Syngenta, Scheffer team up to develop unique biopesticides for Brazil

This month, Syngenta Crop Protection and Scheffer announced a ten-year collaboration agreement, which stipulates that the two companies will jointly utilize their complementary capabilities.

The aim of the agreement is to jointly develop biological products derived from microorganisms and specifically adapted for Brazilian farms, most notably bacteria and fungi that control the major pests and diseases affecting soy, corn and cotton.

Juan Pablo Llobet, Regional Director of Syngenta Crop Protection in Latin America and Brazil

″Farmers around the world are looking for more options and sustainable ways to produce. Syngenta is a farmer-centric company that constantly aims to be close to its customers and respond to their needs,″ said Juan Pablo Llobet (Regional Director of Syngenta Crop Protection in Latin America and Brazil).

According to Llobet, Syngenta aims ″to enable producers to achieve higher yields sustainably and profitably and, subsequently, face broader global challenges, such as the food security agenda, renewable energy sources, and the fight against climate change.″

In addition to the business potential resulting from the agreement, both companies share key objectives, such as promoting the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices with a focus on soil health.

″Syngenta and Scheffer want to inspire other producers to implement regenerative practices, through the use of combined technologies, as well as provide them with the know-how and means to do so,″ Llobet said.

Guilherme Scheffer, Partner-Director of Scheffer

″Our experience as producers goes back more than 35 years. During this time, we have become a main cotton producer in Brazil and acquired significant vision and knowledge about the needs of farmers,″ said Guilherme Scheffer (Partner-Director of Scheffer).

According to Scheffer, the agreement’s focus is soil health, through combining the use of conventional agricultural pesticides with biological solutions to achieve greater sustainable cultivation and create an agricultural model, which can be added to the good practices already used by the company.

″About seven years ago, we began cultivating using regenerative practices, which created more resilient ecosystems, in addition to contributing to low-carbon agriculture,″ he added.

Scheffer also announced that it is investing in research, retaining qualified people and infrastructure, including a plant for biological products at its Sapezal unit.

The company stressed that it aims to connect with different stakeholders to leverage studies, innovations and partnerships that promote regenerative agriculture in Brazil and the rest of the world.
 
In turn, Syngenta announced that it is seeking partnerships that will facilitate the development of new solutions, to offer producers complementary options for sustainable products and technologies.

″In recent years, there has been a focus on complementing our robust crop protection pipeline with innovation in biological. Together, with the acquisition of Valagro and the collaboration agreement in seed treatment with Bioceres, this partnership with Scheffer is a step in that direction,″ said the multinational.

The solutions resulting from the agreement will initially be sold to Brazilian producers, with the potential for expansion to other countries.

Collaborative R&D activities are already underway, with the field testing of microorganisms that have already passed laboratory tests during this harvest. The financial details of this agreement will not be disclosed.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)

The 4th Biopesticides, Biostimulants and Novel Fertilizers International Summit (BioEx 2023) will take place on 9th & 10th March in Hangzhou, China. We are pleased to invite speakers from the commercial, research, extension, government, regulatory and farming sectors to submit your proposals and abstracts for oral presentations.