DVA bets on Latin America – Interview with João Aleixo, Global Managing Director of DVA Agro

By Leonardo Gottems, Reporter for AgroPages

AgroPages exclusively interviewed João Aleixo, Global Managing Director of DVA Agro, about the German company’s recent investments and new infrastructure in Latin America, as well as its strong presence in China. He also revealed the DVA’s strategies for becoming an international player in research and innovation.


What are the plans of DVA's agro division in Latin America?

In Latin America, where our presence is at its highest, DVA is already established in many countries, such as Paraguay, Argentina and Colombia. We are also in the process of re-establishing our participation in Brazil, as well as in countries where we started our activities in the early 2000s. But we left the country in 2015, with the sale of our shares to UPL.

The big difference is how DVA has been accessing these Latin American markets since 2018. Part of our strategy is to be closer to farmers while understanding the needs of the field and highlighting these needs to our research centers. And through our research and development centers in Brazil and Argentina, we can more rapidly offer our innovative solutions to the field, therefore, transforming a company already consolidated in Latin America into a technology and innovation company.

Being close and present in the life of a rural product is part of our culture, and an example was the purchase of DBI (Distribuidora Boliviana de Insumos), a distribution company located in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where 100% of customers are direct producers. The purpose of buying DBI was to be even closer to them and understand their needs and business models, so we can add value to producers. Today, we understand more of their needs, and we are able, very quickly, to deliver solutions, regardless of whether they are in the form of products, financing, structures, logistics or people.


What investments have you made recently?

In recent years, DVA has been investing in innovation and technology, with a focus on delivering value to rural producers. We invested in an industrial park with two manufacturing units for agrochemicals and adjuvants in Pilar, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and started product registrations in Brazil. We also launched two research and development centers, an annex within the industrial park in Argentina that will focus on the development of agrochemical formulations, and another center in Hortolândia, Brazil, focusing on the applicability of agrochemical formulations and technology applications, such as the development of new adjuvants.


What are your plans for the next few years?

In addition to the company's own production plant in Brazil, it is investing in the registration and development of new products for Latin America, as well as two manufacturing units, one located in Spain for biologicals and vegetable nutrition, and the other in Mexico for agrochemicals. It is also continuously investing in another center research in southern Spain focusing on biologicals, both biostimulants and biocontrol, and the latest plant nutrition technologies.


What strategic changes is DVA making to become a player in research and innovation?

Focusing on delivering value to rural producers is not only part of DVA's strategy, but it is also part of our culture that is being organically transformed. For us, focusing on delivering value to producers is part of our culture, and research and innovation are our major priorities. The culture of innovation is realized every day by DVA's employees and leaders, starting with proximity to producers, followed by local and global innovation committees and reaching researchers and research centers. DVA is an international company with a capacity to access new technology sources around the world and a team focused on developing solutions.


What can German expertise bring to South America, and what can it take back?

DVA was the first German company based in China and has always had ethics, commitment and business capacity as its fundamental pillars. Combining these capabilities with creativity and innovation, we are ensuring delivery to producers.