Rovensa Next: Supporting LATAM's ongoing agricultural growth by offering expertise, technical support, and the best products to enhance sustainability and productivity

Editor’s Note: The biological market in Latin America is one of the fastest developing sectors in the agricultural input industry. Brazil is the largest market for biologicals in Latin America, with more than 500 biological products having been registered.

Farmers in Latin America are actively seeking biological solutions for pest and disease management, nutrient supplementation, and soil health improvement. Additionally, governments in Latin America are implementing incentive programs and regulatory changes to encourage the adoption of biological inputs in agriculture. These initiatives provide valuable support and incentives for farmers, leading to market growth and greater acceptance of agricultural biologicals.

Considerable development potential is attracting the attention of all biological product manufacturers and distributors worldwide, who are accelerating the business layout of new technologies, new products and new applications related to biologicals.

Accordingly, AgroPages recently invited some key players in this field to share their views over the market landscape of the biological market in Latin America, the layout, application, regulation of biologicals, opportunities and challenges for biologicals, as well as the plans to launch new biologicals in Latin America and more. In this article, Florencio Romaguera, Head of Latin America, Rovensa Next and Luis Carlos Cavalcante, Head of Marketing and Commercial Brazil, Rovensa Next shared their views.

Could you describe the market landscape of the biological market in Latin America? What are the drivers, challenges and trends of the development of biologicals in this region?

Florencio Romaguera: The LATAM market is as a major player in the agri-food sector. Its resilience and ability to respond to the demands of increasingly demanding markets position it as a contender to be reckoned with.

One trend that is driving LATAM’s development is a significant increase in the desire for products of plant or microbiological origin to address various agricultural challenges. While this largely depends on the type of crop and market, we are generally seeing a transition to these kinds of solutions that aim to reduce or eliminate chemical burden in the final product, while maintaining crop performance and the organoleptic qualities of fruits and vegetables.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: Biological products are currently adopted by most of the growers in Latin America, whether for cash crops or row crops.  The diversity of pests and an increase in the number of suppliers to farmers are the main reasons for growth surpassing that of chemical or conventional control methods.

Biocontrol is also an interesting challenge and opportunity in the region. Some countries already have extensive experience and familiarity with these types of products, while others are undergoing a slower process of transition.

Another challenge for the growth of biologicals is the quality of spray technologies capabilities among growers.  Additionally, the failure to meet basic requirements for storage at the farm site and internal transportation, both of which are conducted in high temperatures during operations and tank mixes with no compatibility tests, create inappropriate conditions for biologicals to perform effectively.  Without these challenging aspects, the adoption rate of biologicals by growers would have been even higher.

Could you talk about the regulatory landscape of biologicals in Latin America? What impact do these regulations have on your company’s business?

Florencio Romaguera: Biological products in Latin America have the advantage, compared to other regions, that each country has specific legislation for these types of products, and the Competent Authority evaluates them according to appropriate requirements based on their nature, rather than applying a generalized regulation for phytosanitary products, as is happening in Europe.

This type of regulation grants us a very significant competitive advantage to companies like Rovensa Next, which are investing in the data packages of their products, submitting comprehensive and robust product dossiers for registration.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: The requirements for biologicals may vary from country to country, but the registration processes are faster than those for chemical pesticides. Authorities realize that the balance of environmental impacts and other aspects of biologicals have significant and positive differences.

Could you give us an overview of your company's biologicals and their special features, application situation in Latin America? Could you share some novel approaches to production and formulation of biologicals?

Florencio Romaguera: Rovensa Next is characterised by innovation. We are pioneers in natural solutions, and we are constantly researching to build out our holistic portfolio and provide farmers with the best products to tackle all their challenges. We update our labels to continually expand the crops and targets for which the product is authorized. Thus, the product can be used on a wide range of crops and pests, not only commercially significant crops, but also those where our products can provide an alternative.

Currently, our products incorporate patented technologies that deliver features of specificity, resistance to temperature variations, radiation, and salinity. This is aimed at achieving the highest effectiveness and persistence of our products. Products of organic origin are very sensitive to temperature and radiation and may degrade fast. Our products, such as Tec Fort with its promicell technology, increase the time of action against the pest as fast as similar products in the market.

At Rovensa Next, we aim to help Latin American farmers become more ecologically aware by addressing their sustainability challenges. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of biological products, providing solutions that cover the entire life cycle of cultivated plants, from seed to shelf. Our biosolutions have been meticulously developed in our Research and Development laboratories and production centres around the world, with a focus on reducing environmental impact.

To aid in finding and selecting our biosolutions, our portfolio of biological products is divided into three easily recognisable categories: adjuvants and correctors, agricultural biocontrol, and agricultural bionutrition. Our range of biosolutions adapts to all our clients' needs, such as pest and disease management, soil improvement, overcoming water limitations, optimising product application to crops, minimising abiotic stress, promoting natural plant processes, and ultimately, enhancing crop quality and yield.

In Latin America, we primarily focus on high-value, technically cultivated species, which are exported to other parts of the world. This ensures food safety in the case of food production and crop quality overall, without compromising productive yields.

Our goal is to position our products to be in line with the language of agricultural crops. For instance, products related to bionutrition, adjuvants, and correctors are used according to the phenological stage to address specific needs in the growth phase, whether vegetative or reproductive. As for biocontrol products, they are categorised based on their potential for disease or pest control, be it preventive and/or curative. We also classify products based on their potential use in different crops and crop groups. Essentially, we have a solution, no matter the need.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: Latin American growers are depending on biological control for 55% of their planted areas and are responsible for more than 50% of new registrations in Brazil, one of our key markets. Following this reality, Rovensa Next has a modern laboratory in Hortolândia, São Paulo state, fully equipped to develop and evaluate new options for biocontrol, develop adjuvants for biological product spray and conditioners for performance enhancement.

What are the considerations for farmers/growers to use biologicals? How does your company educate growers and farmers on the use of biologicals?

Florencio Romaguera: The increasing use of biological products in LATAM can be explained by the following four points:

• Environmental ethics. These products are known for being environmentally friendly to crops, beneficial fauna, humans, and ecosystems. This takes into account the growing demand from consumers who seek more sustainable solutions in food and other products stemming from agricultural production.
  
  

• Additionally, there must be a genuine conviction among growers to evolve or transition to more sustainable agriculture, covering multiple dimensions including economic productivity, environmental friendliness, and societal contributions. This means respecting the demands of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.
  
  

• Resistance evolution. The continued use of chemical products over the past decades has led to the emergence of resistances. Previously effective molecules are now no longer useful tools for farmers, and there is a need for new solutions.
  
  

• Constraints on molecule use. There is a growing limitation on the use of molecules. Products that were once essential for ensuring crop production are no longer allowed due to restrictions by the producing country, destination country, or final market.
  

Managing agricultural crops requires the application of best practices, which involves integrated pest and disease management. Through field validations, we conduct trials to assess the effectiveness of each of our solutions under specific farmer conditions and crop management.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: Biologicals have demonstrated performance levels that justify their use by growers. In this regard, training to sales teams and the people responsible for spray activities at the farms have contributed to the acceptance of the technology.

What and where are the biggest opportunities and challenges for biologicals in Latin America?

Florencio Romaguer: According to the United Nations, Latin America is one of the most vulnerable regions to the effects of climate change. It is also one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, housing over half of global biological diversity, 50% of untouched forests, and more than 20% of arable soils.

This richness places Latin America at the forefront of climate-related crises, resulting in biodiversity loss, loss of life, and severe damage to health, water, energy, and socio-economic development for its inhabitants.

As mentioned earlier, LATAM boasts diverse climates, soils, and crops. The primary challenge is ensuring our products exhibit maximum effectiveness within this great diversity. This requires continued research and testing of our products in the field, identifying areas for improvement and parameters for application.

Regarding opportunities, they are immense. In LATAM, we have some of the world's top producers and exporters. Cases in point include Ecuador and Costa Rica with bananas, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile with avocados, and Peru, Mexico, and Chile with blueberries. These examples just scratch the surface. Rapid growth in some crops means that countries that had little presence before can become major global producers in just over a decade.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: The diversity of crops, tropical conditions, and the ability to grow crops year-round are the main aspects that make pest control a real challenge in countries like Brazil. In such scenario, biological control represents a safe and efficient tool for farmers.

On the other hand, the common practice of mixing biologicals with fungicides and certain types of oils may be one of the main aspects to be taken into consideration, as incorrect interactions among these products could jeopardize the efficiency of the biologicals.

What are the plans to launch new biologicals in Latin America? Highlight the development plan in Latin America.

Florencio Romaguera: Our intention is to support LATAM's ongoing agricultural growth by offering our expertise, technical support, and the best products to enhance sustainability and productivity, and drive the biotransformation of agriculture.

Luis Carlos Cavalcante: If we put Brazil as an example, we have three new biocontrol products. Leveraging our broad geographic coverage through distribution, we expect a fast penetration in the main markets including row crops. Coffee, citrus and vegetables are among the primary markets for us, and synergy with existing products will be a key pillar for our objectives.

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