Expodireto Special: Future of production and marketing are debated at the National Soy Forum

Production and marketing were the two thematic axes debated at the 30th National Soy Forum. The seminar took place this Tuesday, March 12th, as part of the 20th Expodireto Cotrijal, in Não-Me-Toque (RS). The event, which celebrated 30 editions and was held before Expodireto Cotrijal on an itinerant basis, is a promotion of the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FecoAgro/RS) and Cotrijal and supported by CCGL. The forum was attended by rural leaders and presidents of agricultural cooperatives. 

Agricultural engineer Elmar Luiz Floss, who presented a panel on production, highlighted the importance of soybeans. For the expert, it is the fastest growing crop in the world, has the largest production and area in Rio Grande do Sul, has the largest source of vegetable protein and is the most efficient biological nitrogen fixer. Furthermore, says the agronomist, “the world wants soy, since Asians have this habit of consuming it. 

Floss highlights that soy represents 52,9% of all grains in Rio Grande do Sul. “If we didn't have soy, we wouldn't be able to be exporters of soy and chicken. The most expensive and most difficult food is protein. And we have it in abundance, thanks to soy. Our region has the best soy in Brazil,” she says.

The expert recalls that soy developed with technological revolutions such as liming and direct planting. “Erosion was our number one problem,” he says. Floss also highlights that the soil is the farmer’s greatest asset. “There’s no point investing in machines or improvements. We have to invest in improving the soil”, he argues.

The agronomist criticized the time Brazil wasted in discussions regarding the release of GMOs. Floss asks: “If we didn’t have transgenic soybeans, what cultivar would we be planting, what is the productivity?” For him, transgenics was the greatest technological revolution in world agriculture of all time. The agronomist highlights that in 1996, 1,7 million hectares of transgenic grains were planted in Brazil. Last year, the volume was 189,4 million hectares. The researcher also recalled the importance of precision agriculture, the need for more intensive technology on small properties and how to deal with debt.

An uncertain and challenging scenario in the market. This was the assessment highlighted by Agroconsult consultant André Pessoa, who presented a panel on marketing. “Risk is part of agricultural activity, now uncertainty is more complicated, because in general when you have very large uncertainties, the trajectory that the scenario can follow are very antagonistic”, he says.

According to the consultant, the trade war between the United States and China, by restricting North American soybeans last year, favored Brazil, at a time when Argentina was low on products. “Brazilian exports were extraordinary and did not generate stocks. This year, it is different, since the export cannot be repeated. The moment is one of truce, since the last G-20 meeting, in December”, he says. For Pessoa, this year's Brazilian harvest should be similar to last year's. In Rio Grande do Sul, the volume should be R$5,7 million tons. 

At the opening of the National Soy Forum, the president of FecoAgro/RS Paulo Pires recalled the relevance of the National Soy Forum and how its format was important for the emergence of other events with the same theme within Expodireto Cotrijal. "We had the Corn Forum, then the Wheat Forum and also the Milk Forum. This shows the correct conception of a way of working", he observes.

Rui Polidoro Pinto and Odacir Klein, former presidents of FecoAgro/RS and Fecotrigo, were honored during the event as leaders responsible for creating the forum, which began in 1990.