Study shows growth in adoption of organic products

A study by the Spark Intelligence Strategic consultancy reveals an upward trend in the use of biological pesticides by soybean producers. According to the company, these products have currently been used mainly to treat seeds. According to Spark, more than 2,5 million hectares of soybeans were treated with bionematicides alone in the 2018-19 harvest. The total market for biological products in culture, according to Spark, reached US$ 100 million, an increase of 45% compared to the previous cycle.

According to the consultancy, currently the main study company for agribusiness in the pesticide and seed sectors, the increase in the adoption of specific inputs for nematode control was the main factor influencing the surprising performance of biologicals in soybeans. According to Spark, bionematicides accounted for half of this market, generating around US$50 million in sales in the last harvest.

A pest that affects mainly the Cerrado, the nematode attacks the soybean root and, if not controlled, causes significant losses to crops.

According to Cristiano Limberger, customer relations manager at Spark, the adoption of nematicides in the country jumped from 2% in the 2016-17 harvest to 9% in the last one. In the State of Mato Grosso, for example, reports the executive, nematicides were applied to 16% of the area cultivated with oilseeds in the 18/19 harvest, compared to 7% in the 17/18 period and just 2% in the 16/17 cycle.

Limberger states that the growth in sales of bionematicides resulted from the increase in the supply of similar inputs, resulting from investments by companies in the sector in the area of ​​research and development of technologies, and also from the granting of registrations to new products by regulatory bodies.

According to the executive, in addition to bionematicides, biofungicide products also recorded significant jumps in producer adoption. This category was the second best-selling in soybean farming, in the organic segment, in the 2018-19 harvest, reaching close to US$40 million in sales. The adoption of inputs grew from 1%, in the 2016-17 harvest, to 7%, reveals the Spark study.

Inoculants on the rise

Another relevant piece of information from the Spark study shows that the adoption of coinoculation, an agronomic practice that aims to nourish soybean plants through the application of products described as 'biological inoculants', reached 15% of the cultivated area in the 2018-19 cycle. According to Spark, combined, the markets for bio-based pesticides and inoculants generated around US$150 million in the period. 

“Inoculants are microorganisms added to legume seeds. They help in better biological fixation of nitrogen as a nutrient”, summarizes Hamilton Ramos, scientific researcher at the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (CEA-IAC), an agency of the Department of Agriculture and Supply of the State of SP.