Western region of Paraná is a model in conservation agriculture

Direct planting is used on 80% of grain producing properties in the state of Paraná. However, nutrient losses are estimated at 242 million dollars per year due to the low adoption of conservation agriculture practices. The partnership between Embrapa and the OCB System included the updating of technical assistance in conservation agriculture and soil fertility, with results that are reaching rural producers throughout the country. In Paraná, one of the examples is in the western region of the state, with the promotion of conservation agriculture through the work of the technical department of the C.Vale cooperative.

Work focused on soil conservation in Paraná evolved from direct planting to micro-basin management in the 1980s. “Soil management was guided by micro-basins, disregarding property boundaries, as water does not respect fences. Work in micro-basins allowed land use planning throughout the region with more effective results”, says Enoir Pelizzaro, manager of CVale's technical department.

One of the technologies disseminated at that time was the construction of level terraces to contain excess rainwater that did not infiltrate the ground. In Palotina, PR, producer Jonas Vendruscolo built 24 terraces on 400 hectares of crops in the 1980s. “I always thought I was doing everything right, with curves, terraces and crop rotation to benefit the soil. I was surprised when the people from C.Vale arrived and said to remove all the terraces, which had been there for over 30 years”, recalls Jonas.

Today, there are only 7 terraces on the property, which have been repositioned and resized to better adapt to agricultural operations: “With increasingly larger machines, we need to reduce traffic in the fields, optimizing operations with fewer entries into areas and greater capacity and agility in equipment”, says the producer, highlighting that the repositioning of the terraces improved flood containment. 

“As soon as they were implemented, the new terraces withstood rainfall of 130 mm in a single night”, he said, remembering that containment was only possible with the help of the good soil cover left by straw in the rotation of crops such as corn, wheat and oats: “ There is no point in having terraces and not having straw on the ground. It is necessary to reduce the volume and speed of the flood and not just try to contain what the rain carried away”.

Conservationist agricultural practices were decisive in keeping the Dazzi family in business. In the 1970s, grain production began with intense use of plows and harrows and erosion quickly took over the farm, in Palotina, PR. “We suffered from losses in soil fertility, large areas with furrows opened by erosion and a consequent drop in productivity. It was necessary to review the actions and seek help from technical assistance to continue producing”, says producer Adir Dazzi. With correct soil management, the family managed to triple the farm area in less than a decade, reaching 1200 hectares in the municipalities of Palotina and Iporã.

Expanding the publicity of terraces

According to studies by Embrapa Trigo, terraces prevent losses of soil, water, corrective agents, nutrients, fertilizers, crop residues and organic matter in the soil that end up being carried away by erosion. “Savings on fertilizers can reach 40%, in addition to preserving the chemical and physical attributes of the soil that directly impact grain productivity”, warns researcher José Eloir Denardin.

He also recalls the importance of containing rain runoff on crops in order to preserve water resources: “We can quickly identify how a crop is being managed just by observing the color of the water in the nearest river on a rainy day. In addition to the turbidity of dirty water with the soil, chemical analyzes will certainly show contamination with fertilizer and pesticide residues. In other words, erosion has both economic and environmental impacts on agricultural production.”

Despite the numerous advantages, the use of terraces still has low adoption in the Paraná. According to researcher Tiago Telles, from Paraná Rural Development Institute (IDR/IAPAR), several factors can explain producers' resistance to the construction of agricultural terraces: “It is difficult to isolate which factor is the most impactful. Among the reasons given are the use of increasingly larger agricultural machines and cultivation in the direction of the slope, seeking to reduce operating time and fuel consumption”.

Another factor that may explain the lack of use or even the removal of terraces aims to expand the cultivation area: “The economic condition of the property can overcome topographical needs when making decisions regarding land use. Even so, we found that the probability of using terraces is 18% higher for producers whose farms are on a slope and terraces are 24% more frequent when producers assess that their soils are not fertile”, explains Telles.

In C.Vale's area of ​​operation in Paraná, soil conservation made it possible to use marginal areas for the implementation of dams, stimulating a new source of income with the farming of fish destined for the cooperative's slaughterhouse. “In the past, water from crops flowed onto the roads, which became impassable, contaminating all types of water resources. With the runoff resolved, the rivers and reservoirs maintain clear water and only receive reinforcement from the rain”, explains agronomist Enoir Pelizzaro.

C.Vale's technical staff has 263 agronomists and veterinarians to serve more than 23 thousand members, with units in RS, SC, PR, MS, MT and Paraguay. Professionals from CVale's technical department participated in the update module on conservation agriculture and soil fertility promoted in the series of trainings in the Embrapa and Sistema OCB partnership, with the support of Ocepar.

“The role of agricultural research is to generate information for the field, but also to transfer knowledge to multiplier agents, such as technical assistance, which will take the research to the producer. This is the way to effectively promote results in the productive sector, with impacts on different segments of society”, concludes Jorge Lemainski, general manager of Embrapa Trigo.

According to him, after qualifying almost 200 cooperative professionals in six years of training in the winter cereal production chain, a new partnership project is being designed with the aim of further expanding the reach of results generated by Brazilian agricultural research.