Embrapa wants to show producers how to save R$5 billion in fertilizers in the next harvest

From April, researchers and technicians from Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) will begin visiting about 30 production centers in nine macro agricultural regions of the country, with the aim of promoting the increased efficiency in the use of fertilizers and inputs in the field, lowering production costs for rural producers and encouraging the adoption of new technologies and good soil, water and plant management practices. The savings could reach 1 billion US dollars (5 billion Brazilian reals) in the next harvest. 4 was announced today.

Our goal is for Brazil to overcome a crisis Fertilizers Through training and systematic exchange of knowledge between research institutes and the productive sector, establishing a dialogue between research and agribusiness in Brazil, and proposing technological solutions for each of these 30 agricultural centers,” said Celso Moretti, President of Embrapa.

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The caravan is called Embrapa FertBrasil Caravan, and it’s part of the National Fertilizer Scheme, to be launched by the federal government in the coming weeks. Moretti says the measure will address practical issues with immediate impact, which, when adopted, could, along with other initiatives of the National Plan, boost savings of up to 20% in the use of Fertilizer in Brazilalready in the 2022/23 crop.

Embrapa technicians will demonstrate the importance of sustainable soil and fertilizer management to increase the efficiency of these inputs and improve productivity. “We learn in agronomy that it is necessary to apply fertilizers according to soil fertility analysis and plant leaf analysis,” Moretti says.

But we know that in many places in Brazil they end up using a ready-made recipe, a generic technological package. For example, 500 kilograms per hectare of NPK fertilizer [nitrogênio, fósforo e potássio] No matter how fertile the soil is there.”

a BrazilIt currently consumes about 8.5% of the world’s manufactured fertilizers, and ranks fourth. China, India and the United States appear at the top of the consumption list. But these countries, unlike Brazil, are also major producers of fertilizers in the world. Last year, the country imported about 89% of the total 43 million tons consumed in agricultural production.

In the country, soybean, corn and sugarcane crops account for more than 73% of fertilizer consumption. Russia is responsible for supplying 25% of fertilizers to Brazil. Together with Belarus, it provides more than 50% of the potash consumed annually by Brazilian farmers.

In addition to providing guidance to producers, the Embrapa Caravan will conduct sector diagnostics that will improve the procedures of the National Fertilizer Plan. Estimates are to receive about 10,000 multipliers for direct activities, including rural extension technicians, technicians from rural cooperatives, unions and associations, and major producers.

This will be the second mobile convoy carried out by Embrapa. Between 2013 and 2015, the company also visited the country’s main production centers to deploy technological solutions to control the Helicoverpa armigera caterpillar, an exotic pest that has invaded the Brazilian territory and caused severe damage to major agricultural crops.