Soy Innovation Club: Brazil develops technology to maintain global leadership

AgroPages was a special guest of the agrochemical multinational, Bayer, for the launch of the ″Soy Innovation Club,″ an initiative aimed at discussing the evolution of the crop, which Brazil produces 135 million tons in total and occupies the leading global position in terms of planting and exportation.

During an event that took place at the Bayer unit located in the city of Santa Cruz das Palmeiras, in the interior of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the Soy Innovation Club coalition was presented to the key players in the Brazilian agribusiness sector last week.

The initiative's objective is to debate structural problems and discuss technical issues and new developments that promote further innovation, technology and sustainability for the advancement of Brazil’s soybean cultivation.

Fernando Prudente (Business Director for Soy and Cotton at Bayer’s Agricultural Division) told AgroPages that his company follows ″an important guide for collaboration and co-creation, based on the open innovation model, and the Soy Innovation Club reflects that.″

″We know the importance of teaming up with different agents and professionals in the sector to accelerating the provision of solutions that make sense for farmers. It is from this group that the main innovations and decisions for the future of soybeans will be born,″ he added.

According to Prudente, the company has worked with farmers, researchers from various institutions and the production chain to deliver the most advanced innovations in the field since the introduction of direct planting in the 1970s.

Bayer has been involved since the arrival of the first genetically-modified soybean cultivars until the recent launch of its third generation soybean biotechnology, the Intacta2 Xtend Platform, he added.

″The Intacta2 Xtend Platform takes soybean productivity to a new level. This biotechnology has already yielded more than 100 bags of soybeans per hectare in dozens of Brazilian properties during the last harvest. Soon, we will have new solutions on the market, which are already being tested in the field,″ he further added.

The Bayer unit chosen for the launch event is a reference in research and development in the agro sector.

In Santa Cruz das Palmeiras, studies are being carried out in laboratories, greenhouses and experimental fields for the development of new solutions, biotechnologies and crop protection products, from the discovery stage to commercial pre-launch phases.

During the event, AgroPages viewed the next innovations that will be provided by Bayer to Brazilian farmers, such as the new generation of Intacta soybeans, already in the pre-commercial testing phase, and subsequent crop protection products that will enter the market.

″We are committed to offering the best solutions for every producer. At the Santa Cruz das Palmeiras unit, we are able to present the next frontiers of innovation and also highlight, in practice, the need to maintain a safe legal environment and intellectual property protection for innovation in the country, which enables the ongoing evolution of the culture of soybeans in Brazil, with technologies developed for the needs of Brazilian farmers,″ Prudente said.

″It is this security that will allow companies like Bayer to bring biotechnologies in the coming decades that will directly contribute to building the future of the sector,″ he added.

The Bayer Station in Santa Cruz das Palmeiras is a reference in research and development in the agribusiness sector, developing and testing biotechnologies for the most diverse crops, such as soy and corn, as well as solutions for the field.

Its total area is 31.2 hectares, 14.5 hectares of which are dedicated to field testing. The experimental station is accredited for agrochemical studies and has a certificate of quality in biosafety (CQB) for studies with genetically modified organs (GMOs).

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)