Audits of CESB's National Maximum Productivity Challenge indicate excellent production expectations

The Brazilian Soy Strategic Committee (CESB) is enjoying a prosperous moment, gaining a record 6 registrants in the National Soybean Maximum Productivity Challenge, an increase of almost 15% in the number of participants. However, the work is just beginning. CESB, in partnership with the company Somar, has already started audits that will investigate and assess the quality of techniques and the increase in productivity of soybean farmers participating in the competition. The audits will last until mid-May 2021.

According to Juliano Nunes, director of Somar – Serviços Agro, the audits guarantee that the certified numbers reflect the performance of soybean producers and reveal the excellence of the best cultivation techniques. “With transparency and impartiality, the CESB Challenge establishes itself as a suitable, credible competition. The final numbers prove that soybean farmers are committed to increasing productivity with sustainable and profitable techniques,” he notes.  

So far, analyzes carried out by CESB indicate that soybean farmers will face challenges in the 20/21 harvest. According to Dr. João Pascoalino, technical and research coordinator at CESB, the drought led to delays in planting, while high temperatures shortened the plant cycle. Finally, there was a period of excessive rain, and these factors combined meant that harvests were concentrated in a very restricted period. “In this way, the producer found it more difficult to remove soybeans from the field,” he says.

Still, expectations are positive. As per the table below, in comparison with the last year, it was assessed that the average relative productivity is higher by 5% and 1% for the areas audited and/or harvested in the months of January and February 2021, respectively. As for the month of March, the numbers for the areas audited are 1% lower. “However, it is worth highlighting that by the end of March the result could be shaped differently”, ponders the technical and research coordinator at CESB.

The 20/21 harvest, when compared to the previous year, recorded 12% more audits carried out. Somar and CESB hope to achieve a number of audits similar to last year, which was 913 audits.

“In this context, Brazilian producers know and teach us that each harvest is a different challenge. Planning and resilience to overcome adverse situations is a differentiator, an example of the 20/21 harvest”, concludes Pascoalino.

CESB is a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP), which aims to boost soybean productivity in Brazil. The committee is made up of 22 members and 30 sponsoring entities: Basf, Bayer, Syngenta, UPL, FMC, Jacto, Mosaic, Superbac, Corteva, Instituto Phytus, Eurochem, Compass Minerals, ATTO Adriana Sementes, Stoller, Timac Agro, Brasmax, Stara , Datafarm, Viter, Somar Serviços Agro, Ubyfol, Fortgreen, KWS, Yara, Sumitomo Chemical, Adama, Agrivalle, HO Genética, FT Seeds and IBRA.

In addition to the traditional National Soybean Maximum Productivity Challenge, CESB carries out a series of other actions that aim to increase the average productivity of national soybean farming in a sustainable and profitable way for its participants and society. One of these initiatives is the Master in Agricultural Technology (MTA Soja), the first postgraduate course in soy. Organized by CESB, in partnership with Elevagro, the course will have comprehensive content, covering good practices and high productivity. More information by phone: (15) 3418.2021 or on the website www.cesbrasil.org.br.