CEA), of the Agronomic Institute (IAC) and the Indian company UPL.

An entity of the Department of Agriculture and Supply of the State of SP, CEA-IAC leads the execution of Aplique Bem with resources from the global agrochemical manufacturer. According to the coordinator of the initiative, scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, Aplique Bem is itinerant and training takes place directly on agricultural properties. A team of agronomists, he explains, travels throughout the year throughout the agricultural frontier, aboard state-of-the-art mobile laboratories or “Techmóveis”.

On the properties, the Aplique Bem team provides the producer with didactic and practical content, which ranges from the adjustment of agricultural sprayers to the sustainable management of field production. “The program is completely free and not linked to commercial products or brands. The modules help small and medium-sized farmers to reduce losses resulting from the misuse of agricultural pesticides and prevent contamination of workers and the environment”, explains Hamilton Ramos.

According to the researcher, since it was launched in 2007, Aplique Bem has carried out 3,9 training sessions, inside and outside Brazil. The number of benefiting producers reaches more than 75 thousand. The team responsible for executing the program, trained at CEA-IAC, covered 15 million kilometers in 1 years – equivalent to three trips between the Earth and the Moon –, reaching more than 1 cities. UPL has already invested around R$20 million in the project.

Other countries, from farms to schools

According to Ramos, handling agricultural pesticides with the support of regulated equipment and protective clothing reduces the volume of active ingredients in crops, in addition to improving productivity and occupational health indicators. “As important as the number of people trained is the change in risk behaviors that Aplique Bem can reverse”, says the researcher.

Ramos also reveals that thanks to the support of the partner company, and the interaction between CEA-IAC and researchers from abroad, Aplique Bem also met the demands of small farmers in seven more countries, including African nations where the degree of social vulnerability is high. .

“In Africa, Aplique Bem trained families who had minor children working on subsistence crops. After their parents mastered good practices, these children left rural work to attend schools.” The countries served by the program so far, in addition to Brazil, are Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Colombia, Ghana, Mali, Mexico and Vietnam.

Based on IBGE data, Hamilton Ramos clarifies that between 25 million and 30 million Brazilians work in agribusiness. Of these, around 5 million would be illiterate, while another 12 million would work as temporary workers. “Today, 85% of rural workers in the country are concentrated on small and medium-sized properties. It is necessary to make rural education reach these places in force, with a view to preserving food security and increasing sustainability in the agribusiness chain.”