DPH Biologicals: High-performing biologicals help LATAM growers overcome the yield penalties common in intensively managed farms

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. In this article,  Mario Tenerelli, DPH Biologicals Executive Consultant shared his 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.

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?

Mario Tenerelli: Over the last decade, Latin America farmers have looked to biologicals as an important tool combined with seed and crop chemicals to help them achieve higher yields while satisfying the global supply chain demands for more sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices.

While the Latin American biological sector is still maturing, LATAM growers recognize the benefits of using proven biologicals and integrated practices to improve soil and plant health. At DPH Biologicals, we see tremendous growth potential for products that perform consistently on large scale operations and are easily integrated into modern growing practices.

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

Mario Tenerelli: A standardized global regulatory framework ensuring quality, impact and transparency would help to foster market penetration of biologicals across LATAM borders. In the past, biologicals have been viewed with skepticism. To accelerate adoption of biologicals - including biofertilizers and biostimulants - growers need confidence in product performance, which often comes from field trial data and third-party evaluations.

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?

Mario Tenerelli: In the past, many biologicals were unstable or difficult to store, making it difficult for Latin American farmers impacted by poor infrastructure and unreliable supply chains to use them. DPH Biologicals formulates our products to have a storage life of a year or more and ensures they are easy to mix with most other inputs, including synthetics, without needing special handling. DPH Biologicals takes a common-sense, grower-first strategy to product development. Even though many of our products are listed for organic production, we prioritize formulations that work in conjunction with, and even enhance, synthetic fertilizer and crop protection products, enhancing yields with integrated, ‘better together’ approach to crop management.

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

Mario Tenerelli: Biologicals are a systems-based solution with multiple agronomic benefits. But that means their value can be hard to quantify, which is why DPH Biologicals has prioritized field testing and product formulations that facilitate integrated treatments and practices.

Grower education key to adoption. For instance, microbial biodigesters that accelerate crop stubble degradation immediately benefit growers with improved field plantability but also unlock access to sustainable farming practices like cover cropping and no-till. As LATAM growers continue to adopt new technology across large farm operations, we see biologicals becoming a key component of their overall farm management plan.

DPH Biologicals invests in local field-testing combined with grower education programs to ensure relevant information is available to growers in our key markets, including the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. Technology providers must ensure they not only have products that work in Latin America, but that they invest in localized data and field-testing relevant to those growers.

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

Mario Tenerelli: Latin America’s growers are making significant strides to increase their per-acre yield potential and compete on the world stage. High-performing biologicals that can help LATAM growers overcome the yield penalties common in intensively managed farms, like decreased soil fertility and more intensive residue management, are key to achieving this growth. The challenge is to ensure the biologicals available to Latin American growers return strong ROI without a big outlay in input or new equipment costs, or, for that matter, a grower’s time.

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

Mario Tenerelli: DPH Biologicals is planning to launch three new biological products over the next two years and are currently engaged in oversight with experienced LATAM experts and consulting companies as part of the positioning and launching process.

These three products will become the pillar of DPH Biologicals entry into the Brazilian and LATAM market, opening new channels for commercialization and paving the road for healthier, integrated treatments supporting higher yields in major crops such as soybeans, corn and sugar cane.

• Residuce Complete WS is on track to be available in 2024. Residuce is a microbial biodigester that accelerates the rapid breakdown of tough crop residue, like corn stover or sugar cane leaves. Residuce solves the problem of after-harvest crop stubble generated in high-input, high-yield production systems while maximizing the soil health and fertility benefits that come with breaking down high-carbon plant fibers into organic matter. Residuce works fast enough to be used between double-cropped plantings, even on cover crop biomass, and improves soil quality, crop stands, field plantability and accelerates season-long nutrient release for healthier plants that grow faster, increasing yields.
  
  

• Companion Maxx WP will carry a pesticide registration. Companion Maxx WP is a multi-mode, dual action biocontrol that helps plants fight off and resist disease, while also stimulating increased plant development and plant growth. Formulated as a shelf-stable, easy-to-use wettable powder, Companion Maxx WP offers broad-spectrum disease control of more than three dozen common fungal and bacterial pathogens, including, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium. Companion Maxx WP is compatible with most chemical pesticides and has a 2-year shelf-life.
  
  

• BioNutrients is on track to be available in 2024. BioNutrients is a nutrient plus biostimulant combo, delivering a diverse mix of five species of beneficial bacteria, an NPK of 7-0-5 and humic acid, kelp extract and soil conditioners that improve soil structure by increasing aeration and water-holding capacity. BioNutrients replenishes soil’s natural biology by strengthening the plant from the roots up and is tank-mixable with most other crop inputs.
  

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