Brazil's advance: how is it strengthening as an agricultural power and what is its north?

RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil.- Good agreement with Jair Bolsonaro's government, focus on business and a strong commitment to incorporating technology to improve results.

These three factors depict what is happening today in the Brazilian field and are felt in all its magnitude in Agrishow, a sample of agricultural machinery manufactured last week in this city located just over 300 km from San Pablo. A distance where the cultivation of sugar cane, which covers about 10 million hectares throughout Brazil, dominates the landscape that leads to Agrishow.

In Agrishow, the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq) is among the organizers. The fair moved companies around R $ 2,900 million (US $ 725 million), 6.4% more than in the previous edition. , producers are on honeymoon with Bolsonaro.

"The harvest is good (the harvest is expected to be around 228.4 million tonnes compared to the previous year's 221 million) and we have 20% more orders because the producer trusts to the government, "said Oscar Benedito, a technician from the Jacto agricultural machinery company, a reference in this country.

For the whole agricultural machinery market, the number of harvesters is expected to increase by 40% in 2019 (compared to about 5,000 to 6,000 machines compared to the previous cycle) and by 25% of the number of tractors (compared to 2018 between 37,000 and 43,000 teams), with an average overall, up 10% across the sector. Last year, the total market, including internal operations and exports, amounted to about 4 billion US dollars.

For the Brazilian president, producers appreciate him for his initiative in favor of a pension reform that would seek to make more balanced a system today characterized by strong imbalances up to his fight proclaimed against corruption and its critics of land occupations, in addition to its desire to seek more trade agreements. .

In Mercosur, Brazilian producers say that they do not want to leave, but they require adjustments. Some argue, beyond the climate problem, that Brazil could produce more wheat in Paraná and other regions (this country has a harvest of about 5.5 million tonnes and needs to import more than 6 million tonnes ).

"The badessment of Bolsonaro is excellent, it also speaks the language of farmers and is opposed to land invasions," said Humberto Tavares, agricultural producer.

Gastón Trajtenberg, former president of John Deere in Argentina and current sales manager for Latin America since Brazil, also notes that "the farmer's confidence has grown with the change of government".

He adds that credit availability continues, expanding areas, such as in the Northeast and North, and is committed to increasing yields. It is not surprising to see soybeans touching 50 quintals per hectare.

The fact that perhaps more graphic than what Trajtenberg mentions is an index. This is the so-called Agro-Food Confidence Index (Icagro) of the State Industries Federation of São Paulo (Fiesp), which has been at the highest level for six years. The executive emphasizes the functioning of a "financing framework" conducive to the business climate.

The Brazilian producer pays rates ranging from 7.5% to 8%. They consider that it is a high value compared to 4 to 5% of other years, while maintaining the investor mood. Many rushed to shop at the fair to take advantage of these rates before there is an increase.

During the visit of the exhibition, Bolsonaro and his Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, announced the granting of a credit of some 400 million US dollars between an insurance for the climatic hazards and the purchase of agricultural equipment.

"Here, the livestock sector is also reacting positively, meat prices are good and female retention is being stimulated, and the crisis in China due to swine fever is an opportunity," Tavares said. .

The fact that Brazil is focusing on agribusiness is demonstrated by other points. In the infrastructure sector, for example, producers and contractors are expecting concessions for pbadenger transport in the shipping and rail sectors that the Bolsonaro government has in its portfolio.

"80% (of production) are trucked, we need more waterways and railways," said João Carlos Marchesan, president of Abimaq. In many areas, a ton of soy has to travel more than 2,000 kilometers to reach the ports.

In Brazil, according to Pedro Estevão, president of the Sectorial Chamber of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment, the tax burden "reaches 34%" for the activity and at this stage, expectations are also expected. "We are witnessing with hope the government reforms in the areas of retirement, tributary and politics," said Francisco Matturro, president of Agrishow and vice president of the Brazilian Association of agrifood (Abag).

Connectivity is another point of interest in Brazil. In Brazil, 86% of the population, out of a total of 210 million inhabitants, live in urban areas.

A group of companies from the sector (Baldan, Jacto, Jumil, Tatu Marchesan, MIAC, Stara and Vence Tudo) created what they called the "Farmers Collaborative Databank" ( BDCA).

BDCA seeks to integrate the data generated by equipment and sensors from all manufacturers, with access granted by producers. The idea is that all data is in one place and stored in a databank or cloud. The producer will have the autonomy to decide what information to share.

For manufacturers, it's a chance to share some of the data generated in the fields and then respond to producers' demand.

At the show, Case organized a very popular demonstration with the producers of its AFS Connect, a system that not only allows to postpone and manage a fleet of machines in real time and to take note of alerts, but also an agronomic management of l & # 39; establishment.

John Deere also strongly bets on connectivity and scanning with its proposal for Operations Center and JD Link for connection, information management and machine-related decision making. For Trajtenberg, with the current technology, it is precisely to optimize what the producer has bought.

Equipment innovations

RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil.- Among the novelties is the presentation of the brand Fendt, belonging to the group Agco, Agrishow. Fendt is a luxury brand with teams at the forefront of technology. He landed in Brazil and did so by showing, among other products, the 1050 Vario tractor with 517 horsepower. This tractor will come from Germany to Brazil. He also introduced the 40-line Momentum planter that also uses fertilizer. This machine will be made in Brazil with the ideal combination for clbades 7, 8 and 9.

Mbadey Ferguson, another Agco brand, also showed the folding Momentum (it measures 3.60 meters for transport) made in Brazil, with 24, 30 and 40 lines and intended only for seeding. These planters are equipped with precision planting technology. The drill can reach working speeds above 10 km / h, offers less compaction with independent lines and is a machine requiring less maintenance.

In Kuhn, they presented to the sprayer Fighter 2500 a stainless steel tank, safer because they are distinguished in the support for the cleaning and the prevention of the contamination of the product. Meanwhile, the Jan company introduced a sprayer with an electrostatic system that, during application, creates waves for the product to reach the top and bottom of the plants.