Nufarm resumes operations in Brazil

Nufarm is back in Brazil. After four years out of the pesticide market, the eighth largest global crop protection company is resuming its activities in the country with a renewed proposal: offering integrated crop and seed protection solutions, combining innovation and partnership with Brazilian farmers.

The return marks a strategic shift. The brand, which once ranked seventh among the largest in the sector in Brazil, plans to launch 15 new products by 2030. The focus is on chemical and biological pesticides for crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, sugarcane, sorghum, canola and carinata.

The first new feature has already arrived. It's called Evolvance (click here for more information). Developed to control nematodes, the bioinput "acts preventively, stimulating the plant's physiology and offering broad-spectrum protection," according to information from the company. Crops such as soybeans, corn and cotton should benefit directly from the technology.

Fernando Arantes Pereira, Brazil portfolio leader at Nufarm, explains that the company's return coincides with a global change.

“We want to offer solutions that are connected to the real challenges in the field, such as rising costs, climate change and sustainability demands,” he says. Nufarm is now incorporating its seed division — Nuseed — into a joint operation under a unified brand.

With this merger, the company will now operate in a more comprehensive manner. Arantes emphasizes that the focus is no longer just on post-patent pesticides. The company intends to invest in innovation and expand producers' access to more effective, sustainable technologies adapted to the Brazilian reality.

Nufarm's history with Brazil is not recent. The company began its activities in the country in 2002, after acquiring Agripec Química e Farmacêutica S.A. The strategy, at the time, aimed to consolidate its presence in one of the largest agricultural markets in the world. In just a few years, the company reached US$ 504 million in revenue.

In 2019, however, the Australian company sold its assets in Brazil and other South American countries to the Japanese Sumitomo Chemical. The decision was part of a global restructuring. Since then, it has maintained a presence in the country only through Nuseed, offering seeds of canola, sorghum, millet, carinata and sugarcane varieties for challenging environments.

Carlos Balbi, CEO of Nufarm Seeds, says that the integration of the divisions is a response to the challenges that farmers face. “Producers need efficiency, sustainability and profitability. Nufarm now brings together these solutions under a single proposal,” he explains.

The innovation plan includes partnerships with local companies, universities and Brazilian consultancies. The goal is to validate the products developed and ensure their adaptation to the different agricultural regions of the country. The company has already initiated research and development projects focused on these validations.