Producers and public agents validate zarc for corn in the Sealba region

More than 40 producers and public agents met via videoconference on June 16 to discuss and validate the Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning (Zarc) for the cultivation of corn first harvest in the municipalities that make up the Sealba territory – new agricultural frontier which covers Sergipe, Alagoas and Northern Bahia.

The meeting was coordinated by researchers Aryeverton de Oliveira, from Embrapa Informática Agropecuária (Campinas, SP), and Fernando Macena, from Embrapa Cerrados (Planaltina, DF), with regional articulation by Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros (Aracaju, SE) researcher Antonio Santiago, who is part of the Alagoas Grain Commission and participates in field research on grain production in the new region.

The meeting had 47 participants, including corn producers from the three states, agents from Embrapa, the Ministry of Agriculture and public banks such as BNB, in addition to state agricultural development and technical assistance organizations, technical consultants and input companies.

Macena highlighted the importance of zoning and its application to reduce losses caused by weather conditions, especially droughts, but also excess water (rain during harvest), hail, frost and winds. The researcher also commented on risk management based on recommending the most appropriate planting times taking into account the climatic characteristics, the most adapted cultivars and the types of soil that are more or less resilient to climatic adversities in each region. 

“It is essential to have knowledge of the Plant's Water Balance, which we call water accounting”, highlighted Macena, explaining the concepts and models of the relationship between the plant's actual evapotranspiration and the maximum evapotranspiration potential (ETR/ETC) depending on local demand. of each municipality. Dr. Macena ended his speech by highlighting that ZARC is an important tool to subsidize agricultural policies such as Garantia Safra and Rural Insurance, and that Embrapa constantly seeks to improve it in order to reduce agricultural losses resulting from climate events.

Regional data for planting 

Researcher Aryeverton de Oliveira presented the results of the Climate Risk Zoning for corn cultivation in all 171 municipalities of Sealba. The data is generated by the Micura System (Metrics and Information for Conservation and Use of Resources in Agriculture), a tool developed by Embrapa Informática Agropecuária to assist in the analysis and validation of ZARC agricultural scenarios.

This new territorial organization called Sealba, a term formed by combining the acronyms of the states of Sergipe, Alagoas and Bahia, is made up of 171 municipalities, 69 of which are located in Sergipe, 74 in Alagoas and 28 in the northeast of Bahia.

Aryeverton presented the results obtained for the region, pointing out the probabilities of successful cultivation in different locations, based on the visualization of scenarios in different corn-producing municipalities. In general, the Sealba planting window begins to open in the last ten days of March (21 to 30/3), but only increases in the first ten days of April, with a 70% probability of success, rising to 80% from the second decade of that same month. 

This most favorable period for cultivation extends in practically all municipalities in the region until the second or third decade of June, from when, in general, the probability of successful cultivation begins to decrease. 

Next, Aryeverton asked participants to give their suggestions and contributions by talking about their experiences, agreements or disagreements with the data presented.

After discussion, adjustments and validation of the planting windows in the producing municipalities, Embrapa will prepare the technical note that will be forwarded to Mapa for official publication on the Ministry's portal, already valid for the 2020 harvest in traditional regions and 2021 in this new region.

Participating producers generally agreed with almost all of the data presented. For Alagoas producer Felix Simonetti, from Limoeiro de Anadia, the opening of the window is coherent for the second tenth of April. Sergipe consultant Gleiton Medeiros stated that the data for the Sergipe corn belt, a hub of great regional protagonism, is consistent.  

Access to government programs 

To access Proagro, Proagro Mais and the federal subsidy for rural insurance premiums, the producer must comply with the recommendations of this technological package. Furthermore, some financial agents are already making the granting of rural credit conditional on the use of zoning.

In Brazil, more than 40 cultures have already been covered by Zarc. The tool is used to support decision-making for the planning and execution of agricultural activities, for public policies and for agricultural security. The main Brazilian agricultural crops are already included in the zoning.