Startup bets on innovations for pesticide effectiveness tests

Date:09-15-2020

"There are many controversies surrounding the use of agrochemicals, but in the absence of pesticides, there would be no food for the entire population and food security would be totally affected," stressed agronomist engineer Caroline Donadon, one of the founders of PlantCare Pesquisa Agrícola, a company that develops innovations for the pesticide effectiveness testing process.

The professional believes that the controlled use of pesticides is fundamental to the current productivity situation in Brazil. The country is among the five largest food producers in the world and the second largest exporter, according to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "The danger is not the product, but its misuse", Donadon said.

Part of the negative impact of this issue has been registered due to new rules in the sector. After changes promoted by the government, the country registered 241 pesticides in 2020 alone.

For Donadon, however, the number itself does not constitute a problem since many are generic, so are versions of products already on the market. She added that, to reach the market, the registration of a new crop protection product needs to be authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and the Brazilian Environment Institute (Ibama).

She also pointed out that the dosages used today are much lower than 10 or 20 years ago. “Pesticides are released after years of rigorous studies on their agronomic effectiveness as certified by Mapa, their safety to human beings as certified by Anvisa, and their environmental effects as certified by Ibama,” Donadon noted.

According to a survey conducted by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) in 2016, about 40% of global food production was lost due to pests. If agrochemicals were banned, these numbers could more than double, reaching values close to 85%.

Citing these figures, Donadon pointed out that she launched PlantCare to look for solutions to help companies speed up their capacity to obtain efficiency data. The company began operating in 2019 as an experimental agricultural research station aimed at providing performance services related to chemical and biological pesticides. The startup currently runs field trials to test the efficiency of products that are under market development. In the next harvest, with accreditation from Mapa, it will also evaluate products that are in the registration phase.

Situated in the Ribeirão Preto Innovation and Technology Park, which is located on the USP campus, the company has the scientific base as a differential. “We have a strong scientific bias, so we are drafting projects that involve partnerships with research institutions, such as ESALQ,” explained Simone Brand, a founding partner of the startup.

Market

National and multinational companies, such as Adama, Biovalens, Nichino, Orion Industrial, Stoller, Syngenta and UPL, are seeking improvements in the positioning and evaluation of the effectiveness of their chemical and biological pesticides. The process can take up to 10 years, requiring considerable investment by the industry. Delays in the delivery of results by companies that carry out the tests can impact financial and even emotional costs.

“We feel that we have a great responsibility to carry out tests in the best possible way, to generate useful and satisfactory information and results,” Brand explained. PlantCare, therefore, delivers partial reports through an application it created to achieve greater agility and transparency in the obtaining of data by contracting companies.

Pesticides

Pesticides are developed to combat pests, diseases and weeds in crops. In order for them to reach the market, it is necessary to test their effectiveness and ensure that they do not cause damage to the environment and the health of rural workers and food consumers.

“As the doses used today are significantly lower than they were years ago, there is a growing need for professionals to offer molecules that are efficient in low doses and less toxic,” Brand said in conclusion.

The original Portuguese version of this article is from GRUPO CULTIVAR.