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Summary

In AgTech & AI news, Ecorobotix brought its AI-powered precision sprayer to Brazil, Fox Agritech advanced a novel boll weevil monitoring system using electromagnetic waves, Embrapa expanded the use of generative AI across research and technical recommendations, and Syngenta scales its digital farming platform toward 100 million monitored hectares.

In Climate Tech developments, i4sea is taking hyperlocal climate intelligence from ports to farms, offering farmers sharper tools to manage weather volatility. Banana Milk and Typcal highlighted two different paths in alternative proteins and ingredients, while BTG Timberland raised fresh capital for forestry investments and CTC opened a new US$20 million lab to scale synthetic sugarcane seed.

On the Funding & M&A front, Petrobras committed US$1 billion to a new fertilizer plant, Cofco is investing US$400 million to expand soy crushing capacity in Mato Grosso, BNDES approved new financing for CNH Industrial Brasil to support machinery innovation, GDC Alimentos reentered animal nutrition through the acquisition of a Patense plant, and Raízen remains under pressure as creditors push for control in a debt-for-equity restructuring.

In Macro & Markets, Embrapa scientist Mariangela Hungria was named to the Time 100 list, CNA challenged a new satellite-based rural credit rule at the Supreme Court, Nestlé is betting on iced coffee to expand Nescafé consumption in Brazil, and the US dollar fell below R$5.00 for the first time in two years.

Table of Contents

AgTech & AI

• Ecorobotix brings AI-powered precision spraying to Brazil

• Fox Agritech uses electromagnetic waves to track cotton boll weevil

• Embrapa expands generative AI across research and farm recommendations

• Syngenta expands digital platform toward 100 million hectares

Climate Tech

• i4sea brings hyperlocal climate intelligence from ports to farms

• Foodtech Banana Milk scales banana-based plant milk in Brazil

• Typcal bets on mycelium protein to enter the global ingredients market

• BTG Timberland raises US$370 million for Latin American forestry

• CTC opens US$20 million lab to scale synthetic sugarcane seed

Funding & M&A

• Petrobras to invest US$1 billion in nitrogen fertilizer plant

• Cofco invests US$400 million to expand soy crushing in Mato Grosso

• BNDES backs CNH innovation push in Brazilian ag machinery

• GDC reenters animal nutrition with Patense plant acquisition

• Raízen creditors seek control in debt-for-equity restructuring

Macro & Markets

• Embrapa scientist Mariangela Hungria makes Time 100 list

• CNA challenges satellite-based rural credit rule at Supreme Court

• Nestlé bets on iced coffee to lift Nescafé sales in Brazil

• Dollar falls below R$5.00 for first time in two years

AgTech & AI

Ecorobotix Brings AI Precision Spraying to Brazil - Swiss agtech Ecorobotix is entering Brazil with its ARA precision sprayer, which uses cameras, sensors, and AI to identify crops and weeds plant by plant and spray only targeted areas with centimeter-level accuracy. The company says the system can cut chemical use by up to 95% while reducing drift and contamination. Ecorobotix has sold 1,000 units in about 30 countries and counts BASF and Yara among its investors. In Brazil, it will start with higher-value fruit and vegetable crops before moving into soy, corn, and cotton. read more

Fox Agritech Uses AI to Track Cotton Boll Weevil - Mato Grosso startup Fox Agritech is developing a pest-monitoring system that combines electromagnetic waves, LEDs, computer vision, and AI to detect cotton boll weevil in the field. Founded by 25-year-old agricultural technician Kennedy Gnoatto in Sinop, the company is moving from controlled tests to field validation, with pilot areas in Mato Grosso and Bahia and support from Bahia’s cotton growers association Abapa. Fox says the system could cut insecticide applications by up to 15%, reduce repeated field visits, and improve early detection of outbreaks. read more

Embrapa Expands Generative AI Across Research and Farm Advice - Embrapa says 14 research units are expanding the use of generative AI to speed up scientific work, improve technical recommendations, and support decision-making across Brazil’s agro-food and forestry systems. The technology is being used to organize large datasets, simulate production scenarios, generate reports, and develop more tailored field recommendations. Embrapa says the effort builds on its earlier use of predictive AI in areas such as soybean rust monitoring and disease prevention, while opening new applications in climate zoning, crop management, genetic improvement, and soil analysis. read more

Syngenta Expands Digital Platform Toward 100 Million Hectares - Syngenta is bringing a new digital operations tool to Brazil as part of its global push to monitor 100 million hectares by 2030 through its Cropwise platform. The company says the system helps farmers integrate planning, execution, and analysis in one place, making it easier to compare field performance, spot waste, and understand differences in input-use efficiency. Syngenta currently tracks 76 million hectares globally, including 14.8 million in Brazil, while Cropwise Operations already covers 50 million monitored hectares, 30,000 connected machines per day, and 40,000 active users. read more

Climate Tech

i4sea Brings Hyperlocal Climate Intelligence From Ports to Farms - Brazilian startup i4sea is taking its AI-powered climate intelligence platform from ports and offshore operations into agriculture, offering hyperlocal forecasts built from weather stations, radar, and sensor data for periods ranging from a few hours to 15 days. Already used at major ports such as Santos and Açu, as well as by mining and offshore wind operators, the platform is now being positioned to help farmers manage weather volatility and climate extremes. The company says the system can support both real-time operational decisions and longer-term planning. read more

Banana Milk Scales Banana-Based Plant Milk in Brazil - Santa Catarina foodtech Banana Milk is growing 10% month over month as it bets on banana-based plant milk to carve out a differentiated niche in Brazil’s expanding alternative beverage market. Founded by Marcos Christol after spotting the category gap during a trip to the US, the company has reached 400 points of sale in less than a year. Its asset-light model outsources production so capital can stay focused on product development, branding, and go-to-market execution. Banana Milk is using Santa Catarina as a test market before expanding nationally. read more

Typcal Bets on Mycelium Protein for Alternative Ingredients - Paraná-based foodtech Typcal is betting on mycelium, the root-like structure of fungi, as the base for a new protein and fiber ingredient aimed at the food industry. The startup says it wants to generate US$1 million in its first year and is targeting export markets such as Chile, Mexico, and Europe while awaiting final Anvisa approval in Brazil. With initial production capacity of about five tons per month, Typcal says its ingredient contains around 45% protein and 35% fiber and can be used in products ranging from snacks and breads to hybrid meat products. read more

BTG Timberland Raises US$370 Million for Latin American Forestry - BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, the forestry investment arm of BTG, has completed a US$370 million first close for a new strategy focused on large-scale sustainable forestry projects across Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. The group aims to reach US$1.5 billion in commitments over five years, targeting diversification across geographies, climates, species, and end markets. The raise builds on BTG’s broader expansion in nature-based assets, including timber, carbon, and reforestation strategies in Latin America. read more

CTC Opens US$20 Million Lab to Scale Synthetic Sugarcane Seed - CTC has inaugurated a US$20 million production unit in Piracicaba to scale its synthetic sugarcane seed technology, designed to make planting lighter, cheaper, and more compatible with precision agriculture. The company says the new lab raises productive capacity to 500 hectares of seedlings per shift and marks another step in a project that has already absorbed close to US$200 million since 2013, with support from Finep and BNDES. CTC estimates the technology can cut planting material needs from 16 tonnes of cane stalks per hectare to about 400 kilograms, opening the door to more automated planting systems. read more

Funding & M&A

Petrobras To Invest US$1 Billion in Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant - Petrobras is investing US$1 billion in a new nitrogen fertilizer plant in Mato Grosso do Sul, deepening its return to the sector and aiming to supply 15% of Brazil’s nitrogen fertilizer demand once the unit is operational. The UFN3 project is expected to be completed in 2029, with urea storage infrastructure coming earlier, by mid-2027. The move comes as Brazil remains heavily dependent on imported fertilizers and exposed to geopolitical shocks in strategic inputs. read more

Cofco to Invest US$400 Million to Expand Soy Crushing in Mato Grosso - Cofco will invest US$400 million to double the soy crushing capacity of its Rondonópolis plant in Mato Grosso, lifting throughput from 4,500 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes per day and turning the site into Brazil’s largest soy crushing unit. The expansion is expected to be completed in early 2028 and will also increase production of higher-value products such as soybean meal and oil. The project adds to Cofco’s broader Brazil push following the opening of a new terminal at the Port of Santos last year. read more

BNDES Backs CNH Innovation Push in Brazilian Ag Machinery - Brazil’s development bank BNDES has approved US$26 million in financing for CNH Industrial Brasil under its BNDES Mais Inovação program to support eight projects focused on new and improved agricultural machinery. The package includes investments in harvesters, tractors, and input application equipment tailored to Brazilian farming conditions, with an emphasis on efficiency, emissions reduction, and future regulatory demands tied to carbon markets and low-impact fuels. Among the flagship projects is a planter capable of applying seeds, fertilizers, solids, and inoculants in a single pass. read more

GDC Reenters Animal Nutrition with Patense Plant Acquisition - GDC Alimentos, owner of Gomes da Costa and controlled by Spain’s Nauterra, has acquired a fishmeal plant in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, from the bankrupt Grupo Patense for US$27 million. The asset was sold through Patense’s judicial recovery process and the transaction was cleared by Brazil’s antitrust authority. The purchase marks GDC’s return to the animal nutrition ingredients segment after exiting the business in 2023, while also helping it recover part of the roughly US$12 million it is still owed by Patense as one of the group’s largest creditors. read more

Raízen Creditors Seek Control in Debt-for-Equity Restructuring - Creditors of Raízen have proposed converting 45% of the company’s roughly US$13 billion debt into equity in exchange for 90% ownership, in a move that would sharply dilute current shareholders and hand effective control to lenders. The proposal comes as Raízen negotiates an out-of-court restructuring after being hit by high interest rates, unpaid investments, and operational challenges in its sugar and ethanol businesses. The talks also carry broader implications for parent Cosan, as major banks have reportedly threatened to restrict credit to other group companies if no agreement is reached before the June 6 deadline. read more

Macro & Markets

Embrapa Scientist Mariangela Hungria Makes Time 100 - Embrapa researcher Mariangela Hungria has been named to Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, recognition tied to her decades of work developing soil microorganisms that help crops absorb nitrogen naturally. According to the magazine, her innovations are now used on 85% of Brazil’s soybean area and help farmers save about US$25 billion per year while avoiding 230 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Hungria, a microbiologist and agronomist, has spent 34 years researching biological alternatives to chemical fertilizers and last year also received the World Food Prize. read more

CNA Challenges Satellite-Based Rural Credit Rule at Supreme Court - Brazil’s farm association CNA has filed a case with the Supreme Court seeking to suspend recent regulatory rules that require banks and other financial institutions to use satellite monitoring data from Prodes when evaluating rural credit for farms. The farm lobby argues the measure can wrongly treat legal land clearing as illegal deforestation, ignores cases under environmental regularization, and risks freezing financing before producers can present a defense. CNA says the rule could delay or block funding for the next crop season at a time of already tight margins and high input costs. read more

Nestlé Bets on Iced Coffee to Lift Nescafé Sales in Brazil - Nestlé expects iced coffee to grow from about 10% to 30% of Nescafé sales in Brazil by 2028 as it pushes the brand into new consumption occasions beyond the traditional hot cup. After entering the segment only in 2023, the company is expanding its cold portfolio and using formats such as ready-to-drink products, soluble coffee, and Dolce Gusto capsules to attract younger consumers and more social, on-the-go occasions. Nestlé says the category is adding incremental consumption, in new locations such as the beach, rather than cannibalizing hot coffee. read more

Dollar Falls Below R$5.00 for First Time in Two Years - The US dollar closed below R$5.00 on April 13 for the first time in two years, ending the session at R$4.9980 after comments from President Donald Trump lifted hopes of a possible agreement with Iran and improved sentiment across Brazilian assets. The move marked the fourth straight daily decline for the dollar in Brazil and left the currency down 8.95% on the year. For Brazilian farmers, foreign exchange remains a double-edged sword: a stronger real helps reduce the cost of imported inputs such as fertilizers, chemicals, and machinery, but it also makes Brazilian agricultural exports less competitive abroad by lowering returns in local currency. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Summary

In AgTech news this week, AI techniques are moving deeper into Brazil’s food chain, from real-time meat quality analysis developed by USP researchers to space farming work led by Embrapa that helped advance food systems for space missions. Premium niche production also stood out, with caviar limes fetching up to $240 per kilo, while Brazil’s elite cattle genetics market hit another milestone as a Brazilian cow reached a valuation of over US$10 million.

In Climate Tech developments, Acelen Renováveis partnered with European startup Finboot to build traceability for macaúba as it targets SAF markets in Europe and the US. Circular economy innovation also featured strongly, with researchers and local producers turning unused fruit and vegetables into edible plant leather, while defective green coffee was repurposed into antioxidant-rich chocolate with potential commercial applications.

On the Funding & M&A front, Solinftec hired Citi to support acquisitions and a possible shareholder reshuffle as it looks to strengthen its AI and data capabilities. Frísia announced a $20 million investment in a new grain hub in Tocantins, while Grupo Trebeschi, Brazil’s largest fresh tomato producer, filed for judicial recovery as it works to restructure a heavy debt load.

In Macro & Markets, tensions in the Middle East pushed Brazilian farmers to accelerate crop protection purchases amid fears of input price volatility. Brazil’s chocolate and trade sectors also saw important moves, with a proposed law to raise cocoa content standards, the planned arrival of Salon du Chocolat in Brazil, and Ethiopia opening its market to 17 Brazilian agricultural products.

Table of Contents

AgTech & AI

• AI Technique Evaluates Meat Quality in Real Time

• Caviar Limes Sell for Up to $240 per Kilo

• Brazil Ag Helped Advance Food Systems for Space Mission Research

• Brazilian Cow Becomes World’s Most Expensive at $10.8 Million

Climate Tech

• Acelen Partners with Finboot to Trace Macaúba for SAF Markets

• Unused Fruit and Veg Turned into Edible Plant Leather

• Defective Green Coffee Turned into Antioxidant-Rich Chocolate

Funding & M&A

• Solinftec Hires Citi to Pursue M&A and New Shareholders

• Frísia Invests $20 Million in New Grain Hub in Tocantins

• Brazil’s Largest Fresh Tomato Producer Files for Judicial Recovery

Macro & Markets

• Middle East Conflict Speeds Up Crop Protection Purchases in Brazil

• Proposed Law Would Require More Cocoa in Chocolate Sold in Brazil

• Salon du Chocolat Is Coming to Brazil with €1.5 Million Investment

• Brazil Opens Ethiopian Market to 17 Agricultural Products

AgTech & AI

AI Technique Evaluates Meat Quality in Real Time - Researchers at USP’s Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture have developed an AI-based method to assess meat freshness in real time using computer vision and machine learning, offering a faster and less costly alternative to traditional lab testing. The system analyzes digital images of beef to detect visual patterns linked to deterioration, with reported accuracy ranging from 93% to 100% depending on configuration. Built on pre-trained neural networks and a feature extraction method known as Radam, the approach is non-destructive and designed for industrial settings such as slaughterhouses. read more

Caviar Limes Sell for Up to $240 per Kilo - Caviar Lime, an Australian citrus fruit also know as finger lime, is gaining attention in Brazil for its high value and distinctive texture, with prices ranging from about $80 to $240 per kilo. Its pulp forms small vesicles that burst in the mouth, making it especially attractive to chefs and restaurants. Researchers say production remains limited, typically reaching only four to six kilos per plant, which helps keep supply tight and prices high. In Brazil, the Agronomic Institute of Campinas has been studying the crop for decades and released the Faustini cultivar in 2023. Despite its premium appeal, experts say it will remain a niche product best suited to small-scale specialty growers. read more

Brazil Ag Helped Advance Food Systems for Space Mission Research - Brazil contributed to NASA’s Artemis program through Space Farming Brazil, an initiative led by Embrapa with support from the Brazilian Space Agency to develop food production technologies for extreme environments. The project draws on Brazil’s agricultural expertise to design systems that could operate on the Moon and, later, Mars. In the first phase, researchers selected sweet potato and chickpea as model crops because of their nutritional value, adaptability and ease of handling. In 2025, chickpea seeds and sweet potato seedlings developed by Embrapa were sent into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard, and the next stage focuses on growing these crops in closed environments suitable for lunar bases or long-duration missions. read more

Brazilian Cow Becomes World’s Most Expensive at $10.8 Million - Donna FIV CIAV, a Nelore donor cow based in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, has become the most valuable cow in the world, with a valuation of around $10.8 million. The animal’s genetics drew intense demand after strong performance in the show ring and through its offspring, pushing its value sharply higher in recent years. In Brazil’s elite cattle market, that premium reflects reproductive potential, pedigree, and large-scale embryo and clone production. Donna now lives at Fazenda Mata Velha and has become a symbol of how advanced genetics and breeding scarcity continue to drive record prices in Brazil’s beef cattle sector. read more

Climate Tech

Acelen Partners with European Startup to Trace Macaúba for SAF Markets - Acelen Renováveis, backed by Mubadala Capital, has partnered with European startup Finboot to build a traceability system for macaúba, a native Brazilian palm seen as a promising feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. The project begins with monitoring 500 planted hectares in Bahia and could expand to 5,000 hectares in the next phase, with ambitions to support production of 1 billion liters of biofuels. Acelen says robust traceability is essential to access regulated SAF markets in Europe and the US, where compliance, lifecycle emissions tracking and certification standards are becoming stricter. read more

Unused Fruit and Vegetables Turned into Edible Plant Leather - A project led by the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo is helping family farmers turn overripe fruit and vegetables into thin, flexible edible sheets through dehydration. The material can be consumed directly and used in decorative and culinary applications, including flowers, medallions and layered dishes. Over six months, the group tested products including pitaya, Sicilian lemon, guava, passion fruit, tomato and coffee, and trained 10 family farmers to apply the technique on their properties. The initiative aims to reduce food waste, create new products and expand rural income opportunities. read more

Defective Green Coffee Turned into Antioxidant-Rich Chocolate - Researchers at Unicamp and the Food Technology Institute (Ital) have developed a milk chocolate enriched with phenolic compounds extracted from defective green coffee, a by-product usually discarded or sold at low value in the specialty coffee chain. The product contains up to 4.6 times more antioxidants than conventional chocolate, while sensory tests showed strong acceptance even at higher concentrations. The team says the technology is ready for transfer to industry and could reach the market by 2027, creating higher-value uses for coffee waste and new income opportunities for producers. read more

Funding & M&A

Solinftec Hires Citi to Pursue M&A and New Shareholders - Agtech company Solinftec has hired Citi as financial adviser as it explores both acquisitions and a shareholder reshuffle, aiming to buy data-rich startups while creating liquidity for some founding shareholders. The company is targeting assets in areas such as equipment monitoring and weather data to expand the information base used to train its AI systems. Solinftec raised a US$50 million Series D last year and has now secured US$125 million in total funding from investors including YVY Capital, Rise Life-centered Investments, TPG and AgFunder. In 2025, the company posted revenue of about US$90 million and EBITDA above US$20 million, while operating across Brazil, the US and 12 other countries. read more

Frísia Invests $20 Million in New Grain Hub in Tocantins - Paraná-based cooperative Frísia is investing about $20 million in a new grain warehouse and logistics hub in Tocantins state, as it looks to move closer to farmers and expand its presence in one of Brazil’s fastest-growing agricultural frontiers. Construction is expected to begin in June and finish in early 2028. The new unit will have grain intake capacity of 600 tons per hour, processing capacity of 240 tons per hour and total storage capacity of 42,000 tons, plus an input warehouse. Tocantins already represents around 45,000 hectares and 10% of Frísia’s revenue, making the state a strategic growth region for the cooperative. read more

Brazil’s Largest Fresh Tomato Producer Files for Judicial Recovery - Grupo Trebeschi, Brazil’s largest producer of fresh tomatoes, has filed for judicial recovery as it seeks to restructure debts of about $125 million, part of a total liability load of roughly $235 million. The filing includes a 180-day suspension of debt collections while the company negotiates with creditors, including major banks and cooperatives. Trebeschi says financial strain began in 2021 after climate-related production losses and was worsened by higher fertilizer prices and elevated interest rates. The company produces more than 75,000 tons annually, operates across six states and says its diversified operations in grains, coffee and vegetables will continue without supply disruption. read more

Macro & Markets

Middle East Conflict Speeds Up Crop Protection Purchases in Brazil - Rising tensions in the Middle East are prompting Brazilian farmers to bring forward purchases of crop protection products as they brace for possible price increases tied to oil, diesel and petrochemical inputs. Reports from companies including Corteva, Ihara and BASF say that demand has picked up in recent weeks, as producers try to lock in supplies before further volatility hits. Industry players say the situation could also open more space for biologicals and locally sourced inputs in the next crop cycle. read more

Proposed Law Would Require More Cocoa in Chocolate Sold in Brazil - A bill approved by Brazil’s lower house and now headed to the Senate would raise minimum cocoa content requirements for products sold as chocolate, including new definitions for milk chocolate, powdered chocolate and white chocolate. Under the proposal, standard chocolate would need at least 35% total cocoa solids, up from the current 25%. Industry experts say the practical impact may be limited, since many premium brands already exceed those thresholds and lower-cost products have increasingly shifted toward “chocolate-flavored” formulations instead of chocolate itself. Researchers estimate the change would lift cocoa demand from industry by about 5%, though the effect on prices and farmer sales should remain modest. read more

Salon du Chocolat Is Coming to Brazil with €1.5 Million Investment - Brazilian entrepreneur Marco Lessa is bringing the Salon du Chocolat to Brazil through an investment of €1.5 million, positioning the country more firmly in the global premium chocolate circuit. The event, expected in December 2026, will connect Brazilian cocoa and chocolate producers with international buyers, brands and industry professionals, while helping shift the sector away from a commodity model toward higher-value products and stronger origin branding. Brazil is the only country in the Salon’s global network that produces cocoa, consumes cocoa, makes chocolate and consumes chocolate at scale. read more

Brazil Opens Ethiopian Market to 17 Agricultural Products - Brazil has secured access to Ethiopia for 17 agricultural products, including beef, pork and poultry, in another step to diversify export markets across Africa. The opening gives Brazil access to a market of roughly 130 million people and follows other recent moves on the continent, including new openings in South Africa, Benin, Senegal and Angola. Since 2023, Brazil has been pushing a broader strategy to expand agribusiness trade beyond traditional partners, with Asia and Africa as key targets. Officials say more than 500 market openings had been completed by early 2026, as Brazil seeks to strengthen the global reach of its animal protein sector. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Market Lens

Having grown up on a farm in Ireland, I’m fairly familiar with the European AgriTech scene, so I was not expecting this one-week ARISE* trip across the UK ecosystem to show me anything new. I returned to Brazil, however, more surprised and impressed than I had expected.

What stood out was not just the science, the quality of the centres, or the funding behind them. These institutions seem to have matured beyond a pure research and technology lens and are taking a harder look at market opportunities, including ones farther afield.

The UK has many of the ingredients needed to build strong AgriTech: talent, public funding, serious research infrastructure, and institutions like Norwich Research Park, the John Innes Centre, The Sainsbury Laboratory, the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology, Cambridge-based Niab, and Warwick Manufacturing Group. What it does not have is a large addressable market. British agriculture is relatively small, fragmented, and seasonal, which limits its attractiveness for venture capital.

That reality seems to be changing the way some of these centres think. The focus is widening from developing the science to finding the right market, the right test bed, and the right commercial path. Brazil kept coming into the picture for exactly that reason.

Southern Appeal

Norwich Research Park made that shift clear. The scale is impressive, but the more important point is that this is no longer just a cluster of strong research institutions. It is becoming a platform that is thinking more seriously about where science can travel and where it can find the biggest commercial opportunity.

According to Jonathan Clarke of John Innes Enterprise, the traditional model often centred on attracting foreign startups and talent into the UK through funded projects and research collaborations. That model is now widening. The UK has strong science, serious funding through bodies like the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and deep institutional capability, but it also needs larger and more commercially relevant markets if that science is going to stretch beyond its home market.

Brazil offers exactly that kind of market. The UK has excellent research capability, but a smaller, fragmented, and seasonal agricultural market. Brazil offers larger scale, year-round production, tropical crops, climate pressure, and a much bigger commercial opportunity in both agriculture and climate. For UK AgriTech looking to move from lab to land, some of that land will need to be outside the UK.

According to James Canham of GetGenome, a non-profit spinout from The Sainsbury Laboratory, around 95% of genomes in the main databases come from the Global North. That points to a major blind spot in global science and a major opportunity as well. If the data is concentrated in the North, then a large part of the future value may come from helping researchers in the Global South build better genomic infrastructure of their own.

Farm Reality

If Norwich was strong on market direction, the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology (LIAT) was strong on practical reality. The conversation there was less about abstract potential and more about what it takes to make a technology survive in an agricultural setting.

One example was the effort to make a robot more farm-ready by giving it extra torque. That is not a flashy detail, but it tells you a lot. Agriculture is a rough operating environment, and machines need to cope with mud, weight, uneven ground, and long working days. Design choices like that show a centre thinking about the job, not just the demonstration.

The idea of developing stacks that can sit on top of different robotic platforms was also interesting. That feels like a more practical route to scale than tying everything to one machine. In AgriTech, the strongest solution is often the one that can be adapted, reused, and deployed across different contexts without starting from zero each time.

I also liked LIAT’s “pull, push, foundry” framework for identifying market opportunity. Some technologies are pulled by market demand. Others are pushed by research. Others need a more collaborative foundry model where industry, researchers, and builders work through the problem together. Whatever the starting point, the lesson was the same: the technology has to earn its way onto the farm.

Scale Matters

Warwick added another layer to the story. If Lincoln was about field readiness, Warwick was about manufacturing readiness. That may sound less exciting, but it is where many AgriTech ideas either become real businesses or quietly stall.

Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick seemed to approach the problem from exactly that angle. The real question is not just whether a technology works. It is whether it can be produced, repeated, integrated, and scaled in a way that makes commercial sense.

What stood out there was the multidisciplinary mindset. Life science, software, hardware, engineering, and business are all part of the same conversation. That matters because AgriTech tends to fail where those disciplines do not connect. A promising product can easily get stuck between technical proof, operational fit, and manufacturing economics.

That manufacturing lens also feels like a sign of maturity. Too much AgriTech still gets judged too early by whether it is novel or technically impressive. Warwick seemed more interested in whether it could survive contact with reality. In that sense, the move from lab to land also depends on a move from prototype to production.

Support Rails

What also stood out across the trip was that the centres are not operating in isolation. Around them sits a layer of programmes, partnerships, and support structures that help move ideas forward. That part matters because strong science on its own is rarely enough.

According to Gareth Arnott, Head of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, the Momentum One Zero programme is a good example of this. Instead of funding research and worrying about the market later, it is building a more applied framework around digital innovation, data, and commercial collaboration. That kind of support can be especially useful in agriculture, where the path from science to business is rarely straightforward.

The same applies to the wider discussions around gateway programmes, soft-landing models, and institutions like Barclays Eagle Labs. The UK seems to be getting more serious about the infrastructure around innovation, not just the invention itself. That includes helping startups and technologies find the right networks, markets, and partners beyond their home base.

That may end up being one of the most important lessons from the trip. AgriTech does not just need better science. It needs better rails around the science so good ideas can move more smoothly from research centre to company, from company to pilot, and from pilot to market.

*ARISE (Agri-Tech for Resilience, Innovation & Sustainable Ecosystems) is a UK government-funded Tactical Fund project led by Agri-TechE in partnership with AgriTIERRA, Earthbase, Embrapa, and The Yield Lab Institute. The trilateral knowledge exchange program across the UK, US, and Brazil brought together participants from Niab, Newcastle University, Harper Adams University, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Taylor Geospatial Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, CREA and Universidad Austral in Argentina, AgCenter Colombia, Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, AgTech Chile, APTA Hub in Brazil, and The Yield Lab Latam.

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In AgTech & AI news, a new MRI-based tool from FIT promises faster measurement of beef tenderness, while the latest Radar Agtech report shows growing AI adoption across Brazil’s startup ecosystem. John Deere is shifting from new machine sales toward upgrades and connectivity, Atvos and Tereos tested autonomous tractors in sugarcane fields, Agricef is using AI and computer vision for selective irrigation in forestry, and Moinho Globo is investing in robotics to ease bottlenecks as growth pushes its flour operations to capacity.

In Climate Tech developments, dairy producers are investing in cooling and animal welfare to protect milk yields, while Brazil’s rapid adoption of agricultural drones is bringing new compliance and environmental risks into focus. Atvos is planning a wider biometane buildout to replace diesel in its own fleet, and Brazil’s bioinputs market returned to growth, reaching a new record as biological products gain ground.

On the Funding & M&A front, Ecotrace is seeking up to R$10 million in equity funding to expand its traceability platform, especially in halal markets. 3corações agreed to buy General Mills assets in Brazil, adding Yoki and Kitano to its portfolio, while agribusiness software group Aliare moved deeper into animal protein through another acquisition.

In Macro & Markets, diesel prices jumped sharply in March, reviving debate over a faster increase in Brazil’s biodiesel blend. Brazil also opened an export route through Turkey to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, while cattle market participants are warning that the expected expiry of China’s quota window could collide with rising feedlot supply and weigh on fed cattle prices later this year.

Table of Contents

AgTech & AI

• FIT's MRI Tool Targets Meat Tenderness

• AI Moves to the Core of Brazil Agtech

• John Deere Shifts from Iron to Upgrades

• Atvos and Tereos Pilot Autonomous Tractors

• Agricef Takes AI Irrigation Beyond Cane

• Moinho Globo Automates as Growth Hits Capacity Ceiling

Climate Tech

• Cow Comfort Boosts Milk Yields

• Brazil’s Drone Boom Meets Compliance Risk

• Atvos Maps Biometane Expansion

• Brazil Bioinputs Market Rebounds to Record

Funding & M&A

• Ecotrace Seeks up to R$10 Million in Equity Funding

• 3corações Buys Yoki and Kitano

• Aliare Expands into Animal Protein Software

Macro & Markets

• Diesel Jump Revives B16 Debate

• Brazil Reroutes Exports Around Hormuz

• China Quota Expiry Weighs on Fed Cattle Prices

AgTech & AI

FIT's MRI Tool Targets Meat Tenderness - Brazilian startup Fine Instrument Technology (FIT) has developed SpecFit Meat, a magnetic resonance device that can identify beef tenderness in just 12 seconds without cutting or cooking the product. The system captures signals and converts them into objective tenderness indicators, allowing analysis directly on the meat, even after packaging. The company says the technology could help packers certify softer zebu beef, improve product segmentation, reduce subjectivity at purchase, and shorten maturation times that can otherwise last up to 28 days in cold storage. Development took five years and more than R$3 million of investment, with support from FAPESP. read more

AI Moves to the Core of Brazil Agtech - Artificial intelligence is no longer a side feature in Brazil’s agtech ecosystem. The latest Radar Agtech report shows that 83% of surveyed startups already use AI, and for 35% it sits at the core of the product rather than as a support tool. The report maps 2,075 agtechs across 468 municipalities, pointing to an ecosystem that is still expanding but with more maturity and stronger institutional support, including 390 mapped innovation centers. Investors are also becoming more selective, with attention centered on areas such as biotechnology and biologicals, traceability, farm digitalization, and mechanization. see report

John Deere Shifts from Iron to Upgrades - With Brazilian farmers still constrained by high interest rates, tighter credit and rising delinquencies, John Deere is adapting its sales strategy to a market that is buying fewer new machines and asking instead for more productivity from existing fleets. At a proprietary event ahead of Agrishow, the company emphasized connectivity, operational efficiency and financing solutions, including upgrades to its JD Link satellite system and support from Banco John Deere, whose funding capacity was expanded through a partnership with Bradesco. The company is also adjusting production to avoid excess dealer inventory, while continuing to test longer-term technologies such as an ethanol-powered tractor. read more

Atvos and Tereos Pilot Autonomous Tractors - Sugar and ethanol groups Atvos and Tereos tested fully autonomous tractors during the 2025/26 crop season, marking what they describe as the first such trials in Brazil’s sugar-energy industry. Using ASI technology adapted onto existing tractors, the companies ran soil preparation operations with remote supervision from control centers and reported gains of up to 20% in productivity, cuts of up to 10% in diesel consumption and lower labor needs, with one operator monitoring three machines at once in Atvos’ tests. The trials also highlighted the remaining bottlenecks, especially poor connectivity in large farming areas and the need to adapt autonomous systems to Brazil’s terrain, soils and legal framework. read more

Agricef Takes AI Irrigation Beyond Cane - Campinas-based Agricef, a company born out of Unicamp university, is using computer vision and AI to develop a selective irrigation system aimed at Brazil’s forestry sector, as it looks to reduce its heavy dependence on sugarcane equipment. The new IrrigAI system uses cameras and algorithms to identify seedlings in the field and apply water only where plants are present, tackling one of silviculture’s most manual and costly operating bottlenecks. The solution is now in pilot tests with major forestry groups including Suzano and Dexco. Agricef says about half of its revenue already comes from its own machines, but around 90% of equipment sales are still tied to cane, making diversification a strategic priority. read more

Moinho Globo Automates as Growth Hits Capacity Ceiling - Paraná flour producer Moinho Globo is operating close to its expanded capacity after boosting output by about 70% to 1,000 tons per day with a new milling line, helping lift 2025 revenue 23% to about $133 million. To remove new bottlenecks in packaging and dispatch, the company is investing about $5 million in automation and robotics for its flour bagging lines, aiming for a fully automated flow from milling to palletized storage and shipment. The group is also expanding commercially with a direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel and plans another $4 million for new flour silos this year, while keeping larger greenfield investments on hold until macro conditions improve. read more

Climate Tech

Cow Comfort Boosts Milk Yields - Brazilian dairy farms are showing that animal comfort is paying off in higher productivity. Fazenda São José in Tapiratiba, Minas Gerais, returned to the top of the Top 100 dairy ranking with average output of 102,500 liters per day in 2025, helped by investments in facilities and a larger producing herd. Management said the upgrades lifted annual productivity by about 3 liters per cow per day, with measures such as extra cooling baths to reduce heat stress. Other producers are following the same path: one farm doubled output in two years by investing in feed and animal welfare, while Cobiça farm invested about $3 million in 2025 and is expanding milking capacity to 3,000 animals. read more

Brazil’s Drone Boom Meets Compliance Risk - Brazil is rapidly expanding the use of agricultural drones, especially for crop spraying, but operational, legal and financial risks are rising alongside adoption. The report highlights spray drift as one of the biggest concerns, with recent cases in Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais and Ceará showing how chemicals can reach neighboring crops, residential areas and local communities when application controls fail. While drones can improve efficiency and precision, Brazil still lacks more consistent operator training, certification and enforcement. The edge is now shifting from simply having the technology to managing it well, with stronger protocols for weather, calibration, monitoring and compliance. read more

Atvos Maps Biometane Expansion - Sugar and ethanol producer Atvos is advancing the construction of its first biomethane plant at the Santa Luzia mill in Mato Grosso do Sul and is already evaluating seven additional units beside its other sugar mills. The Santa Luzia facility will require about $70 million of investment and is expected to produce around 28 million cubic meters of biomethane per harvest. If all eight plants are built, Atvos says it could reach 137 million cubic meters per crop cycle and cut diesel-related emissions by 88.3%. The gas is intended mainly to replace diesel in the company’s own fleet, as Atvos works toward converting all of its vehicles to renewable gas over the coming years. read more

Brazil Bioinputs Market Rebounds to Record - Brazil’s bioinputs market resumed growth in 2025 and reached a record $1.2 billion, up 15.2% from about $1.1 billion in 2024, according to CropLife Brasil. Adoption in the field also accelerated, with the treated area rising 28% to 194 million hectares. Bioinsecticides led revenue with about $420 million, up 33.4%, while biofungicides grew 41% to about $260 million and inoculants advanced 13% to about $162 million. Soybeans accounted for 62% of market value, followed by corn at 22% and sugarcane at 10%, while Mato Grosso remained the largest consuming state. CropLife also said the newly approved Bioinputs Law should help sustain momentum once regulation is finalized. read more

Funding & M&A

Ecotrace Seeks up to $2 Million in Equity Funding - Brazilian traceability startup Ecotrace is seeking between $1 million and $2 million in a new equity round to support expansion into Europe and the Middle East, key destinations for Brazilian agricultural exports. The company, which has already raised about $2.2 million across five previous rounds, is doubling down on the halal market through its Ecohalal subsidiary, created with a $1.2 million investment in 2024. Last year Ecotrace tracked 39 million cattle and 112 million poultry in Brazil, and in 2025 it issued more than 46,000 halal certificates. The platform combines environmental, labor and production data, publishing audit reports on blockchain and linking each shipment to QR-coded product histories. read more

3corações Buys Yoki and Kitano - Grupo 3corações has agreed to acquire General Mills’ operations in Brazil for about $160 million, adding the Yoki and Kitano brands to its portfolio. The deal gives the coffee and food group a stronger position in staples, snacks and seasonings, with Yoki leading in categories such as farofa, microwave popcorn, potato sticks and related products, while Kitano is well known for natural seasonings. 3corações said the acquisition supports its strategy of diversification and portfolio complementarity. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. read more

Aliare Expands into Animal Protein Software - Brazilian agribusiness software group Aliare has acquired a majority stake in Agrosys, a poultry software specialist whose systems are used in operations handling about 30% of all birds slaughtered in Brazil. The deal deepens Aliare’s move into animal protein agroindustry, adding industrial and quality-management capabilities it previously lacked and extending its presence in Paraguay and Peru. It is Aliare’s fourth acquisition since 2021, following deals in logistics, machinery dealerships and rural credit, and reinforces its strategy of building a broader consolidated platform across the agribusiness value chain. The company now serves more than 5,000 clients and has projected revenue of $46 million for 2026, before any further acquisitions. read more

Macro & Markets

Diesel Jump Revives B16 Debate - Diesel prices in Brazil rose sharply in March, with lower sulfer diesel (S10) up 13.6% month on month and regular diesel up 12.34%, reaching average prices of around $5.30 per gallon. The increase came amid Middle East tensions that pushed oil prices higher and after Petrobras’ mid-March adjustment, reinforcing pressure on freight and broader logistics costs. The spike also reignited debate over raising Brazil’s biodiesel blend from B15 to B16, with Abiove arguing the move could be implemented if the government chooses and help reduce external dependence. The Center-West recorded the steepest monthly rise in regular diesel at 17%, while the North remained the most expensive region. read more

Brazil Reroutes Exports Around Hormuz - Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry has agreed a new logistics route via Turkey to keep agro exports flowing to the Middle East while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz. The arrangement allows Brazilian cargo, especially animal protein, to move by sea to Turkey and then continue by rail or road, with temporary storage and sanitary certification handled in Turkish territory, including halal requirements. The workaround preserves access to key import markets, but at a price: analysts say insurance for the region has surged and total logistics costs could rise by as much as 300%, with exporters and buyers likely forced to share the extra burden. read more

China Quota Expiry Weighs on Finished Cattle Prices - Brazil’s finished cattle market may come under pressure in the second half as the expected exhaustion of the beef export quota to China coincides with a larger supply of animals coming out of feedlots. JBS global CEO Gilberto Tomazoni warned that this overlap is likely to affect finished cattle prices, a view echoed by other analysts who have advised feedlot operators to hedge cattle prices in the futures market. For meatpackers, lower cattle prices could support margins, while for ranchers the risk is a widening gap between today’s physical market and lower forward contracts. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Summary

In AgTech & AI news, Sao Paulo’s APTAHub saw eight startups selected for the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge, spanning AI, robotics, food tech, energy, biomaterials, and sustainable construction. Embrapa advanced research on Brazilian algae as a natural biostimulant to help crops better withstand drought, with early greenhouse trials in canola and wheat showing promising results.

In Climate Tech developments, Brazil’s corn ethanol industry is projected to add another 7 billion liters of capacity by 2028, while a new study found that agricultural expansion released 1.4 billion tons of soil carbon. Embrapa also launched new low-carbon certification programs for corn and sorghum, and Biopower, a JBS subsidiary, converted 11.3 million liters of used cooking oil into biodiesel in 2025.

On the Funding & M&A front, Innovation Norway highlighted Brazil as a strategic destination for capital and technology deployment, with US$14 billion invested in the country in 2024. Norwegian officials pointed to agriculture, energy, biofuels, fertilizers, and digital solutions as priority areas.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil’s agribusiness sector faced a week shaped by geopolitical risk, trade friction, and supply chain vulnerability. Tensions in the Middle East exposed dependence on key export markets and fertilizer-linked inputs, new soy inspection rules for China triggered a clash between exporters and the government, and diesel shortages disrupted harvest work in Rio Grande do Sul.

Table of Contents

AgTech & AI

• Eight APTAHub Startups Reach the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge

• Embrapa Study Backs Brazilian Algae To Fight Drought

Climate Tech

• Brazil Corn Ethanol Could Gain 7 Billion Liters by 2028

• Brazil’s Farm Expansion Released 1.4 Billion Tons of Soil Carbon

• Plan to Install One Million Solar Panels in Brazil’s Semiarid Region

• Embrapa Expands Its Low-Carbon Portfolio to Corn and Sorghum

• Biopower Turns Used Cooking Oil Into Biodiesel

Funding & M&A

• Norway Bets US$14 Billion on Brazil and Its Agro Sector

Macro & Markets

• Brazil Agro Depends on the Middle East for Key Products

• Brazil Opens New Agro Markets in New Zealand and Turkey

• ‘Ghost Cattle’ Operation Probes Fraud in Animal Records

• New Soy Inspection Rules for China Trigger Clash with Exporters

• Iran War Exposes Fragility in Brazil’s Fertilizer Market

• Rio Grande do Sul Producers Halt Harvest Over Diesel Shortage

AgTech & AI

Eight APTAHub Startups Reach the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge - Eight startups from São Paulo’s APTAHub network were selected for the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge, one of the world’s leading deep tech competitions, standing out among more than 4,800 applicants. Together they accounted for 23.5% of all Brazilian startups chosen. The selected companies span artificial intelligence and computer vision (Pix Force), energy (Mondi Energy), food and protein technology (PROMEAT, Sante Science), robotics and industrial AI (BSV Robotics), industrial biotechnology and new materials (BioLinker, MABE Bio), and sustainable construction (BVS Green). read more

Embrapa Study Backs Brazilian Algae Against Drought - Embrapa researchers are testing Brazilian algae as natural biostimulants to help crops better withstand drought, with early greenhouse trials in canola and wheat in the Cerrado showing strong results. The study, led by Embrapa Agroenergia and Embrapa Meio Ambiente with support from Embrapii and partner CBKK, found gains of up to 160% in silique formation and 12% in root growth. After two years of work on extracting active compounds and developing more stable formulations, the project is now moving toward field validation, where researchers will test dosage, algae blends, and performance under varying rainfall conditions. read more

Climate Tech

Brazil Corn Ethanol Could Gain 7 Billion Liters by 2028 - Brazil’s corn ethanol output is expected to rise by another 7 billion liters by 2028, according to Banco ABC, as roughly 30 authorized projects move through the pipeline and reshape the country’s biofuels mix. The expansion would take corn ethanol well beyond its current role and increase the risk of temporary oversupply, especially as sugarcane ethanol production also rises. In the 2025/26 season, corn ethanol is expected to reach about 10 billion liters, with BTG Pactual projecting 11.7 billion liters in the following cycle. Even so, the model remains attractive, supported by scale, year-round operations, and valuable coproducts such as DDG for animal feed. read more

Brazil’s Farm Expansion Released 1.4 Billion Tons of Soil Carbon - Converting native vegetation into cropland and pasture has caused Brazilian soils to release 1.4 billion tons of stored carbon over recent decades, according to a new study led by Esalq-USP and published in Nature Communications. That is equivalent to 5.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and reflects losses from the top 30 centimeters of soil alone, not the vegetation above ground. The researchers found monoculture caused the largest average carbon loss at 22.2%, followed by conventional tillage at 21.4%, while integrated farming systems showed the lowest reduction at 8.6%. The study analyzed 272 papers and 4,290 soil samples across Brazil’s six biomes. read more

Program to Install One Million Solar Panels Across Brazil’s Semiarid Region - A new program backed by the Banco do Brasil Foundation and led by ASA, the Articulação do Semiárido Brasileiro, aims to install one million solar panels on family farms in Pernambuco, Paraíba, and northern Minas Gerais. Still in pilot phase, the initiative called Um Milhão de Tetos Solares is designed to provide up to 300 kWh per month of solar power to rural households in the semiarid region, where electricity costs can consume more than 10% of family income. Early examples in Paraíba show meaningful savings, with one farmer cutting her monthly bill from about US$430 to about US$69 after expanding solar capacity. read more

Embrapa Expands Its Low-Carbon Portfolio With New Corn and Sorghum Programs - Embrapa has launched new Low-Carbon Corn and Low-Carbon Sorghum programs to certify grain production based on greenhouse gas emissions per ton produced, expanding its portfolio of sustainability-focused product labels. The initiatives will develop and validate technical protocols, then move toward third-party certification under an MRV system for measurement, reporting, and verification. Embrapa says the labels focus on the product rather than the farm and are designed to help Brazilian corn and sorghum compete in markets with stricter sustainability demands. A public call to select supporting institutions is scheduled for August 2026. read more

Biopower Turns Used Cooking Oil Into Biodiesel - JBS subsidiary Biopower converted 11.3 million liters of used cooking oil into biodiesel in 2025, marking its highest annual volume yet and bringing the program’s 10-year total to 50 million liters. The company says the initiative, called Óleo Amigo, has already helped preserve more than 1 trillion liters of water by keeping waste oil out of drains and waterways. Collection is supported by Biopower’s own fleet and a broader network spanning 115 municipalities across five Brazilian states. Beyond waste management, the model shows how circular economy programs can create feedstock for biofuels while reducing urban sanitation and environmental costs. read more

Funding & M&A

Norway Bets US$14 Billion on Brazil and Its Agro Sector - Norway invested US$14 billion in Brazil in 2024, making the country its third-largest investment destination after the European Union and the United States, according to Innovation Norway CEO Håkon Haugli. In an interview with Exame, Haugli said Brazil’s scale makes it an attractive platform for applying agricultural and energy technologies developed in smaller markets. He pointed to opportunities in precision agriculture, fertilizers, biofuels, and digital solutions, while also highlighting stronger cooperation between Norwegian companies and Brazilian agribusiness. Norway’s presence in Brazil spans agribusiness, energy, maritime logistics, and offshore activities, with trade ties also strengthened by the 2025 EFTA-Mercosur agreement. read more

Brazil Agro Depends on the Middle East for Key Products - Brazil’s farm sector is highly exposed to the Middle East across both export demand and key inputs, making the latest regional conflict a potential pressure point for trade, logistics, and farm economics. According to Insper Agro Global, the region accounted for US$12.4 billion of Brazilian agribusiness exports in 2025, including 29% of chicken exports and 31.5% of corn shipments. The risk goes beyond demand. Any disruption to the Strait of Hormuz or Bab el-Mandeb could raise freight and insurance costs, while higher oil and gas prices could push up fertilizer costs. The impact will depend on how long the conflict lasts. read more

Brazil Opens New Agro Markets in New Zealand and Turkey - Brazil has secured new market access in New Zealand and Turkey, extending export opportunities for higher-value agricultural products as the government pushes to diversify trade flows. New Zealand has authorized imports of thermally processed pork and sheep bile from Brazil, while Turkey has opened its market to honey and other apiculture products. The move adds to Brazil’s recent run of trade openings and could support more value-added shipments as well as new channels for animal protein and specialty products. In 2025, Brazil exported about US$107 million in agribusiness products to New Zealand and more than US$3.2 billion to Turkey. read more

‘Ghost Cattle’ Operation Probes Fraud in Animal Records - Prosecutors in Paraná are investigating an alleged scheme involving fake cattle registrations, false animal transit documents, and possible corruption tied to the state’s animal health system. The operation, called Boi Fantasma, carried out search and seizure warrants in Jaguariaíva and Ibaiti and is examining whether cattle that existed only on paper were inserted into official records to enable illegal gains. Investigators say the suspected fraud involved improper registrations requested by a livestock auction company, with evidence also pointing to undue advantages received by a public servant. One person was arrested during the searches for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. read more

New Soy Inspection Rules for China Trigger Clash Between Brazil’s Government and Exporters - Cargill’s decision to suspend soybean exports from Brazil to China has intensified a dispute over new phytosanitary inspection rules introduced by Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry. The company said the revised inspection methodology has made it harder to obtain the certificates needed for shipments to China, while Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro said the tougher controls are required to meet Chinese sanitary standards. The tighter inspection follows recent cases of non-compliance flagged by Chinese authorities, including the presence of quarantine pests and weed seeds in Brazilian cargoes. Industry groups Abiove and Anec are now in talks with the ministry over how soybean sampling and classification should be handled. read more

Iran War Exposes Fragility in Brazil’s Fertilizer Market - Four years after launching its National Fertilizer Plan, Brazil still has not meaningfully reduced its dependence on imported inputs, according to Bernardo Silva, executive director of Sinprifert. The renewed conflict in Iran has brought the issue back into focus by highlighting Brazil’s exposure to imported fertilizers, especially strategic products such as urea. In 2025, Brazil consumed 49 million tons of fertilizers, of which 43 million tons were imported, while domestic production totaled 7 million tons. Silva said the plan has advanced in areas such as tax, regulation, research, and production policy, but argued that stronger high-level political coordination is still needed for the country to cut import dependence over time. read more

Rio Grande do Sul Producers Halt Harvest Over Diesel Shortage - Rice producers in Rio Grande do Sul have suspended harvest operations after reported diesel delivery failures to farms, raising concerns over how quickly a geopolitical shock can disrupt activity on the ground. Farsul said the problem began with supply interruptions to fuel distributors and warned that if deliveries were not restored within days, key rice-growing areas could be hit. The issue is also affecting soy, where harvesting is still at an early stage. Producers reported diesel price increases of up to R$1.50 per liter, or about US$0.26, although Brazil’s oil agency ANP said the state has sufficient stocks and regular supply conditions. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Living Code

Agriculture has always depended on biology. Soil microbes cycle nutrients, insects pollinate crops and fermentation organisms transform plants into fuel, food and industrial products. For most of farming history these processes were simply part of the background conditions farmers learned to work with.

Technology has traditionally focused on improving how we observe those systems. Satellites monitor crop stress, sensors track machinery performance and artificial intelligence models help predict disease outbreaks or yield patterns. These tools generate better information, but they mostly sit outside the biological processes that actually drive productivity.

What is beginning to change is that technology is moving closer to those living systems themselves. Instead of simply measuring biology, new approaches are starting to influence how microbes behave, how fermentation organisms perform and even how insects interact with crops. In effect, parts of agriculture’s biological infrastructure are becoming easier to influence and manage.

Bee Business

Pollination is one of the clearest examples of this shift. Many crops depend on insects to move pollen between flowers, yet farmers historically had little control over how efficiently that process occurred in the field. Beekeepers could place hives nearby, but directing pollination activity itself remained largely unpredictable.

Companies like Beeflow are beginning to change that dynamic. Using scent conditioning techniques, the company trains bees to prioritize specific crops during flowering periods, increasing the probability that pollinators concentrate on target plants instead of surrounding vegetation. The result can be higher pollination rates and improved yields in crops that rely heavily on insect activity.

The idea is simple, but it changes the level of control farmers have in the field. Pollination remains a natural process, yet technology is beginning to guide it in measurable ways. With tools like this, insects start to look less like passive ecosystem actors and more like biological tools that can improve agricultural productivity.

Microbe Mechanics

A similar transformation is happening at the microbial level. Brazilian biotech startup Bioinfood, for example, is developing yeast strains designed to improve ethanol production efficiency in sugarcane and corn processing plants. Small improvements in microbial performance can increase output and reduce losses without requiring major changes to industrial infrastructure.

Microorganisms are also becoming a core component of crop management. Biofertilizers, biopesticides and biostimulants use bacteria, fungi and plant-derived compounds to improve soil health, nutrient uptake and crop resilience. These products increasingly complement or replace synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that have dominated agriculture for decades.

Adoption is already significant in Brazil. More than half of Brazilian farmers use at least one biological input, and bioinputs are applied on roughly 26 percent of the country’s planted area, placing Brazil among the most advanced biological input markets in the world. In crops such as soybeans, inoculants are used across the vast majority of hectares, reflecting decades of research and farmer familiarity with microbial solutions.

Brazil Lab

Brazil’s agricultural system makes it a natural environment to test these technologies at scale. The country combines vast crop production with extraordinary biodiversity and one of the world’s strongest agricultural research ecosystems, led by institutions such as Embrapa and major universities.

Tropical agriculture also creates the conditions where biological solutions are most relevant. Crops grow year round, pest and disease pressure is constant, and farmers operate across a wide range of climates, soils and production systems. That complexity forces technologies to perform under real-world conditions rather than controlled environments.

The economic opportunity is also expanding quickly. Bioinputs still represent only a small share of Brazil’s roughly US$19 billion agricultural input market, leaving substantial room for substitution as farmers look for more resilient production systems. If adoption continues to accelerate, the domestic bioinputs market alone could exceed US$8.5 billion by 2035.

Biological Stack

Agriculture has evolved through several major technological waves. Mechanization expanded scale. Chemical inputs dramatically increased productivity. Digital tools improved how farmers measure and manage increasingly complex operations.

Biological technologies are now joining that stack. Pollination systems that guide insects, microbial inputs that reshape soil ecosystems and fermentation organisms optimized for industrial production are all examples of tools working directly within living processes rather than simply monitoring them.

The idea that biology can behave like software is no longer purely theoretical. Researchers recently simulated an entire living cell on a computer, modeling genetic processes, metabolism and cell division across a complete life cycle. While that work sits at the frontier of computational biology, it signals how quickly our ability to understand and influence living systems is advancing.

Brazil may end up sitting at the center of this transition. With large-scale agriculture, strong research institutions and a rapidly expanding biological inputs sector, the country is becoming one of the most important environments in the world for testing how living systems can improve the productivity, resilience and sustainability of global food production.

Thanks for reading.
KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In AgTech and AI news, Beeflow is expanding its bee pollination technology business in Brazil, Embrapa has developed an AI platform to predict soybean rust outbreaks using climate and crop data and Brazil’s agricultural drone market is entering a consolidation phase. In food innovation, Cellva raised funding to scale a cocoa alternative made from coffee byproducts, and researchers developed a protocol that could enable artificial rabbit milk production.

In Climate Tech developments, Bioinfood secured funding to improve yeast strains used in ethanol fermentation while Dow signed renewable energy agreements with Casa dos Ventos for solar and wind power generation. Meanwhile, Geo bio gas&carbon partnered with Syzygy Plasmonics to explore producing sustainable aviation fuel from sugarcane biogas and Hummingbirds raised new capital to develop nature-based carbon projects with local communities in Brazil.

On the Funding front, The Yield Lab Latam is preparing a new early-stage AI-first AgTech fund focused on opportunities in Brazil. In M&A, Daabon acquired Agropalma operations in Pará, while in dairy Piracanjuba took control of Bäsel Lácteos to expand into specialty cheeses and Arcos Gestão e Investimentos assumed control of Lavoro’s agricultural input distribution operations. Warburg Pincus also announced plans to invest up to US$1 billion to support the expansion of Global Eggs.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil secured new export access for soybeans to the Philippines and ground beef to Mexico while a storage bottleneck in Mato Grosso highlights ongoing infrastructure constraints, with roughly half of the state’s grain harvest lacking adequate storage capacity.

Table of Contents

AgTech & AI

• Beeflow expands pollination tech in Brazil
• Embrapa launches AI tool for soybean rust
• Agricultural drones enter consolidation phase
• Cellva raises funding for coffee-based cocoa alternative
• Protocol developed for artificial rabbit milk

Climate Tech

• Bioinfood develops yeast to boost biofuel yields
• Dow and Casa dos Ventos sign renewable power deals
• Geo explores SAF production from sugarcane biogas
• Hummingbirds raises capital for carbon projects

Funding & M&A

• The Yield Lab Latam prepares Brazil-focused AgTech fund
• Daabon acquires Agropalma operations in Pará
• Piracanjuba takes control of Bäsel Lácteos
• Arcos assumes control of Lavoro distribution business
• Warburg Pincus backs expansion of Global Eggs

Macro & Markets

• Brazil opens soybean and beef exports to new markets
• Mato Grosso faces major grain storage bottleneck

AgTech & AI

Beeflow targets US$10 million revenue as it expands in Brazil - Argentine startup Beeflow, a Yield Lab Latam portfolio company, is betting on Brazil as a key growth market. The company, which specializes in agricultural pollination using trained bees, aims to surpass US$10 million in revenue as it scales operations with large agricultural producers. Founded in 2016 and operating in five countries, about half of its revenue currently comes from pollination services in blueberry production. In Brazil, where trials began in citrus orchards, the company is expanding into crops such as coffee and apples, combining bee training using floral scent compounds with partnerships with local beekeepers to improve pollination efficiency and yields. read more

AI tool helps farmers manage soybean rust risk - Researchers at Embrapa have developed a digital platform that uses artificial intelligence and multiple data sources to help farmers detect and manage Asian soybean rust, one of the crop’s most destructive diseases. The system combines climate data, environmental sensors, leaf images and agronomic parameters such as cultivar and planting calendar to assess the likelihood of disease outbreaks. Hosted in the cloud, the platform generates risk maps and technical recommendations that help producers decide when and where to apply fungicides, potentially reducing unnecessary applications while improving disease control. read more

Agricultural drone market enters consolidation phase - Brazil’s agricultural drone market is entering a new phase as rapid adoption begins attracting large machinery manufacturers. The country now has more than 30,000 registered agricultural drones, up from only 2,000 in 2021, according to industry estimates. The technology is widely used for crop spraying and monitoring, with drones able to treat about 20 hectares per hour while reducing water and chemical use. As the market expands, competition is intensifying and consolidation is expected. Major machinery groups such as Jacto and CNH Industrial are moving into the segment, while DJI Agriculture has already built a network of about 400 service centers across Brazil to support operators and equipment maintenance. read more

Cellva raises US$4M to scale cocoa alternative made from coffee byproducts - Brazilian foodtech Cellva has raised about US$4 million in a pre-Series A round as it pivots from cultivated animal fat to a new ingredient designed to replace cocoa solids. The company’s product, CoffeeCoa, is made from coffee fruit byproducts and can be used in chocolate, bakery and beverage formulations. The funding will support construction of a semi-industrial plant in Manaus and help scale production toward a target of 1,000 tons by 2026. By sourcing coffee husks from Brazilian farmers, Cellva aims to create a new value chain around agricultural residues while addressing volatility in global cocoa markets. read more

New protocol opens path to artificial rabbit milk production - Researchers at the State University of Maringá have developed a technique to collect milk from rabbits, a key step toward producing artificial rabbit milk in Brazil. The breakthrough addresses a common challenge in rabbit farming: large litters often exceed the mother’s ability to feed all newborns. The protocol combines hormonal stimulation, natural suckling cues and suction equipment to collect milk safely without harming the animals. Scientists believe the technique could eventually enable commercial rabbit milk formulas and help reduce early mortality rates in rabbit production systems. read more

Climate Tech

Bioinfood raises US$600k to improve biofuel fermentation with yeast technology - Brazilian biotech startup Bioinfood secured about US$600,000 from state funder FINEP to advance yeast strains designed to improve ethanol fermentation efficiency. Developed from research at the University of Campinas, the technology aims to increase ethanol yields while allowing microorganisms to better withstand harsh conditions inside industrial fermenters. The project focuses on improving sugar conversion in both sugarcane and corn ethanol processes, potentially boosting output without additional feedstock. read more

Dow and Casa dos Ventos sign solar and wind self-generation deals - Dow signed two renewable energy agreements with Brazilian developer Casa dos Ventos under Brazil’s autoprodução model, where large energy consumers become equity partners in generation assets. One agreement gives Dow participation in the Seriemas solar complex in Mato Grosso do Sul, expected to begin operations in 2026. The second expands Dow’s stake in the Rio do Vento wind complex in Rio Grande do Norte. read more

Geo partners with U.S. firm to produce sustainable aviation fuel from sugarcane biogas - Geo bio gas&carbon signed an MOU with Texas-based Syzygy Plasmonics to develop projects converting sugarcane biogas into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The initiative will use biogas generated from sugarcane residues such as vinasse and filter cake, transforming waste streams into low-carbon jet fuel. Initial plants are expected to produce up to 100,000 tons of SAF annually, with plans to expand capacity to more than 525,000 tons. read more

Hummingbirds raises US$60M to scale nature-based carbon projects - French startup Hummingbirds raised €50 million (about US$60 million) in a Series A round led by Swedfund, Proparco and British International Investment. The company structures nature-based carbon projects by connecting investors, developers and local communities to build carbon credit supply. Brazil is a priority market, with projects underway in Pará and Bahia focused on reforestation and land restoration. Hummingbirds works at early project stages, assessing economic viability, governance structures and community participation before larger investors scale the initiatives. read more

Funding & M&A

The Yield Lab Latam prepares Brazil-focused early-stage AgTech fund - The Yield Lab Latam (yours truly) is preparing to launch a new investment fund dedicated exclusively to Brazilian startups operating across the agricultural supply chain. The vehicle will focus on early-stage, high-growth companies, with a particular emphasis on AI-first technologies that improve productivity, efficiency and decision-making in agriculture. The strategy aims to attract capital from Brazilian strategic investors and institutions that typically cannot participate in offshore regional funds such as the Yield Lab Latam Opportunity Fund. We are seeing a growing pipeline of new startups emerging at the intersection of AI, digital agriculture and climate technologies in Brazil. read more

Daabon acquires Agropalma operations in Pará - Colombian agribusiness group Daabon agreed to acquire the Pará operations of Brazilian palm oil producer Agropalma, expanding its footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing palm oil regions. The deal includes a refinery near Belém, six extraction plants and roughly 107,000 hectares of land, with more than 40,000 hectares already under cultivation. The acquisition forms part of a divestment strategy by AlfaPar, the holding company of the Faria family that owns Agropalma. read more

Piracanjuba takes control of specialty cheese producer Bäsel Lácteos - Brazil’s antitrust authority approved the acquisition of Bäsel Lácteos by dairy group Piracanjuba, strengthening the company’s presence in premium cheese markets. Bäsel produces specialty cheeses including emmental, gruyère, gouda and maasdam at its facility in Antônio Carlos, Minas Gerais. The deal expands Piracanjuba’s industrial footprint to ten plants across Brazil and supports its strategy to move into higher value dairy products. read more

Arcos assumes control of Lavoro’s distribution business in Brazil - Brazilian restructuring firm Arcos (AGI) has assumed control of Lavoro’s agricultural input distribution operations in Brazil as part of a broader restructuring of the ag retail sector. The transaction follows the exit of Pátria Investimentos from Lavoro’s original consolidation strategy, which aimed to build a nationwide network of agricultural retailers. Lavoro will now focus its operations in Colombia, while Arcos takes over the Brazilian distribution assets. The move mirrors the restructuring of Agrogalaxy, another major ag retail roll-up that has also faced financial challenges in Brazil’s farm input distribution market. read more

Warburg Pincus invests up to US$1B in Global Eggs expansion - Private equity firm Warburg Pincus announced plans to invest up to US$1 billion in Global Eggs, the international egg production group led by Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Faria. The deal values the company at about US$8 billion and will support its global expansion strategy. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Luxembourg, Global Eggs operates across Brazil, the United States and Europe through businesses including Granja Faria, Hillandale Farms and Grupo Hevo. With roughly 45 million birds and billions of eggs produced annually, the company aims to strengthen its position in global protein markets through acquisitions and capacity expansion. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil opens soybean and beef exports to new markets - Brazil secured new export approvals allowing soybean shipments to the Philippines and ground beef exports to Mexico, expanding access to two important international markets. The Philippines is a major importer of soybeans for animal feed, while Mexico represents a growing destination for higher value beef products. The new agreements are part of Brazil’s broader strategy to diversify export destinations and strengthen trade ties across Asia and Latin America. Mexico imported more than US$3 billion in Brazilian agricultural products last year, and demand from Southeast Asia continues to rise as livestock production expands. read more

Mato Grosso storage bottleneck leaves half the harvest without capacity - Brazil’s largest grain producing state continues to face a major infrastructure constraint as production outpaces storage capacity. According to Aprosoja MT, Mato Grosso is expected to produce about 103 million tons of soybeans and corn in the 2025–26 season but has storage space for only about half that volume. The shortfall forces farmers to sell quickly during harvest, often at lower prices, and increases pressure on transport and logistics systems. Industry groups estimate Brazil needs roughly US$3 billion in annual investment to expand storage infrastructure and keep pace with rising grain production. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Smart Fixes

Last week I wrote about large companies embedding artificial intelligence into their operating systems. This week I’m shifting the lens. Startups tend to enter where the system is already under strain. They focus on the bottlenecks farmers experience every season but often accept as part of the job.

Some of those strain points sit in the soil itself. Others surface when it is time to sell grain. And some appear when trucks, rail and ports struggle to keep pace during harvest. In each case, the challenge is rarely a lack of data. It is the cost, delay or complexity involved in turning that data into efficient decision making.

What stood out at our event in Sao Paulo last week (Inteligent Ag: AI in Action) was how specific these solutions are. These founders are not trying to automate entire farms. They are fixing narrow loops where uncertainty quietly erodes profits. Soil diagnostics that take too long. Grain prices negotiated without the full picture. Logistics systems that creak when volumes spike.

Below are three examples of AI being applied at those pressure points, starting at ground level.

Microscopic Margins

Nematodes are microscopic worms that live in the soil. Some are beneficial. Others attack plant roots, reducing nutrient uptake and lowering yields. In Brazil alone, plant-parasitic nematodes are estimated to cause roughly $7 billion in crop losses per harvest, with soybeans accounting for more than $3 billion of that total. Yet only about half of producers actively monitor the problem.

Diagnosis has traditionally relied on manual microscopy. Technicians examine samples under standard magnification, classify organisms visually and group them broadly by genus. Species-level identification often requires additional testing. The process is slow, dependent on specialist expertise and often inconsistent across labs. Different nematode species require different management strategies. When classification lacks precision, farmers sometimes apply the wrong product, too much, or too little.

Veridi, a Dutch biotech startup that recently launched in Brazil, built a robotic microscope specifically for nematode analysis. The system captures ultra-high-resolution images and processes them through computer vision models trained to distinguish species with more than 95 percent accuracy (compared with around 40% the traditional manual way).

Beyond identifying harmful species, the platform also classifies free-living nematodes, which serve as biological indicators of soil health, carbon cycling and regenerative practices. In Europe, soil monitoring regulations now incorporate nematode-based metrics. In Brazil, this layer of analysis remains largely untapped.

Veridi does not sell the equipment. Instead, it installs the system at partner laboratories at no upfront cost and charges per analysis, typically below the price of traditional nematode diagnostics. Rather than building a new lab network, it upgrades existing infrastructure. The result is faster turnaround, greater consistency and more precise soil intelligence.

Commercial Edge

Brazilian farmers are among the most efficient producers in the world. They manage tropical biology, double cropping and tight planting windows with impressive precision. Commercialization, however, is more complicated.

Farmers here must navigate currency volatility, regional basis spreads against Chicago, uneven logistics and limited hedging tools. Compared with U.S. farmers operating in deeper financial markets, Brazilian producers face more variables at the moment of sale. In volatile markets, even a short delay can mean missing a pricing window.

Grão Direto, Brazil’s first digital grains marketplace, facilitated more than 12 million tons of grain transactions last year. That scale produces something rare in Brazil’s physical market: a large dataset of executed trades. Quoted prices are one thing. Real completed transactions provide a clearer signal of where business is actually being done.

Building on that data, the company developed Airton, an AI-powered commercial assistant that operates inside WhatsApp, the platform nearly every Brazilian farmer already uses daily. Producers can ask about soybean prices, regional basis levels, currency movements or market context in plain language and receive responses grounded in real transaction data.

Airton does not replace the commercial relationship. It shortens response time and expands access to information. Producers can receive price alerts, track movements during the trading day and formalize transactions through integrated trading partners.

Long Haul

Brazil is continental in scale. Grain is grown from the southern most state of Rio Grande do Sul up to Roraima in the northern hemisphere. Moving crops across that geography isn’t a minor logistical issue — it’s one of the biggest challenges Brazilian agriculture faces.

During peak harvest, that constraint becomes visible. Trucks tighten. Freight rates rise. Inputs for the second crop need to move toward farms while grain moves toward ports. Delays compound quickly when millions of tons are in motion across thousands of kilometers.

Brazilian startup goFlux operates at the center of that movement. Through its digital freight marketplace, the company transacts tens of millions of tons of agricultural cargo each year, generating a live dataset on how freight behaves across routes, regions and seasons.

Using its Intelligence platform, goFlux recently modeled 3.6 million logistics scenarios for a large ethanol producer weighing a long-term decision: remain exposed to road freight volatility or commit to rail capacity for the next 15 years.

Rail required upfront investment and long-term contracts. Road offered flexibility but rising structural pressure as ethanol production expands and competition for tanker trucks increases. Freight cannot be hedged like currency or Chicago prices. Based on the modeling, the company chose to lock in rail positioning to reduce exposure and protect margin.

Sharper Edges

Put these three cases side by side and you start to see the common thread. None of these companies are trying to reinvent agriculture from scratch. They are working on the edges — the places where friction shows up every season.

In the soil, that friction looks like slow diagnostics and imprecise treatment. At the moment of sale, it shows up as fragmented information and missed price windows. In logistics, it appears when harvest volumes overwhelm roads and long-term freight exposure goes unmanaged. Farmers and operators have learned to live with these constraints. Startups are choosing not to.

Brazilian agriculture already runs at scale. What these companies are doing is tightening the parts that leak value — a lab result delivered faster, a price confirmed with more confidence, a freight decision made before the squeeze hits. None of it is dramatic on its own. Together, it makes the system more resilient and a little more profitable for farmers.

Veridi, Grão Direto and goFlux presented these cases at The Yield Lab Latam AI in Agro event (26/2) in São Paulo, in partnership with the Brazilian Rural Society (SRB). The event was held in Portuguese. You can watch the full recording here

Thanks for reading.
KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

Hi, I’m Kieran Gartlan, Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, one of the region’s top AgriFood and Climate Tech VC funds. If you’re curious to learn more about Brazil’s AgriTech Revolution, feel free to reach out here, or on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to share what I’m seeing on the ground.

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Summary

In AgriTech news this week, Embrapa introduced a simple drinker adaptation that reduces cross-suckling in calves, while Sou AgroSoluções expands its back-office platforms serving megaclients such as Amaggi, BASF, and AgroGalaxy. Embrapa and Latina Seeds launched a high-yield forage sorghum hybrid designed to boost livestock productivity and forage stability.

In Climate Tech developments, Brazil’s dairy sector emits roughly half the global average per liter of milk, according to Embrapa. Lab-grown leather startup Moondo opened a $4 million round via the EqSeed crowdfunding platform, while biologicals leader Biotrop grew 23% and targets more than $200 million in revenue in 2026. Embrapa also demonstrated a system that converts swine waste into potable-quality water, and rice ethanol gained traction as a tool to manage surplus stocks.

On the funding and M&A front, iFood invested US$ 1 million in drone company Speedbird Aero as part of its push into autonomous delivery. MBRF structured a FIDC to deploy $75 million into Paraná’s poultry and pork chain, while JBS continues to expand logistics capacity at the Port of Itajaí following renewed investment.

In Macro & Markets, orange juice exports to the European Union jumped 55% in January. New U.S. tariff rules position Brazil as a relative trade beneficiary, the first corn DDG shipment reached China, agricultural aviation expanded with its first autonomous aircraft, and Embrapa deepened scientific cooperation with South Korea.

Table of Contents

AgriTech

• Simple drinker device reduces cross-suckling in calves
• Sou AgroSoluções bets on back-office ag management
• Embrapa and Latina Seeds launch high-yield forage sorghum

Climate Tech

• Brazilian milk shows lower carbon footprint than global average
• Lab-grown leather startup opens $4M round on EqSeed
• Biotrop grows 23% and targets $200M+ revenue milestone in 2026
• Embrapa tech turns pig waste into potable water
• Rice ethanol proposed as outlet for surplus stocks

Funding & M&A

• iFood invests US$ 1 million in drone logistics startup Speedbird
• MBRF raises FIDC to deploy $75M in Paraná expansion
• Under JBS management, Port of Itajaí reconnects to global routes

Macro & Markets

• Orange juice exports to EU jump at end of season
• Brazil seen as main beneficiary of new U.S. tariffs
• Brazil ships first corn DDG cargo to China
• Brazil’s ag aviation fleet grows 5% and registers first autonomous aircraft
• Embrapa signs scientific cooperation agreement with South Korea

AgriTech

Simple drinker device reduces cross-suckling in calves – Research found that attaching artificial nipples to water drinkers significantly reduces cross-suckling in group-raised dairy calves. In trials with 24 animals, cross-suckling occurred about five times per day with nipple drinkers versus roughly nine times with open buckets. The low-cost adaptation satisfies calves’ natural sucking instinct without affecting milk intake, water consumption, or weight gain, and may reduce health risks such as umbilical inflammation and future udder damage. read more

Sou AgroSoluções bets on back-office ag management – The Goiânia-based agtech is targeting revenue growth from roughly $450,000 to $1 million in 2026 by expanding its logistics and royalty management platforms. Its tools automate distribution tracking and biotech royalty reporting for major agribusiness clients. Operating without external funding, the company manages more than $200 million in royalties per crop cycle and is preparing to bring in its first strategic investor this year. read more

Embrapa and Latina Seeds launch high-yield forage sorghum – A new giant forage sorghum hybrid can exceed 80 tons per hectare in a single cut within up to 125 days. Reaching 4 to 5 meters in height, the cultivar offers strong regrowth capacity and resistance to major fungal diseases. Designed for both first and second crop cycles, it supports rising livestock feed demand and can also be used for biogas and energy production. read more

Climate Tech

Brazilian milk shows lower carbon footprint than global average – A new study by USP university and Embrapa, supported by Cargill, found that Brazil’s dairy sector emits 1.19 kg of CO₂ equivalent per kilo of milk, less than half the global average of 2.5 kg. The research covered 28 farms across seven states using Life Cycle Assessment methodology, including feed production and manure management. Higher animal productivity helps dilute emissions per liter, with enteric fermentation accounting for 47% of total emissions and feed production 36.8%. Regional differences were significant, with the Pampa biome showing the lowest intensity. read more

Lab-grown leather startup opens R$4M round on EqSeed – Brazilian biotech Moondo launched a public raise of approximately $850,000 via EqSeed to scale its cultivated leather production. The company uses cellular cultivation to produce collagen-based leather without raising or slaughtering animals, initially targeting the luxury segment where margins can absorb early-stage biotech costs. Around 80% of the funds will go toward laboratory infrastructure, with the remainder allocated to IP and commercial validation. Founded in 2022, the startup positions itself as a Latin American pioneer in alternative leather production. read more

Biotrop grows 23% and targets $200M+ revenue milestone in 2026 – Biological inputs company Biotrop closed 2025 with revenue of approximately $180 million, up 23% year over year despite tighter credit conditions and weaker soy and corn prices. For 2026, the company aims to surpass $200 million as it expands in Brazil and internationally. The domestic biologicals market reached roughly $1 billion last season, while the global market is projected to hit $45 billion by 2032. Biotrop now covers more than 50 million hectares and continues investing heavily in R&D, including new bioherbicides and next-generation crop solutions. read more

Embrapa tech turns pig waste into potable water – Embrapa demonstrated that swine manure can be treated and transformed into potable-quality water using a multi-stage system combining solid-liquid separation, anaerobic biodigestion, biological nitrogen removal, and chemical phosphorus precipitation. The treated effluent meets Brazilian standards for discharge and reuse and, in demonstrative applications, was refined to drinking standards to showcase the technology’s potential. Originally developed to reduce environmental impacts and improve on-farm water reuse, the system highlights circular bioeconomy opportunities in high-density livestock regions. read more

Rice ethanol proposed as outlet for surplus stocks – Researchers and industry leaders in Rio Grande do Sul are debating ethanol production from rice as a long-term strategy to manage oversupply and stabilize farmer margins. With producer prices below production costs and inventories weighing on the 2025/26 crop, biofuel use is being studied as an alternative demand channel. Embrapa sees potential through targeted cultivars and innovation, though industry voices question rice’s energy efficiency compared to corn. Brazil’s rice output is projected near 11 million tons this season, down year over year, yet still pressured by global competition and lower prices. read more

Funding & M&A

iFood invests US$ 1 million in drone logistics startup Speedbird – iFood invested US$ 1 million in Brazilian drone company Speedbird Aero to scale autonomous food delivery operations. The startup has operated pilot routes since 2021, including a four-kilometer corridor in Aracaju that reduces delivery times from roughly 30 minutes by road to about three minutes by air. After receiving permanent regulatory approval from Anac for remotely piloted flights over populated areas, Speedbird has completed around 2,000 deliveries and is preparing a Series B round as it expands into new metropolitan regions. read more

MBRF raises FIDC to deploy $75M in Paraná expansion – MBRF structured a FIDC to invest approximately $75 million in Paraná’s poultry and pork production chain, combining around $60 million from the company with roughly $15 million from state development agency Fomento Paraná. The vehicle will finance farm expansion and industrial upgrades at rates near 9.5% per year, below Brazil’s benchmark interest rate. About 30% of the funds will also support productivity and efficiency improvements in processing plants, reinforcing Paraná’s strategy to scale agroindustrial output. read more

Under JBS management, Port of Itajaí reconnects to global routes – One year after taking over operations, JBS Terminais reactivated the Port of Itajaí with 10 regular shipping lines, eight of them weekly, reconnecting Santa Catarina to Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. The terminal handled 386,489 TEUs in 2025, reaching 93% of contracted capacity, following $44 million in investments to modernize infrastructure and expand refrigerated cargo capacity. The port now serves more than 3,000 clients and is projected to reach full operational capacity by the end of 2026. read more

Macro & Markets

Orange juice exports to EU jump at end of season – Brazilian orange juice shipments to the European Union totaled 50,300 tons in January, up 55% from the same month last year and marking the strongest month of the current 2025/26 season, according to Cepea/USP. Despite the rebound, cumulative exports for the season remain 4.6% below the prior year. Heavy January rains across São Paulo affected fruit quality and increased fungal incidence, pressuring spot prices, which fell from R$43 to R$41 per 40-kg box by month end. read more

Brazil seen as main beneficiary of new U.S. tariffs – A study cited by Global Trade Alert indicates Brazil will see the largest average tariff reduction among countries affected by the new 15% U.S. global tariff. The average rate on Brazilian goods is expected to fall 13.6 percentage points, restoring competitiveness in the U.S. market for products such as coffee, honey, and processed foods. Some Brazilian exports previously faced surcharges of up to 40%, and the new framework is expected to lower the effective average tariff to around 12.8%. read more

Brazil ships first corn DDG cargo to China – Brazil exported its first shipment of corn DDG to China following the opening of the Chinese market under a new bilateral sanitary protocol. The 62,000-ton cargo departed from the Port of Imbituba and was shipped by Inpasa. Brazil exported nearly 880,000 tons of DDG and DDGS in 2025, up 9.77% year over year, as ethanol co-products gain relevance in global feed markets. read more

Brazil’s ag aviation fleet grows 5% and registers first autonomous aircraft – The agricultural aircraft fleet expanded 5.2% in 2025, reaching 2,866 planes and servicing approximately 131 million hectares. The sector generates roughly R$7.89 billion in outsourced operations across leading states. A milestone this year was the regulatory approval of the country’s first autonomous agricultural aircraft, the electric Pelican, marking a step toward gradual modernization of aerial application. read more

Embrapa signs scientific cooperation agreement with South Korea – Embrapa formalized a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Rural Development Administration to expand collaboration in climate change, bioeconomy, biotechnology, digital agriculture, and artificial intelligence. The agreement includes joint research on mushroom cultivars adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions, as well as researcher exchanges and intellectual property guidelines, reinforcing Brazil’s role in global agricultural science partnerships. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Heavyweight Thinkers

Most conversations about AI in agriculture focus on startups building new tools or experimenting in controlled settings. That is usually where innovation begins. Smaller teams can move quickly, adjust fast, and experiment without too much internal resistance.

What is less visible is how large agribusinesses are beginning to incorporate AI into their day-to-day operations. These are organizations managing supply chains, machinery fleets, animal production systems, and agronomic programs across thousands of hectares. Any new technology has to work within existing processes, compliance rules, and financial constraints.

Inside many corporates, early AI initiatives were exploratory. Pilot projects generated insights and internal learning, but they did not always change how the business actually ran. More recently, the emphasis has shifted toward embedding AI directly into operating systems, linking it to decisions that affect productivity, cost, and risk across entire business units.

In this article, I want to showcase three examples of corporate AI in action. Each case shows how artificial intelligence is being applied inside established agribusinesses, not as a side project, but as part of how the business now operates.

Counting What Counts

In Brazilian cattle feedlots, a surprising amount of management still depends on manual observation. Animal counts, feed trough readings, and behavior assessments are often based on human judgment. Small inaccuracies may seem harmless, but over a 120-day confinement cycle they compound quickly into measurable cost.

Cargill’s Cattle View system starts with a straightforward premise: better information leads to better decisions. Drones capture high-resolution images of the feedlot. Those images are uploaded to the cloud and analyzed using AI-powered computer vision models that count animals, assess distribution patterns, and monitor activity around the troughs.

One of the key outputs is Cargill’s Animal Welfare Index, known as the IBE, scored from 1 to 10. The index incorporates variables such as the percentage of animals standing or lying down, proximity to the trough, and position during feed readings. The operational target is to keep the score above 9.

But the IBE is more than a welfare indicator. Scores above 9 have also been associated with around $8 per head in additional margin. Improvements in counting accuracy, tighter control of feed consumption variation, and better inventory management contribute directly to financial performance. In this context, AI becomes part of the daily management cycle, shaping both animal welfare and profitability at a scale that would not be feasible through manual observation alone.

Into the Weeds

Agronomic decisions are rarely simple. Weed pressure, disease risk, weather patterns, crop genetics, and input costs interact across a growing season. Many of these decisions have traditionally relied on field scouting, historical experience, and fixed application schedules.

BASF’s approach adds artificial intelligence directly into that decision process. Digital mapping tools generate field-level data on biomass and variability. AI models integrate agronomic logic, crop development stages, meteorological inputs, and target biology to guide decisions around herbicides, fungicides, and growth regulators.

In weed management, variable-rate control has shown up to 60 percent optimization in resource use while maintaining or improving productivity. Growth regulators applied at variable rates have demonstrated around 30 percent input optimization alongside measurable yield gains. These adjustments translate directly into cost per hectare and input efficiency.

Disease timing offers another example. Applying fungicides too early increases cost. Applying too late risks significant yield loss. BASF’s AI-driven decision models combine meteorology, crop genetics, pathogen biology, and historical field data to identify the preventive application window. In comparative testing, the system achieved 98.7 percent performance in supporting optimal preventive decisions relative to field specialists.

Small shifts in timing translate into meaningful changes in cost and yield over a full season.

Machines in Sync

If Cargill shows what AI can do in animal protein, and BASF in crop protection, CNH represents the third layer of the system: machinery. Equipment sits at the center of farm operations. When machines operate in isolation, small coordination issues show up in planting windows, spraying schedules, and harvest timing.

CNH’s connected farm model builds on years of telematics and machine monitoring. Equipment transmits operational data in real time, including field activity, input application, fuel use, and performance metrics. Artificial intelligence analyzes those streams to highlight bottlenecks, adjust routes, and support coordination between machines working in the same field.

The effect is visible in core operating numbers. Recent seasons showed productivity above regional and national benchmarks at CNH's model farm in Mato Grosso. Machine availability improved through better maintenance planning. Harvest efficiency increased, reducing the number of days required to complete operations. Fuel consumption declined, lowering cost per hectare and reducing emissions intensity.

For farm managers, that translates into fewer surprises during critical windows. Better visibility into how equipment is performing allows earlier adjustments, keeping operations closer to plan and costs under tighter control. Here, AI is applied to something fundamental: keeping machines, timing, and cost aligned during critical field operations.

Smart at Scale

Across these three examples, the pattern is clear. In feedlots, better counting improves both animal welfare and margin. In crop protection, more precise timing reduces input waste and protects yield. In machinery fleets, tighter coordination lowers fuel use and shortens operational windows.

In each case, the starting point is visibility. When managers can see more clearly what is happening, whether in a pen of cattle, across a field, or inside a fleet of machines, they make smaller, earlier adjustments. Over time, those adjustments affect cost per head, cost per hectare, and cost per hour of operation.

None of these changes depend on a single breakthrough. They come from using better data more consistently. The benefits show up in steadier performance, tighter cost control, and fewer operational surprises during critical windows.

Large agribusinesses tend to move carefully. When they decide to integrate a system into everyday operations, it usually reflects sustained results rather than experimentation. In animal protein, crops, and machinery, AI is increasingly part of that operating discipline.

Cargill, BASF and CNH will present these cases at The Yield Lab Latam AI in Agro event this week (26/2) in São Paulo, in partnership with the Brazil Rural Society (SRB). The event will be held in Portuguese. In-person places are already fully booked, but online access remains available. You can register here

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In AgriTech news this week, biological innovation and digital infrastructure take center stage. Rovensa Next opened a pilot fermentation plant to accelerate scale-up of microbial biosolutions, while Jacto moves toward commercial autonomy with satellite-connected machinery and John Deere brings Brazilian startup IoTag into its global collaborator program. Satellite mapping is also advancing public policy, with AI tools now identifying banana and peach palm production with high accuracy.

In Climate Tech developments, regenerative systems gain stronger economic and scientific backing. Citrosuco expanded its Nutrir+ accelerator focused on regenerative ventures, a new Amazonian fungus showed promise against crop diseases, and a European-facing study confirmed the financial viability of agroforestry cocoa. A major soil study also quantified Brazil’s carbon deficit from land-use change, while long-term field data reinforced the productivity and climate benefits of bioinputs.

On the Funding & M&A front, early signals point to renewed capital flow. BemAgro raised US$6 million to expand into the U.S., January agritech funding reached US$41.4 million across multiple startups, and the federal government announced US$660 million in non-reimbursable innovation grants. Vida Veg also expanded through acquisition, strengthening its position in plant-based foods.

In Macro & Markets, fundamentals remain firm. Brazil’s feedlot sector grew 16 percent and projects 10 million head in 2026, agribusiness employment reached a record 28.58 million people, and the creation of a national tilapia germplasm bank signals long-term investment in genetic resilience and productivity.

Table of Contents

AgriTech

• Jacto bets on satellite connectivity and autonomous machines to double revenue

• Rovensa Next opens pilot fermentation plant in Brazil

• John Deere selects Brazilian startup IoTag for global collaborator program

• Satellites map banana and peach palm for family farming

Climate Tech

• Amazon fungus shows potential to fight crop diseases and superbacteria

• Citrosuco expands Nutrir+ and accelerates 12 regenerative agriculture ventures

• Brazil confirms economic viability of agroforestry cocoa

• Study quantifies carbon deficit linked to land-use change in Brazil

• Bioinputs increase soybean productivity by more than 8% in Paraná

Funding & M&A

• Brazilian agtech BemAgro raises US$6 million to scale to the U.S.

• Agtech funding shows renewed momentum in January

• MCTI and Finep allocate US$60 million for agrifood innovation

• Vida Veg acquires Plant Choice and targets 30% growth in 2026

Macro & Markets

• Brazil feedlot sector grows 16% and eyes 10 million heads in 2026

• Agribusiness employment reaches record high and grows above national average

• Instituto de Pesca establishes Brazil’s first tilapia germplasm bank

AgriTech

Jacto advances satellite-connected autonomy to double revenue – Jacto plans to embed satellite internet in its equipment starting in 2026 and will commercially launch its autonomous sprayer, the Arbus 4000 JAV, at this year's Agrishow event. The machine operates 24 hours a day and allows a single operator to supervise multiple units remotely, reducing labor dependency. After recovering revenue to US$740 million in 2025, the company aims to double in size over the next seven years through digital agriculture, internal restructuring and selective acquisitions. read more

Rovensa Next opens pilot fermentation plant in Brazil – Rovensa Next inaugurated a pilot fermentation facility in Monte Mor, São Paulo, designed to bridge laboratory research and industrial-scale production of microbial biosolutions. The unit supports fermentation volumes up to 150 liters, roughly 20 times larger than conventional lab systems, reducing scale-up risk and accelerating validation of new biological products. Connected to its global biosolutions research center in Hortolândia, the plant mirrors industrial conditions with advanced monitoring systems. read more

Brazilian IoTag joins John Deere global collaborator program – IoTag was selected as one of five companies worldwide to join the John Deere Startup Collaborator 2026 program. The Brazilian startup developed patented telematics that connect multi-brand farm machinery to the internet, using AI and IoT to benchmark performance, improve fuel efficiency and optimize operations. In Brazil, its technology will now be distributed through John Deere dealerships, with pilots also underway in Argentina and Ukraine, positioning the company within a global innovation pipeline. read more

Satellites map banana and peach palm for family farming – Using Sentinel-2 imagery and AI-based classification, Embrapa researchers achieved more than 93 percent accuracy in mapping banana and peach palm production in Jacupiranga, São Paulo. The study demonstrated that water-based spectral indices outperform traditional vegetation indices in humid tropical conditions and included peach palm as a distinct crop category. The approach supports territorial planning, technical assistance and policy design for family farming, showing how public satellite data can deliver scalable monitoring in diversified tropical systems. read more

Climate Tech

Amazon fungus shows potential to fight crop diseases and superbacteria – Embrapa researchers have identified a new fungal species, Trichoderma agriamazonicum, with promising agricultural and biotechnological applications. Isolated from Amazonian wood, the fungus demonstrated the ability to suppress plant pathogens affecting crops such as soy and fruit through biological control mechanisms. Early laboratory results also suggest potential activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, highlighting the Amazon as a reservoir of bioinnovation and sustainable crop protection solutions. read more

Citrosuco expands Nutrir+ and accelerates 12 regenerative ventures – Citrosuco launched the third edition of its Nutrir+ acceleration program, expanding participation to startups from Mato Grosso do Sul alongside São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The four-month initiative supports 12 ventures focused on regenerative agriculture, spanning ESG compliance, geospatial monitoring, bioinputs and bioconversion solutions. Startups receive mentorship from company executives and structured development support as part of Citrosuco’s ESG 2030 agenda. read more

Brazil confirms economic viability of agroforestry cocoa – Brazilian institutions presented research in Amsterdam demonstrating that cocoa grown in agroforestry systems in Bahia and Pará is financially viable. The study evaluated 11 production models combining cocoa with crops such as banana, cassava, açaí and native tree species. All scenarios showed positive internal rates of return and net present value, while also aligning with EU anti-deforestation regulations and climate targets, reinforcing agroforestry as a regenerative and investable production model. read more

Study quantifies carbon deficit linked to land-use change in Brazil – A study published in Nature Communications calculated that the conversion of native vegetation to agriculture generated a 1.4 billion ton carbon deficit in Brazilian soils, equivalent to 5.2 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent. The analysis compiled more than 4,000 soil samples across six biomes and identified the Cerrado and Mata Atlântica as holding 72 percent of recarbonization potential. Integrated crop-livestock systems and no-till practices showed lower carbon losses, providing a scientific baseline for carbon market and policy design. read more

Bioinputs increase soybean productivity by more than 8% in Paraná – A decade of field validation by Embrapa and IDR-Paraná showed that coinoculation with beneficial bacteria increased soybean yields by an average 8.3 percent. In the 2024/25 season, coinoculated areas reached 3,916 kg per hectare versus 3,615 kg in non-inoculated fields. Nationwide, 85 percent of soybean hectares already use inoculation technology, reducing nitrogen fertilizer dependency and contributing to significant cost savings and emission mitigation. read more

Funding & M&A

BemAgro raises US$6 million to expand into the U.S. – Ribeirão Preto–based BemAgro closed a US$6 million Series A to accelerate international expansion, with U.S. operations planned for 2027. The round was led by The Yield Lab Latam and included Colorado Ventures, CNH Industrial, Atvos, Suzano, and follow-on investors from its 2024 seed round. BemAgro’s platform converts drone and machinery data into actionable insights, helping farmers reduce herbicide use by up to 80 percent while cutting water and diesel waste. With operations in 12 countries, the company expects dollar revenues to support strong growth through 2030. read more

Agri funding shows renewed momentum after fresh deals – Four Brazilian agri startups raised US$41.4 million in January, representing nearly 30 percent of total sector investment in 2025 and ten times the volume seen in January last year. Deals involved Sensix, Fretes.com, Nagro and Culttivo, spanning precision agriculture, logistics and rural credit. Investors point to potential Selic rate cuts and increased use of structured debt vehicles such as FIDCs as catalysts for renewed capital flow, suggesting the funding environment may be stabilizing after a slower 2024. read more

MCTI and Finep allocate US$60 million for agrifood innovation – Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and Finep announced US$60 million in non-reimbursable funding dedicated to agrifood value chains under the New Brazil Industry program. The calls target projects aimed at improving productivity, digitalization and sustainability across agricultural and agro-industrial systems, reinforcing the government’s push to strengthen technological competitiveness within Brazil’s food production ecosystem. read more

Vida Veg acquires Plant Choice and targets 30% growth in 2026 – Minas Gerais–based Vida Veg acquired plant-based foodtech Plant Choice, expanding into proprietary plant-based cold cuts and strengthening its position in foodservice. The acquisition complements Vida Veg’s retail footprint with Plant Choice’s distribution channels in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Operations will be integrated while brands remain independent, and the company projects 30 percent growth in 2026 driven by expanded distribution and new product launches. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil feedlot sector grows 16% and eyes 10 million head in 2026 – Brazil confined 9.25 million cattle in 2025, up 16 percent year over year, according to the latest census by dsm-firmenich. Growth was concentrated among larger operations, with the top 100 producers accounting for 45 percent of total confined animals. Mato Grosso leads with 2.2 million head, followed by São Paulo and Goiás. Margins are currently near 15 percent nationwide, with some regions approaching 20 percent. The sector is projected to reach 10 million head in 2026, reflecting continued professionalization and technology adoption. read more

Agribusiness employment reaches record high and grows above national average – Brazil’s agribusiness employed 28.58 million people in the third quarter of 2025, up 2 percent year over year, adding nearly 569,000 jobs according to Cepea and CNA. This marks the largest workforce ever recorded for the sector since the series began in 2012. Agribusiness now represents 26.35 percent of total national employment, with growth driven primarily by agri-services and input industries such as fertilizers, crop protection and machinery. read more

Brazil establishes first national tilapia germplasm bank – Researchers at the Fish Institute created the country’s first broad germplasm bank for Nile tilapia, preserving and characterizing strains from five states. The initiative evaluated nine populations and identified significant genetic diversity despite limited visible phenotypic differences. Maintained in São José do Rio Preto, the in situ bank will support breeding programs adapted to regional conditions, including tolerance to cold, heat and salinity, as well as improved fillet yield. The project strengthens long-term genetic security in Brazil’s largest aquaculture species. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Slow Drip

Brazil’s coffee sector is globally competitive, but the way credit reaches farmers has not kept pace. For many small and mid-sized producers, financing still means slow approvals, unclear terms, and risk assessments that miss what is really happening on the farm. In a crop shaped by seasonality and tight decision windows, timing often matters more than cost, and capital frequently arrives too late.

That gap has created a persistent mismatch. Farmers struggle to access working capital when it matters most. Lenders, lacking clear visibility, tend to price risk conservatively or limit exposure altogether. Capital that should be supporting one of Brazil’s most important export chains often ends up underutilised.

Culttivo was built to close that gap by designing credit around how coffee farms actually operate. The ag-fintech deploys credit digitally through its platform, supported by a network of independent bankers who work directly with producers. Field-level data, disciplined portfolio management, and crop-specific knowledge guide each credit decision.

Credit is originated through private and institutional investors and managed through structured vehicles such as FIAGROs and FIDCs, allowing Culttivo to connect farmer demand with local capital markets at scale. Today, the platform manages roughly US$60 million in assets across its credit structures and serves thousands of coffee producers.

By combining digital underwriting with a physical presence in the field, Culttivo avoids the trade-off between speed and understanding. Credit decisions move faster, risk becomes easier to assess, and capital flows with greater confidence to farmers who have long sat between informal lending and traditional banks.

Clear Cup

Most agricultural credit decisions still start with incomplete pictures. Financial statements arrive late. Farm visits are sporadic. Risk models rely on proxies that struggle to keep up with what is actually happening during the season. For coffee, where yields, quality, and cash flow are shaped by timing and management choices, that lack of clarity quickly becomes a constraint.

Culttivo’s first move was to clean up that picture. The platform brings together field-level signals such as satellite imagery, land use data, environmental compliance checks, and public records to form a more current view of each operation. The goal is not precision forecasting, but a clear view of whether a farm is planted, managed, and on track.

That visibility changes how credit decisions are made. Underwriting can move alongside the crop cycle rather than waiting for paperwork to catch up. Risk teams are no longer blind between disbursement and harvest, and early warning signs show up sooner. For lenders, that reduces surprises. For farmers, it means decisions that keep pace with the season.

By grounding credit analysis in what can be seen and verified in the field, Culttivo reduces uncertainty on both sides of the transaction. Data does not replace judgment, but it gives that judgment a clearer starting point. In a sector where opacity has long been accepted as normal, that clarity alone is a meaningful shift.

Strong Filter

Speed on its own does not make a credit model work. In agricultural finance, and especially in coffee, discipline carries just as much weight. Loan cycles are long, cash flow is uneven, and repayment often depends on how well the lender understands both the farmer and the season. Without that discipline, growth can create more problems than it solves.

Culttivo has been careful about how it builds and manages its portfolio. Credit decisions follow clear rules, and loans are tracked closely after they are issued. Monitoring is ongoing, not something that only happens when a payment is missed. Collections are part of the operating model from day one, not a function that gets added once the book starts to grow.

That approach matters most after disbursement. Farms remain visible throughout the cycle, which makes it easier to spot issues early and engage with producers before situations escalate. Some risks are unavoidable in agriculture, but they are easier to manage when they are identified sooner rather than later.

Over time, this discipline creates a portfolio that can expand without drifting into excess. Investors gain confidence in how capital is managed, and farmers know where they stand. In a sector where credit controls often arrive late, Culttivo applies them from the beginning.

Know Your Beans

Coffee behaves very differently from annual row crops, and that difference matters when credit is involved. Coffee farmers are not making one-season bets. They are investing in an asset that takes years to mature and decades to pay back. Establishing a coffee plantation is expensive, often involving irrigation systems, processing infrastructure, and long-term land commitments. A productive coffee tree can last 15 to 20 years, and walking away from it is rarely an option.

That long-term investment changes farmer behaviour. Coffee producers may delay payments after a difficult season, but outright default is uncommon. Failing to repay usually means losing not just a harvest, but the business itself, along with years of sunk capital. This creates a very different risk profile from crops like soy or corn, where production resets every year and switching crops or exiting is far easier.

Coffee also brings its own rhythm. The biennial production cycle, with a strong harvest followed by a leaner one, is a structural feature of the crop. When a low-production year coincides with weaker prices, repayment pressure can rise even for well-managed farms. Models that ignore this dynamic often misread short-term stress as long-term weakness.

Culttivo has built these realities into how it evaluates and structures credit. Repayment expectations reflect production cycles rather than fixed calendars. Risk assessments account for long-term commitment as well as short-term volatility. Delayed payments are analysed in context, not treated automatically as failure. That crop-specific lens allows the platform to separate temporary strain from genuine risk, and it is what makes the model hard to replicate.

The Long Roast

Culttivo reflects the complementary paths of its founders. CEO Gustavo Foz has spent over two decades inside agribusiness credit, working across origination, structuring, and risk. Years close to farmers and portfolios gave him a clear view of where traditional credit models tend to fail once seasons, prices, and real farm decisions come into play. COO Gabriel Santos brings a similarly long track record on the financial and operational side, translating those lessons into processes that hold up as the business scales.

That shared experience shows in how Culttivo approaches growth. Credit is treated as a long-cycle relationship, not a transactional product. The team expects volatility, understands delayed payments, and designs structures that reflect how perennial crops behave over time. Discipline is not imposed late in the process, but built in from the start, informed by years of seeing what works and what breaks in agricultural portfolios.

Coffee itself reinforces that mindset. It is a crop measured in decades, not seasons, and Brazil’s history with coffee has been shaped by patience, reinvestment, and long-term commitment. Culttivo’s model fits naturally into that context. By applying deep experience to a crop that rewards it, the company is building credit infrastructure with the same qualities that have sustained Brazil’s coffee sector for generations.

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Culttivo is a Yield Lab Latam portfolio company. Please reach out if you’re interested in connecting with the company or if you would like to learn more about how to invest in high-potential agrifood and climate tech startups in Latin America.

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Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In AgriTech news this week, gene editing is emerging as a practical climate adaptation tool, with Brazilian researchers cutting soy breeding cycles from more than a decade to just two years. At the same time, AI adoption across agribusiness continues to grow, but with clearer implications for jobs, as a majority of CEOs now expect fewer entry-level roles as automation reshapes decision-making and operations.

In Climate Tech, capital and science are converging around land-use solutions. Mombak is entering a new growth phase after securing more than US$250 million for large-scale reforestation, while Indigo has begun paying farmers directly for verified sustainable practices linked to retail demand. Elsewhere, long-term academic research is challenging taboos around circular inputs, showing that treated sewage sludge can be safely used in agriculture when properly managed.

On the funding and M&A front, balance-sheet expansion remains active across the value chain. From early-stage food startups like Turma do Ovo raising capital to scale niche subscription models, to infrastructure-heavy moves such as Rumo’s rail financing and Coamo’s acquisition of grain facilities, investment is flowing into logistics, capacity, and resilience. Partnerships like the Seara–Iveco deal also point to decarbonization starting to influence transport decisions.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil’s role as a global agricultural supplier continues to strengthen, with exports reaching US$169 billion in 2025 and new trade channels opening, including DDGS shipments to China led by Inpasa. At the same time, competition is intensifying as Asian crop protection players expand their presence, while inflation and climate risk remain the top concerns keeping agribusiness CEOs cautious in an increasingly volatile global environment.

Table of Contents

AgriTech

• Gene editing cuts soy breeding cycles to two years

• AI gains traction in agribusiness as CEOs plan workforce cuts

Climate Tech

• Indigo begins paying farmers for verified sustainable practices

• Mombak launches new fund after raising US$250M for reforestation

• Bioinputs scale across Latin America, but margins come under pressure

• Scientific studies support agricultural use of treated sewage sludge

• Seara and Iveco partner on low-emission urban food logistics

Funding & M&A

• Turma do Ovo seeks US$470k to scale organic egg subscriptions

• Rumo raises US$300M to expand Brazil’s central rail corridor

• Coamo acquires four grain facilities from Pátria for US$27M

Macro & Markets

• Brazil reaches US$169B in agricultural exports in 2025

• Inpasa ships first DDGS cargo to China, opening new feed trade

• Cocoa expands beyond Bahia as new frontiers attract capital

• Asian crop protection players intensify competition in Brazil

• Inflation and climate risks top concerns for agribusiness CEOs

AgriTech

Gene editing cuts soy breeding cycles to two years – Brazil`s Ag researcher agency, Embrapa, is using gene-editing techniques to accelerate the development of soy varieties that are more tolerant to heat and water stress, reducing breeding timelines from around 15 years to as little as 24 months. Unlike transgenic approaches, the method works with the plant’s own genetic material, combining desirable traits already present in different soy varieties. Scientists extract and analyze DNA to identify genes linked to stress tolerance and insert them precisely into elite cultivars. read more

AI gains traction in agribusiness as CEOs plan workforce cuts – Artificial intelligence is starting to generate productivity and revenue gains across Brazilian agribusiness, but adoption remains uneven and largely tactical. According to PwC’s 2026 CEO Survey, 33% of agro executives report revenue growth linked to AI, while nearly half say they have not yet achieved meaningful cost reductions. At the same time, 60 percent of CEOs expect cuts to junior and entry-level roles over the next three years as automation matures, reflecting a shift in workforce structure. Inflation and climate risks continue to dominate priorities, keeping most leaders focused on short-term execution rather than deeper AI-driven transformation. read more

Climate Tech

Indigo begins paying farmers for verified sustainable practices – Indigo has begun paying grain producers in Brazil and Argentina for adopting verified sustainability practices, marking a shift from pilot programs to direct financial incentives. The company has committed around US$2 million in payments over a two-year cycle, linking farmers directly with food and retail companies seeking to reduce Scope 3 emissions through insetting. The program currently covers roughly 16,000 hectares of soy, corn, and rice, with producers receiving premiums of 2 to 5 percent above commodity prices once practices are measured and validated. read more

Mombak launches new fund after raising US$250M for reforestation – Reforestation and carbon removal company Mombak has raised more than US$250 million to finance large-scale projects in the Brazilian Amazon and is now launching a second fund as it enters a phase of accelerated growth. The capital includes equity, debt, and outcomes-based financing from institutions such as development banks and climate-focused investors. Mombak currently manages around 20,000 hectares, has planted over 12 million trees, and targets one million tonnes of CO₂ removal per year by 2035. read more

Bioinputs scale across Latin America, but margins come under pressure – After more than a decade of rapid expansion, bioinputs are now widely adopted across Latin America’s main export crops, but the sector is entering a more challenging phase. While demand remains strong due to regulatory pressure, residue limits, and agronomic efficiency gains, market saturation is increasing competition. Prices are under pressure, payment cycles are lengthening, and working capital requirements are rising. Industry executives warn that growth based purely on volume is no longer enough, with financial discipline, execution, and access to distribution becoming decisive. read more

Scientific studies support agricultural use of treated sewage sludge – Long-term academic research in Brazil shows that properly treated sewage sludge can be safely used in agriculture, improving soil organic matter and supplying nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus without contaminating crops. Studies tracking applications over decades found no accumulation of heavy metals when protocols are followed. Despite the scientific backing, adoption remains limited, with only a small share of collected sludge reused in farming. Researchers argue that the main barrier is social and cultural stigma rather than technical risk. read more

Seara and Iveco partner on low-emission urban food logistics – Seara, the poultry and pork division of JBS, has partnered with Iveco to pilot low-emission urban freight solutions in Brazil. The collaboration centers on Iveco’s multifuel truck concept, capable of operating on biomethane, natural gas, or ethanol. Depending on the energy source, emissions reductions of up to 95 percent are possible compared with diesel vehicles. The initiative targets urban food distribution, where emissions and congestion are growing concerns. read more

Funding & M&A

Turma do Ovo seeks US$470k to scale organic egg subscriptions – São Paulo–based agtech startup Turma do Ovo is seeking to raise US$470,000 via an equity crowdfunding round to support its next phase of growth. The company produces organic and free-range eggs and sells them through a subscription and direct-sales model focused on chefs, restaurants, and premium consumers. Proceeds will be used mainly to expand production capacity, logistics, and supplier onboarding. Turma do Ovo currently serves around 680 subscribers, plans to reach 2,000 recurring customers, and aims to double capacity from 10,000 to 20,000 laying hens as demand for traceable, premium proteins grows. read more

Rumo raises US$300M to expand Brazil’s central rail corridor – Rail operator Rumo has raised US$300 million through a debenture issuance to fund investments in its central rail network, a key logistics corridor for Brazilian agribusiness. More than 80 percent of the company’s transported volumes are agricultural products, primarily grains destined for export ports. The funding will support capacity expansion, efficiency improvements, and infrastructure upgrades aimed at reducing bottlenecks and logistics costs. read more

Coamo acquires four grain facilities from Pátria for US$27M – Coamo, Brazil’s largest agricultural cooperative, has acquired four grain storage and input facilities in Paraná from the Pátria private equity fund for approximately US$27 million. The assets add 223,000 tonnes of storage capacity and were previously leased by failed trading company Belagrícola. The acquisition was described as an opportunistic move amid a strong outlook for the 2025/26 harvest, with higher expected volumes of soy, corn, and wheat. Funded with Coamo’s own resources, the deal strengthens origination and logistics in northern Paraná state. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil reaches US$169B in agricultural exports in 2025 – Brazil’s agricultural exports reached a record US$169 billion in 2025, up sharply from US$74 billion a decade earlier, reinforcing the country’s position as the world’s largest net food exporter. The performance comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, trade frictions, and climate volatility, highlighting Brazil’s role in balancing global supply. read more

Inpasa ships first DDGS cargo to China, opening new feed trade – Inpasa completed Brazil’s first shipment of dried distillers grains with solubles to China, totaling 62,000 tonnes, following Beijing’s authorization of imports in 2025. The move opens a new export channel linked to Brazil’s growing corn ethanol industry and diversifies China’s sourcing of animal feed ingredients. Inpasa already has around 250,000 tonnes negotiated and estimates that Chinese demand could reach up to 1.5 million tonnes in 2026. read more

Cocoa expands beyond Bahia as new frontiers attract capital – Cocoa production in Brazil is moving beyond its traditional base in southern Bahia into the North and Cerrado regions, driven by high global prices, supply disruptions in Africa, and interest from large farming groups. New production areas are posting significantly higher yields under more intensive systems, attracting multinational input suppliers and traders. read more

Asian crop protection players intensify competition in Brazil – Chinese and Indian agrochemical companies are accelerating their expansion in Brazil as domestic markets in Asia become saturated. New entrants are arriving with smaller portfolios and aggressive pricing, increasing competitive pressure on incumbents. Industry specialists argue the trend should be seen less as a threat and more as a structural shift, forcing local players to professionalize services, innovate, or form partnerships. read more

Inflation and climate risks top concerns for agribusiness CEOs – Inflation and climate volatility have become the leading concerns for agribusiness CEOs, outweighing other macroeconomic risks, according to a recent PWC survey. Rising input costs, interest rates, and weather uncertainty are forcing executives to prioritize short-term risk management and cost control. While innovation and digital transformation remain strategic priorities on paper, many leaders report limited appetite for risk and longer-term investments, underscoring the tension between immediate operational pressures and the need to adapt business models in a more volatile environment. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Reality Bites

In a recent article, I argued that artificial intelligence would first change agriculture by improving decisions, not by automating farms. That remains true. AI’s earliest impact is cognitive. It reduces uncertainty and will help farmers make better calls under pressure.

Shortly after publishing that piece, however, I listened to an episode of Moonshots featuring a wide-ranging discussion with Elon Musk on AGI timelines and humanoid robots. The vision was extremely bullish, particularly for industries where capital is cheap, assets turn over quickly, and labor is scarce.

Agriculture in Brazil operates under a different set of constraints. High interest rates, long-lived machinery, legacy investments, and still-available labor slow the pace of structural change. That does not delay AI’s impact. It changes where it shows up first.

On Brazilian farms, AI will not arrive as a sweeping technological overhaul. It will arrive where uncertainty is most expensive and mistakes are hardest to absorb. Capital decisions. Production risk. Market exposure. These are the pressure points where better information and better timing can deliver value, without requiring large new investments.

Finance Friction

Capital is where AI first starts to matter in Brazilian agriculture, because that’s where uncertainty is most expensive. Credit decisions still rely heavily on blunt filters such as past credit history, generic risk buckets, and hard collateral like land titles that are slow and costly to enforce. What is often missing is a precise view of production risk, even though future production is the real collateral behind most farm loans.

In grains, TerraMagna applies satellite imagery, historical crop data, and AI models to assess the quality of future production as collateral. Founded by ITA graduates with strong geospatial and AI backgrounds, the company focuses on measuring and predicting production conditions with far greater precision than traditional credit models. It also estimates expected harvest windows, making repayment timing more visible and collection more predictable.

In coffee, Culttivo reflects the different risk profile of a perennial crop with a biennial cycle and a 15- to 20-year investment horizon. By combining satellite imagery, climate data, and ground-level validation, the platform distinguishes between low- and high-risk producers in a sector where farmers rarely walk away and irrigation has reduced climate exposure.

In animal protein, Agroforte builds risk profiles using production data already held by dairy, pork, poultry, and beef processors. Much of this information has historically been scattered across spreadsheets or filing cabinets. By structuring it, Agroforte helps identify higher-margin producers and supports investments in productivity and animal wellbeing. In many cases, processors are willing to help guarantee loans as a way to strengthen long-term supply relationships.

Harnessing Nature

If capital is where uncertainty is priced, production is where it is felt. Brazilian agriculture operates in open systems shaped by biology, weather, and timing, where static models struggle to keep up. As volatility increases, production risk is no longer just about yield. It is about resilience.

At the biological level, Symbiomics applies AI to the development of next-generation biologicals. By combining sequencing technologies, machine learning, and genome-editing tools, the company designs high-performance biological inputs that improve productivity while reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals. Instead of slow trial-and-error discovery, AI helps narrow the search space and accelerate learning.

Other risks are more immediate. In sugarcane, Umgrauemeio focuses on wildfire prevention, one of the sector’s most destructive threats. Using satellite imagery, high-definition cameras on monitoring towers, and AI models trained to predict where fires are most likely to start, the platform helps operators detect outbreaks in seconds and position resources closer to high-risk zones, reducing response time and damage.

Water risk follows a different logic. Kilimo combines sensor data and satellite imagery to build precision irrigation models that help farmers increase productivity while reducing water and energy use. Beyond efficiency gains, the platform enables farmers to participate in water stewardship programs, where savings can be monitored, reported, and verified, turning risk management into measurable income.

Money Matters

If production risk determines whether a crop exists, market risk determines whether it is profitable. Brazilian farmers operate in markets shaped by price volatility, basis risk, logistics constraints, and foreign exchange exposure. These factors are often treated as external forces. In practice, they are information problems.

AI begins to matter here by improving price discovery and origination. Grão Direto applies data and AI to connect farmers and trading companies more efficiently, improving transparency and deal formation in grain markets. By analyzing historical transactions, market conditions, and buyer behavior, the platform reduces information asymmetry and friction in commercialization.

Logistics is where market inefficiencies often compound. In Brazil, distance and coordination failures turn transport into a hidden tax on farm profitability. goFlux uses AI to improve the efficiency of agricultural logistics by matching freight demand with available capacity more intelligently. By reducing empty miles, delays, and coordination costs, logistics becomes more predictable, helping compress basis spreads and improve net prices at the farm gate.

Market intelligence follows a different path. Seedz has built a network of more than 150,000 farmers who earn loyalty points by registering activities and sharing data. AI transforms this large, real-world dataset into a business intelligence platform for input suppliers and machinery companies. What was once anecdotal feedback becomes structured insight, helping companies measure market share, identify demand trends, and spot commercial opportunities earlier.

Trust, First

Taken together, these three areas point in the same direction. AI is beginning to matter in Brazilian agriculture by reducing friction in the decisions that carry the most risk. It improves how capital is allocated, how production risk is managed, and how crops move into the market. In each case, the value comes from clearer signals and better timing.

This also explains why much of the global AI narrative struggles to translate to agriculture. Visions built around cheap capital, fast asset turnover, and extreme labor scarcity do not map neatly onto farming systems shaped by long-lived equipment, high interest rates, and biological cycles. In Brazil, those constraints shape where AI takes hold first.

What emerges instead is a slower, more practical path built on trust. AI earns its place by working quietly in the background, using data that already exists and improving probabilities rather than promising certainty. Over time, these gains compound. Better credit decisions support better production choices, which in turn provide better market positioning.

If you are interested in this topic, The Yield Lab Latam, together with the Brazilian Rural Society, will be hosting an event later this month on February 26 in São Paulo to showcase real case studies of AI being used in Brazilian agriculture. The session will feature three startups and three corporates, will be held in Portuguese, and will also be streamed online. Registration is free, although in-person places are limited, and available at the following link.

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In AgriTech news this week, SLC Agrícola expanded autonomous aerial spraying with Pyka, signaling that unmanned systems are moving into routine use at scale. Applied AI also continued to mature, with John Deere cited as a benchmark for embedded intelligence.

In Climate Tech developments, Brazil’s restoration economy gained visibility as a credible growth engine for the bioeconomy, supported by better monitoring, verification, and nature-based revenue models. At the same time, climate startups across Latin America are attracting more investor interest in agro, food systems, and circular economy solutions.

On the funding and M&A front, TOTVS deepened its agribusiness push with the acquisition of TBDC, reinforcing consolidation around vertical software platforms. Private credit continued to expand through CPR issuance, while large-scale capital mobilization remained in focus as Eco Invest channeled billions into sustainable projects. Nude also marked a milestone by raising its first debt round, highlighting growing use of non-equity capital.

In Macro & Markets news, Aliança Agrícola sought temporary court protection, underscoring ongoing balance-sheet stress among leveraged farming groups. Offsetting signals were more constructive, with the Mercosur–EU deal promising broader export access, farm machinery sales rebounding after a prolonged slump, and Latin America gaining traction as a strategic hub for new data center investments.

Table of Contents

AgriTech

• SLC Agrícola scales unmanned crop spraying with Pyka

• Brazil’s AgTech startups to watch in 2026

• John Deere shows what real-world AI looks like in agriculture

Climate Tech

• Brazil’s restoration industry could power the global bioeconomy

• Climate startups gain momentum across Latin America

Funding & M&A

• TOTVS buys TBDC to push deeper into agribusiness software

• Private credit surges in Brazilian agribusiness, driven by CPR growth

• Brazil launches US$40m fund with first investment in Bill Gates-backed startup

• Eco Invest mobilizes over US$10.5bn for sustainable investments in Brazil

• Nude raises first debt financing backed by Yunus and Belat

Macro & Markets

• Aliança Agrícola seeks 60-day court protection as insolvency risks surface

• Mercosur–EU deal could unlock European access for 543 Brazilian products

• Farm machinery sales rebound in 2025 after two-year slump

• Why Latin America is becoming a strategic hub for data centers

AgriTech

SLC Agrícola scales unmanned crop spraying with Pyka – SLC Agrícola is expanding the use of autonomous aerial spraying by partnering with California-based robotics company, Pyka, deploying large unmanned aircraft to apply crop protection products across its operations. The move reflects growing confidence in autonomous aviation for large-scale agriculture, with gains in labor efficiency, precision application, and operational flexibility. read more

Brazil’s AgTech startups to watch in 2026 – An analysis published by AgroAdvance maps the startups shaping Brazil’s innovation agenda in 2026, showing a clear shift from experimentation to execution. Leaders are distinguished by real adoption, scalable business models, and integration into farmers’ decision-making, while others are losing relevance as capital becomes more selective. Data-driven management, biologicals, and automation stand out as areas gaining momentum. read more

John Deere shows what real-world AI looks like in agriculture – At CES 2026, John Deere reinforced how artificial intelligence creates value when it is embedded directly into day-to-day operations rather than treated as a standalone product. Its use of autonomous machinery, precision spraying, and real-time decision support highlights how applied AI improves efficiency, reliability, and execution at scale. The example underscores that AI delivers results when it is trusted by operators, trained on domain-specific data, and tightly integrated into existing farm workflows. read more

Climate Tech

Brazil’s restoration industry could power the global bioeconomy – Brazil is emerging as a global leader in ecosystem restoration by turning degraded land into productive, investable assets linked to the bioeconomy. Restoration projects are increasingly connected to revenue streams such as carbon credits, bioinputs, nature-based solutions, and sustainable supply chains, supported by advances in monitoring, data, and verification. The combination of scale, biodiversity, and agricultural know-how positions Brazil to move restoration from a cost center into economic infrastructure, aligning climate goals with productivity and capital deployment. read more

Climate startups gain momentum across Latin America – Climate-focused startups across Latin America are attracting more investor attention as solutions in agriculture, food systems, and the circular economy move closer to commercial scale. Growth is being driven by demand for regenerative inputs, bio-based materials, waste-to-value models, and climate-resilient production systems. Brazil stands out as a key hub due to its market size, biodiversity, and increasing collaboration between startups, corporates, and investors, reinforcing the region’s role in scaling practical climate solutions. read more

Funding & M&A

TOTVS buys TBDC to push deeper into agribusiness software – TOTVS agreed to acquire Brazilian agtech startup, TBDC, for US$16 million, as part of its strategy to deepen exposure to agribusiness through vertical software solutions. The deal strengthens TOTVS’ portfolio of management, financial, and operational systems tailored to farms and ag companies, reinforcing consolidation around specialized platforms as producers professionalize and digitize operations. The acquisition fits a broader pattern of targeted M&A aimed at capturing demand for compliance, traceability, and data-driven decision tools across Brazil’s ag value chains. read more

Private credit surges in Brazilian agribusiness, driven by CPR growth – Private credit outstanding in Brazil’s agribusiness reached approximately US$280 billion in 2025, fueled by a sharp increase in CPR issuance. A CPR (Cédula de Produto Rural) allows farmers to raise funding against future crop delivery or cash flows and has become a cornerstone of market-based rural credit. As subsidized credit remains constrained, banks, funds, and institutional investors are expanding participation in structured CPRs, reinforcing private capital as a central funding source for the sector. read more

Brazil launches US$40m fund with first investment in Bill Gates-backed startup – Brazilian VC firm Alya Ventures launched Anjos da Terra, a new impact-focused fund targeting up to US$40 million to invest in climate and sustainability startups across energy, agribusiness, biodiversity, and the circular economy. The fund’s first investment was in Antora Energy, a U.S.-based company developing carbon-based thermal batteries for large-scale energy storage, backed by investors including Bill Gates. Anjos da Terra plans to back up to 20 startups and scaleups with proven traction and measurable environmental impact, with capital coming from family offices, asset managers, and banks seeking exposure to innovation-led sustainability themes. read more

Eco Invest mobilizes over US$10.5bn for sustainable investments in Brazil – Brazil’s government-backed Eco Invest program reached a new milestone with the conclusion of its third auction, which released roughly US$3 billion in public capital and is expected to leverage up to US$10.6 billion in total sustainable investments. Demand in the auction exceeded expectations, with proposals indicating the potential to mobilize more than US$16 billion as banks competed on leverage and private capital commitments. The program focuses on equity and venture-style investments in technology-based companies, startups, and growth-stage businesses aligned with innovation, sustainability, and economic development. A key differentiator for foreign investors is that Eco Invest structures include FX hedging mechanisms, reducing currency risk and making Brazil-based climate, bioeconomy, and infrastructure projects more accessible to international capital. read more

Nude raises first debt financing backed by Yunus and Belat – Alternative protein startup Nude secured approximately US$700,000 in its first debt round, with backing from Yunus Social Business and Belat. The capital will be used primarily as working capital to support growth in Nude’s oat milk business, marking a shift from equity-only funding toward more structured instruments. The deal reflects a broader trend among food and ag startups toward debt and hybrid capital as models mature, cash flows stabilize, and founders look to scale while preserving equity. read more

Macro & Markets

Aliança Agrícola seeks 60-day court protection as insolvency risks surface – Trading company Aliança Agrícola requested a 60-day suspension of creditor enforcement actions as it negotiates with lenders amid mounting financial pressure. The move reflects tighter liquidity and rising stress among highly leveraged farming groups following years of expansion financed by private credit. The case highlights how higher interest rates, weaker margins, and balance-sheet fragility are forcing a growing number of producers into restructuring discussions as the cycle turns more selective. read more

Mercosur–EU deal could unlock European access for 543 Brazilian products – The Mercosur–European Union trade agreement could significantly expand Brazilian exports to Europe, with up to 543 products gaining improved market access through tariff reductions or eliminations. The deal would favor producers and exporters able to meet stricter European requirements on traceability, sustainability, and compliance, reinforcing the strategic value of data, certification, and environmental reporting. If ratified, the agreement could accelerate Brazil’s shift toward higher-value, standards-driven exports. read more

Farm machinery sales rebound in 2025 after two-year slump – Sales of agricultural machinery in Brazil grew 7.4% in 2025, marking a return to expansion after two consecutive years of contraction, according to industry data. The recovery was driven mainly by stronger tractor sales, supported by a favorable crop season and improved farm productivity, even amid high interest rates and global trade uncertainty. Tractor and harvester sales combined rose 14.1%, with tractors alone up 14.8%, reflecting delayed replacement demand coming back into the market. read more

Why Latin America is becoming a strategic hub for data centers – Latin America is attracting growing interest from global data center operators as digital demand rises and energy availability becomes a competitive differentiator. Brazil stands out due to its market scale, expanding cloud adoption, and access to renewable power, factors that are increasingly critical as hyperscalers seek to manage costs and emissions. Despite challenges around grid reliability and regulation, the region’s underbuilt infrastructure and demand growth position it as a priority destination for the next wave of digital investment. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Born to Produce

Brazil does not need to prove it can produce food at scale. That chapter is already written. Over recent years, the country has cemented its position as one of the world’s most efficient and competitive agricultural producers, culminating in Brazil overtaking the United States as the world’s largest beef exporter.

That milestone was not the result of a sudden technological leap. It reflected decades of accumulated progress in genetics, tropical agronomy, farm management, and logistics, layered onto natural advantages of land availability, climate diversity, and the ability to produce across multiple seasons.

For much of that journey, success was measured in output. Producing more, producing reliably, and doing so efficiently defined progress. Capital, talent, and innovation flowed toward strengthening production systems on the ground, improving yields, reducing losses, and expanding acreage with discipline.

That focus delivered results. Brazil emerged as a global agricultural leader, capable of competing across crops, geographies, and export markets. The production race was won. What is changing now is how that production strength is converted into value.

New Dawn

Brazilian agriculture is already far more digital than it was a decade ago. Digital tools were first adopted to solve practical farm problems: managing scale, coordinating logistics, improving agronomic decisions, and operating efficiently across large and dispersed operations. This transition happened gradually and quietly, driven by necessity rather than strategy.

That quiet shift is now visible in the data. Surveys from the past two years show that more than 80 percent of Brazilian farmers use digital channels daily for farm-related activities, while over 70 percent rely on digital tools during their purchasing decisions, combining physical and online workflows. Digital payments in agriculture have roughly doubled in recent years, reaching more than half of producers, and nearly one in two farms now uses at least one precision agriculture tool, with a growing share operating multiple systems in parallel.

What has changed is not the presence of technology, but its role. Tools that once supported day-to-day decisions in the field are increasingly being used to organize information, reduce administrative friction, and support interactions beyond the farm gate. Digital systems are moving from operational aids to the underlying infrastructure of the farm business.

This shift reflects a broader transition in priorities. As production gains have matured and margins tightened, attention has moved beyond yield toward how performance is recorded, compared, and carried forward. Digital adoption is no longer only about farming better. It is about positioning farms to capture more value from what they already produce.

Hard Proof

Modern farms in Brazil generate enormous volumes of information. Machinery, inputs, consultants, climate models, and daily field operations all produce data. Yield maps, application records, animal performance metrics, and management decisions are already part of routine farm life.

The challenge is not producing information, but organizing it. In many operations, data remains fragmented across spreadsheets, PDFs, emails, and disconnected platforms. Records are created for immediate use, then set aside, rather than maintained as part of a continuous operational history.

As a result, farms often perform better than they appear on paper. Performance is clear internally, but difficult to present externally. Banks, insurers, and buyers frequently see partial snapshots instead of a coherent picture of how risk is managed and outcomes are delivered over time.

This is where value is captured or lost. Not because farms underperform, but because performance cannot travel easily beyond the farm gate. Digital systems that consolidate records, reduce manual work, and maintain continuity turn output into evidence. They make results usable, comparable, and defensible in markets that increasingly demand proof.

Why Now

For years, this disconnect carried limited consequences. Today, it does not. The environment around agriculture has changed, and tolerance for opacity has narrowed. Capital is more selective. Insurance pricing is more granular. Buyers face tighter requirements around traceability and compliance. Sustainability commitments increasingly require verification rather than intention.

Volatility amplifies the effect. When margins tighten and uncertainty rises, access to credit, insurance terms, and market channels becomes more important than incremental yield gains. Farms that can document performance move faster and negotiate from a stronger position. Those that cannot face higher costs, delays, or exclusion.

At the same time, the barriers to digital adoption have fallen. Tools are easier to use, require less manual input, and increasingly work despite connectivity constraints. Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift by automating data capture and turning existing information into usable insight with minimal friction.

Digital adoption has become costly to ignore. The focus has shifted away from experimenting with new tools toward reducing friction, as value increasingly flows through verified information rather than assumptions.

Sharp Edge

Brazil has already done the hardest work. It built a production system capable of competing at global scale under demanding conditions. The next advantage comes from turning that strength into proof that travels across financial, commercial, and regulatory channels.

As farms move from output to evidence, they gain access to cheaper capital, better risk pricing, and broader market opportunities. Digital systems do not change how food is produced. They change how performance is seen, priced, and rewarded.

For producers operating in export-driven markets, the question is no longer whether this shift applies, but how long it remains optional. Brazil is already moving up the value curve, and those competing alongside it will increasingly need to do so on the market’s terms.

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In Agri Tech news this week, low-cost spectroscopy is improving traceability by enabling rapid verification of coffee origin and detection of adulteration. On-farm automation is advancing, with a poultry operation in São Paulo using AI to count 140,000 eggs per day with 99.9 percent accuracy. Equity investment continues to contract as credit overtakes venture capital as the dominant funding model for startups.

In Climate Tech developments, new research shows Brazilian livestock emissions could fall nearly 80 percent by 2050 through productivity gains, pasture recovery, and improved animal management. Digital tools are already reducing operational risk and lifting productivity across agriculture, while irrigation digitization is emerging as a key lever for water and energy efficiency.

In Funding news, it has been a strong week for AgFintech. The Yield Lab Latam invested in Culttivo, an agfintech platform financing small and medium coffee farmers, through a bridge round as the company prepares for a US$6 million pre-Series A later this year. This was followed by agfintech Nagro securing a US$10 million Series B round backed by Itaú and Rabobank to expand rural credit in the grains sector.

In Macro and Markets news, the EU–Mercosur agreement is set to expand export access for Brazilian agribusiness through tariff reductions and quotas. Brazil is also on track to process a record 61 million tonnes of soybeans in 2026 and now supplies nearly three-quarters of China’s soybean imports, reinforcing its role in global oilseed markets.

Table of Contents

Agri Tech

• Coffee technology verifies origin and detects adulteration at low cost

• ALLTIS AI counts 140,000 eggs per day at Granja São Marcos

• Equity shrinks as credit overtakes venture capital in startup funding

Climate Tech

• Brazilian livestock emissions could fall nearly 80 percent by 2050

• RaboResearch finds AgTech boosts productivity and reduces risk

• Irrigation digitization emerges as next productivity lever

Funding

• Yield Lab Latam backs Culttivo in bridge ahead of US$6m pre-Series A

• Nagro raises US$10 million with Itaú and Rabobank to expand Ag credit

Macro & Markets

• EU–Mercosur deal set to expand market access for Brazilian agribusiness

• Brazil could process a record 61 million tonnes of soybeans in 2026

• Brazil captures 73.6 percent of China’s soybean imports in record year

Agri Tech

Coffee technology verifies origin and detects adulteration at low cost – Embrapa researchers have developed a rapid, low-cost method to identify the geographic origin of coffee and detect adulteration using near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometric analysis. The technology delivers results in minutes without chemical reagents or complex sample preparation, enabling scalable quality control and traceability. The solution can distinguish coffees by producing region and identify fraud, supporting certification, inspections, and premium market access for Brazilian coffee across domestic and export channels. read more

ALLTIS AI counts 140,000 eggs per day at Granja São Marcos – Granja São Marcos, a poultry operation in Mogi-Guaçu, São Paulo, has implemented artificial intelligence technology from ALLTIS to automatically count 140,000 eggs per day with 99.9 percent accuracy, replacing manual processes. The system also monitors key operational indicators such as temperature, water consumption, feed volumes, egg flow, mortality rates, and animal welfare. Digital monitoring has improved real-time decision-making, reduced operational risk, and increased efficiency across the production cycle. read more

Equity shrinks as credit overtakes venture capital in startup funding – Investment in Brazilian startups remained under pressure in 2025, with capital shifting decisively away from equity and toward credit structures. According to Brazil’s Open Innovation and Corporate Venture Capital Ecosystem Report, produced by Sling Hub in partnership with ABVCAP and Alya Ventures, startups raised US$4.5 billion across 459 rounds during the year. When excluding FIDCs, debt, and hybrid structures, pure equity totaled US$1.74 billion, or 39 percent of capital, spread across 412 rounds. Credit dominated volumes, led by US$2.38 billion via FIDCs in 27 transactions, plus US$161 million in traditional debt and US$32.7 million in hybrid rounds, highlighting a more selective, less dilutive funding environment. read more

Climate Tech

Brazilian livestock emissions could fall nearly 80 percent by 2050 – A study by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) estimates that greenhouse gas emissions from Brazil’s livestock sector could be reduced by at least 79.9 percent by 2050, driven by productivity gains such as pasture recovery, improved genetics, and better animal nutrition. The analysis shows that reductions could reach up to 92.6 percent if, in addition to productivity improvements, Brazil accelerates the adoption of low-carbon livestock solutions, including methane-reducing practices and technologies. read more

RaboResearch finds AgTech boosts productivity and reduces risk – A RaboResearch study highlights how digital technology adoption is reshaping Brazilian agribusiness, improving efficiency and lowering operational risk across the value chain. Brazil currently has 1,574 agtech startups and accounts for more than half of all agtech investment in Latin America, with funding peaking at US$330 million in 2023. The report links technology adoption to sustained productivity gains, rising yields, and better management of climate and market volatility. read more

Irrigation digitization emerges as next productivity lever – Digital irrigation is becoming a key driver of efficiency in Brazilian agriculture as sensors, automation, and integrated platforms enable more precise water and energy management. According to Netafim, digitally monitored drip irrigation projects have delivered water savings of up to 45 percent and energy cost reductions of around US$700 per hectare in crops such as coffee. As systems integrate climate, soil, and operational data, irrigation is shifting from fixed infrastructure to a data-driven decision layer. read more

Funding

Yield Lab Latam backs Culttivo in bridge round ahead of US$6m pre-Series A – Culttivo, a Brazil-based agfintech focused on financing small and medium coffee farmers, received a bridge investment from The Yield Lab Latam as it prepares to raise US$6 million (R$30 million) ahead of a larger Series A of up to US$20 million (R$100 million) next year. The company provides digital credit to coffee growers using satellite imagery and producer data to streamline credit analysis. Culttivo plans to originate US$100 million (R$500 million) in credit in 2026, up from US$60 million (R$300 million) disbursed last year, supported by a funding vehicle of up to US$70 million (R$350 million) and default rates below 2 percent. read more

Nagro raises US$10 million with Itaú and Rabobank to expand ag credit – Brazilian agfintech Nagro raised US$10 million (R$50 million) in a Series B round led by Rabobank (via Rabo Partnerships) alongside Itaú Ventures to scale rural credit and risk management. The company focuses on lending to small and medium-sized producers with annual revenues between US$100,000 and US$4 million, operating fully online and releasing credit in around 48 hours. Nagro plans to disburse US$40 million in 2026, up from US$23 million in 2025, after slowing growth amid rising rural delinquency. Its credit vertical currently includes two Fiagro funds totaling US$24 million, while its B2B risk platform AgRisk serves 1,400 clients, including cooperatives, agribusinesses, and banks. read more

Macro & Markets

EU–Mercosur deal set to expand market access for Brazilian agribusiness – The EU and Mercosur signed a historic free trade agreement after more than 25 years of negotiations, though the deal still requires approval by national congresses in each country before entering into force. Once implemented, the agreement will eliminate import tariffs on 77 percent of agricultural products purchased by the EU from Mercosur, including Brazil, with tariffs reduced gradually over periods ranging from four to ten years, depending on the product. The framework is expected to expand exports of items such as coffee, fruits, fish, crustaceans, and vegetable oils, while reinforcing sustainability and traceability requirements for access to European markets. read more

Brazil could process a record 61 million tons of soybeans in 2026 – Soybean crushing in Brazil is expected to reach a record 61 million tons in 2026, up from 58.5 million tons in 2025, according to industry data from Abiove. The increase is supported by a larger harvest, with Brazil’s soybean crop estimated at 177.1 million tons in the 2025/26 season, compared with 171.5 million tons the previous year. Abiove also projects ending soybean stocks of 9.2 million tons, up from 7.1 million tons last season, reinforcing capacity utilization and availability for domestic processing. Rising demand for soybean meal and biodiesel continues to pull more volume into local crushing, increasing value capture within Brazil’s agri-industrial chain. read more

Brazil captures 73.6% of China’s soybean imports in record year – Brazil increased its share of China’s soybean imports to 73.6 percent in 2025, up from 71 percent in 2024, as Chinese buyers shifted decisively toward South American suppliers. Total Chinese soybean imports reached a record 111.8 million tonnes, up 6.5 percent year over year, with 82.3 million tonnes sourced from Brazil, a 10.3 percent increase. Argentina also expanded its share to 7 percent, while U.S. participation fell to 15 percent, down from 21 percent, with U.S. imports dropping 24 percent to 16.8 million tonnes. Brazilian soybean shipments to China surged 92.5 percent year over year in December. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Ground Up

When people imagine AI in agriculture, they tend to picture robots in fields and fully automated farms. Those systems exist, but they are capital-intensive, fragile, and slow to scale. The earliest and most consequential impact of AI will arrive elsewhere, through better decision-making long before machines become ubiquitous.

Farming has always been defined by decisions made under extreme uncertainty. What to plant, when to plant, how much to invest, how to manage risk, and when to sell. These choices sit at the intersection of biology, weather, markets, and increasingly regulation and consumer expectations. The underlying challenge remains the same, while the tools available to manage it have improved materially.

Artificial intelligence is entering agriculture incrementally, starting with how decisions are made at the farm level. It enters through systems designed to reduce uncertainty in environments where mistakes compound quickly and outcomes cannot be reversed. Its impact comes from improving how information is gathered, interpreted, and turned into decisions that reflect how farming actually works.

Ripe Time

Agriculture’s cautious relationship with technology has always been rational. The cost of being wrong is high, while the benefit of marginal improvement often becomes visible only at the end of a cycle. Many earlier waves of agricultural technology added insight while increasing complexity. Tools demanded attention, interpretation, and behavior change at moments when farmers had little time to spare. Cognitive load rose faster than confidence.

What makes this moment different is a shift in underlying conditions. Data density has crossed a threshold. Machinery, satellites, sensors, genetics, and supply chains now generate continuous streams of information. Compute has become inexpensive enough to process this data in near real time. Interfaces are receding into the background, replaced by systems that return recommendations instead of reports.

Market pressure reinforces this shift. Buyers want traceability and proof of production practices. Capital demands measurable risk and defensible returns. Regulators are moving from voluntary disclosure toward enforceable reporting. Sustainability has shifted from intention to verification. Verification at scale is a data problem, and data problems increasingly require automated decision systems.

Friction Free

There is a useful historical parallel. GPS did not transform agriculture by producing new agronomic insight. It transformed agriculture by removing friction. Once precise location became cheap and reliable, practices such as spot spraying and variable-rate application became practical at scale. GPS expanded what was feasible.

A similar pattern is now emerging with tools like virtual fencing in dairy and grazing systems. Instead of installing kilometers of physical fence, farmers can define boundaries digitally and adjust them in real time. The appeal is not sophistication for its own sake, but simplicity: fewer materials, less labor, faster changes, and lower upfront cost. When a system removes effort rather than adding it, adoption follows.

AI plays a similar enabling role today. By collapsing the cost of collecting, processing, and interpreting data, it shifts the constraint from information availability to decision quality. Voice-based interfaces lower barriers of literacy. Messaging-style interaction, closer to WhatsApp than traditional software, fits naturally into daily routines. When decision support becomes this accessible, it stops behaving like a product and starts behaving like infrastructure.

Taking Root

This shift is already visible across the agricultural value chain. Planting and input decisions increasingly incorporate probabilistic weather and yield models rather than historical averages alone. Credit and insurance rely on dynamic assessments of biological and climate risk, shortening the distance between risk evaluation and capital allocation. Logistics systems adjust routing and timing for perishables as conditions change. Breeding, formulation, and production decisions are simulated digitally before capital is committed in the field.

Agriculture has always combined tasks and purpose. The tasks include scouting, recording, checking, comparing, and updating plans as new information arrives. The purpose is steering a biological system through uncertainty, protecting yield, quality, and margins as conditions shift. AI will absorb more of the repetitive work and simplify data collection and decision-making. The result is not the removal of the farmer, but greater leverage for the judgment that matters most.

These changes rarely announce themselves as technology adoption. They appear as quieter improvements in how decisions are made, tested, and refined. As these practices spread, they begin to reshape expectations around timing, precision, and accountability.

Fog Lifts

Uncertainty remains the hidden tax of the global food system. It inflates the cost of capital, encourages over-application of inputs, distorts pricing, and discourages long-term investment. As uncertainty becomes measurable, behavior shifts. Risk premiums compress. Capital moves earlier. Decisions improve incrementally, then structurally. The effect compounds across farms, supply chains, and markets.

When that change becomes visible, public markets are likely to be among the first places it shows up. Agricultural companies will no longer be priced purely as mature, volatile, and capital-intensive businesses with limited scope for structural improvement. As decision-making improves and uncertainty declines, growth looks different, risk is reassessed, and valuations begin to adjust accordingly.

Emerging markets make this dynamic especially visible. These systems operate under tighter capital constraints, higher volatility, and fewer margins for error. They cannot wait for perfect data or ideal conditions. Agriculture in these environments becomes a demanding proving ground for AI, shaped by biology, infrastructure limits, and real-world pressure. If decision systems function here, they function anywhere.

AI will not feed the world by producing food directly. It will feed the world by changing how decisions are made under uncertainty. That shift may prove more consequential than any single technological breakthrough.

Thanks for reading.

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.

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Summary

In Agri Tech this week, connectivity and artificial intelligence are shifting from pilot stage to core infrastructure. A connected farm model backed by Case IH and TIM delivered measurable cost savings and yield gains at commercial scale, while Valtra expanded AI use across both manufacturing and field operations. At the same time, climate intelligence startup i4Sea is moving from ports and mining into agriculture, applying predictive weather and risk models to farm and logistics decisions.

In Climate Tech, biologicals remained in focus from both a science and corporate strategy perspective. BASF strengthened its biological crop protection platform with the acquisition of AgBiTech, a startup with deep roots in Brazil’s row-crop market. Separately, Brazilian researchers identified a bacterium from the Caatinga biome with potential to materially reduce soybean losses caused by herbicide-resistant weeds.

On the Funding & M&A front, signs of normalization continue. Rural Ventures closed a US$10m agtech fund anchored by strategic producers, Solinftec tapped Brazil’s capital markets through a green CRA issuance, and Fiagros returned to positive territory. Consolidation also remained active, with deals in rural insurance and seeds reflecting a continued push for scale and specialization.

In Macro & Markets, trade policy moved forward politically but remains economically cautious. The European Union provisionally approved the Mercosur agreement, advancing the ratification process while leaving key agricultural safeguards and compliance requirements at the center of ongoing debate. Alongside this, Brazil’s fruit exports reached a third consecutive record in 2025, with shipments topping US$1.45 billion as volumes rose nearly 20%.

Table of Contents

Agri Tech

• Case IH and TIM deploy connected farm model cutting US$200k in costs

• Valtra expands AI use across factories and farms

• i4Sea brings climate intelligence from ports and mining to agriculture

Climate Tech

• BASF acquires AgBiTech to scale biological crop protection

• Caatinga bacterium could help reduce soybean losses

Funding & M&A

• Rural Ventures raises Brazil-focused US$10m agritech fund

• Solinftec raises US$38m via green CRA to strengthen balance sheet

• Private ag credit rebounds as Fiagros and CRAs regain momentum

• Wallerius Seguros acquires 100% of Ativa Agro

• Sementes São Francisco acquires Auma Sementes

Macro & Markets

• EU provisionally approves Mercosur trade agreement

• Brazil fruit exports hit third straight record of US$1.45B in 2025

Agri Tech

Case IH and TIM cut R$1 million in costs with connected farm model – The Fazenda Conectada Case IH, a model farm operated in partnership with TIM, Brazil’s largest telecom operator, reported cost reductions of around R$1 million (USD200k) in the 2024/25 season through the use of 4G connectivity, real-time monitoring and data-driven management. Located in Água Boa, Mato Grosso, the farm spans more than 3,000 hectares and integrates connected machinery, agronomic sensors and operational analytics. Soybean yields reached 75 sacks per hectare, up from 68 previously, outperforming regional and national averages. read more

Valtra expands AI use across manufacturing and on-farm operations – Valtra, part of AGCO group, is scaling the use of artificial intelligence across both its industrial processes and field operations, applying machine learning to improve quality control, predictive maintenance and production efficiency in its factories, while also embedding AI into connected machinery used by farmers. On the farm side, AI supports real-time machine diagnostics, operational optimization and smarter use of data generated by equipment, reinforcing the shift toward precision agriculture and more efficient asset utilization across large-scale operations. read more

i4Sea brings climate intelligence from ports to agriculture – i4Sea, a Brazilian climate intelligence startup originally deployed in complex logistics environments such as the Port of Santos and with clients including Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies, is now targeting agriculture. The platform applies advanced weather modeling and AI to predict extreme events, operational risks and climate variability. In agriculture, the focus is on supporting planning, logistics and risk management for producers and agribusinesses increasingly exposed to climate volatility. read more

Climate Tech

BASF acquires AgBiTech to scale biological crop protection – BASF has acquired AgBiTech, a biological ag startup founded in Australia, headquartered in the United States, and with Brazil as its largest market, accounting for up to 70% of sales. AgBiTech develops bioinsecticides based on baculoviruses to control pests such as Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera frugiperda in soy, corn, and cotton. In Brazil, AgBiTech employs 140 people, serves roughly 600 direct producer clients across 700 farms and will strengthen BASF’s push into biological crop protection, which currently makes up around 10% of its portfolio. read more

Caatinga bacterium could help eliminate up to US$1.8bn in soybean losses – Researchers from Embrapa and the University of São Paulo identified a bacterium from Brazil’s Caatinga biome with potential to control buva, a herbicide-resistant weed responsible for significant soybean losses. Current damage is estimated at around US$1.0bn per year and could rise to US$1.8bn as resistance spreads. Laboratory trials show the microorganism produces natural metabolites capable of inhibiting weed germination, opening a pathway for a new bioherbicide adapted to Brazilian conditions. read more

Funding & M&A

Rural Ventures raises US$10m agtech fund backed by strategic farmers – Rural Ventures has raised a US$10m fund to invest in early-stage Brazilian agtech startups, with ticket sizes of around US$400k per company. The model prioritizes on-farm validation before scaling capital deployment, reducing adoption risk and accelerating product-market fit. Strategic investors include NovaAmerica, one of Brazil’s largest sugarcane mills, and Monte Alegre Feedlot, reinforcing the fund’s operator-led approach. read more

Solinftec raises R$189m via green CRA to strengthen balance sheet – Brazilian agtech startup, Solinftec, has issued a R$189m (US$38m) green agribusiness receivables certificate (CRA), split into two series maturing in 2030. One tranche pays 100% of the DI rate (interbank benchmark, around 14.3%) plus 2.65% per year, while the second is indexed to IPCA (headline inflation, around 4.3%) plus 10.7% per year. The CRAs are backed by agribusiness receivables (CDCAs), with proceeds earmarked for financing equipment, software, and AI-driven automation solutions focused on efficiency gains and emissions reduction in agriculture. read more

Private ag credit rebounds as Fiagros and CRAs regain momentum – After the 2024 credit shock, Brazil’s private agribusiness financing market showed signs of normalization in 2026. CRA issuance reached R$52.1 billion by November last year, up from R$42.8 billion in 2024, though still below the R$57.1 billion peak of 2023. Total outstanding private agro instruments, including CRAs, LCAs, CPRs, and Fiagros, climbed to R$1.41 trillion. Listed Fiagros delivered double-digit returns in 2025, with the top funds posting gains of over 40%, reinforcing a clearer market distinction between high-grade credit and stressed exposures heading into 2026. read more

Wallerius Seguros acquires 100% of Ativa Agro – Wallerius Seguros acquired full control of Ativa Agro, a brokerage specialized in rural insurance and agribusiness risk solutions. Founded ten years ago, Ativa Agro operates nationally and is headquartered in Santa Catarina, with a portfolio focused on crop, machinery, and rural property insurance. The acquisition strengthens Wallerius’ expansion strategy in agribusiness, adding sector-specific expertise and closer ties to producers. Financial terms were not disclosed. read more

Sementes São Francisco acquires Auma Sementes – Sementes São Francisco, a Goiás-based soybean seed company controlled by Pátria Investimentos, has acquired Auma Sementes, marking its entry into the Minas Gerais market. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Patos de Minas, Auma specializes in soybean seed multiplication and was founded by producer Cláudio Nasser, who has more than 40 years of experience in agribusiness. Following the transaction, Nasser remains a minority shareholder under a strategic partnership designed to ensure operational continuity and support a new phase of growth. read more

Macro & Markets

EU–Mercosur trade deal advances despite political resistance – The European Union provisionally approved the EU–Mercosur trade agreement, a deal expected to remove around €4 billion (US$4.6 billion) per year in tariffs once fully implemented. Mercosur countries currently face tariffs as high as 35% on vehicles, 28% on dairy products, and 27% on wines entering the EU. Trade between the two blocs reached €111 billion in 2024, split roughly evenly, with Mercosur exports concentrated in agricultural goods, minerals, pulp, and paper. France and Poland continue to oppose the agreement, citing pressure on European farmers, while final approval still requires a vote in the European Parliament, likely in the coming months. read more

Brazil fruit exports hit third straight record of US$1.45B in 2025 – Brazil’s fruit exports totaled US$1.45 billion in 2025, up 12% in value and 19.6% in volume year on year, marking the third consecutive annual record. Mango remained the top export at US$335 million, with volumes rising 12.6% to nearly 280,000 tons despite softer pricing in the U.S. market. Melon exports climbed 24.9% to US$231 million, lemons and limes reached US$199 million, grapes totaled US$158 million, and watermelon jumped 57.1% to US$115 million. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.

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Summary

As we kick off 2026, I would like to wish all my readers a very happy and successful New Year. Here’s to a successful year for everyone building, investing in, and operating across Brazil’s ag and climate tech ecosystem.

In AgTech developments this week, Typcal moved alternative proteins into industrial production with Latin America’s first large-scale mycelium fermentation plant, while NeoSilos and major seed players Scheffer, GDM, and TMG showed how AI, imaging, and controlled environments are shortening cycles and reducing subjectivity across post-harvest operations and breeding programs.

In Climate Tech, Campo Limpo closed the year with around US$100 million in revenue and announced new investment to expand recycling capacity, while Brazil registered a record 162 new bioinputs in 2025, pushing the total number of approved biological products close to 1,000.

On the funding and capital markets front, early signs of recovery are emerging after a difficult 18 months. Private rural credit is picking up again, with renewed interest in Fiagros and other structured agro instruments, a positive signal for agfintech startups operating across credit, insurance, and risk management. Against this backdrop, Brazilian insurtech Guarda raised fresh capital to scale parametric climate insurance, reflecting growing demand for faster and more transparent climate risk coverage.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil begins the year with several structural shifts in focus. The country overtook the United States as the world’s largest beef producer, agricultural exports surpassed US$1.2 trillion over the past decade, and farmland transactions accelerated despite tighter credit conditions. At the same time, trade and sustainability debates resurfaced, with China’s beef surcharge and Mato Grosso’s confirmation of Abiove’s exit from the Soy Moratorium adding new layers of uncertainty to global supply chains.

🧭 Table of Contents

AgTech

• Typcal Opens Latin America’s First Large-Scale Mycelium Factory

• NeoSilos Targets Automated Grain Classification with AI Cameras

• Scheffer, GDM and TMG Adopt New Light-Based Approach in Seed Breeding

Climate Tech

• Campo Limpo Posts Record Revenue and Expands Recycling Investment

• Brazil Sets Record With 162 New Bioinput Registrations in 2025

Funding & M&A

• Guarda Raises US$800k Pre-Seed to Scale Digital Climate Insurance

• Capital Markets Expect More Fiagros and Issuances in 2026

• Savencia Acquires Quata Alimentos to Expand Brazilian Dairy Portfolio

Macro & Markets

• Brazil Overtakes U.S. as World’s Largest Beef Producer

• Brazil’s Ag Exports Surpass US$1.2 Trillion Over the Past Decade

• Chinese Surcharge Could Lower Beef Prices in Brazil

• Mato Grosso Confirms Abiove’s Exit From the Soy Moratorium

• Brazil’s Farmland Market Heats Up in 2025

AgTech

Typcal Opens Latin America’s First Large-Scale Mycelium Factory – Typcal has inaugurated the region’s first industrial-scale mycelium fermentation facility, moving Brazil’s alternative protein sector into commercial production. The plant, located in Pinhais near Curitiba, was built following a R$10 million (around US$2 million) funding round backed by Brazilian investors and Belgian biotech accelerator Biotope. The facility is designed for scalable production of fresh and powdered mycelium-based ingredients, with initial commercial output expected in 2026 and early sales planned for Latin American and European markets. read more

NeoSilos Targets Automated Grain Classification with AI Cameras – NeoSilos is developing an AI-based system to automate grain quality classification, aiming to replace manual, visual inspection methods still used at Brazilian silos and warehouses. The solution combines computer vision cameras and artificial intelligence to evaluate attributes such as color, impurities, broken kernels, and defects during grain reception. Based in Curitiba, the startup has raised around US$800,000 through a mix of grants and equity investment, including backing from KPTL. NeoSilos is currently running pilot projects with grain storage operators, initially focused on soybeans and corn, and plans to integrate the technology into existing silo infrastructure. read more

Scheffer, GDM and TMG Adopt New Light-Based Approach in Seed Breeding – Scheffer, GDM and TMG, three major seed and grain producers, are applying advanced lighting systems to accelerate seed breeding cycles, according to AgFeed. The approach uses controlled light environments to shorten development timelines by allowing researchers to evaluate more plant generations per year, particularly in soybean breeding programs. The companies report that the technology supports faster genetic selection while maintaining field trials as a core validation step in the breeding process. read more

Climate Tech

Campo Limpo Posts Record Revenue and Expands Recycling Investment – Campo Limpo, Brazil’s agrochemical packaging recycling company, closed the year with revenue of around US$100 million and announced plans to invest approximately US$28 million in the expansion and modernization of its recycling operations. Managed by inpEV, the program operates a nationwide reverse logistics network for empty pesticide containers. Brazil currently recycles more than 90 percent of properly returned agrochemical packaging, one of the highest recovery rates globally for this category of waste. The new investment will be directed toward upgrading recycling units, expanding processing capacity, and improving logistics and traceability as return volumes continue to grow. read more

Brazil Sets Record With 162 New Bioinput Registrations in 2025 – Brazil recorded a historic high in bioinput approvals in 2025, with registrations granted for 162 new products, according to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture. The approvals cover biological, microbiological, and plant-extract-based inputs, reflecting the rapid expansion of biological solutions in crop protection and soil management. By the end of the year, the total number of registered bioinputs in Brazil reached 912, reinforcing the modernization of the country’s phytosanitary portfolio. The increase follows regulatory streamlining and growing adoption of bioinputs across major crops, as producers seek alternatives to conventional chemical products. read more

Funding & M&A

Guarda Raises US$800k Pre-Seed to Scale Digital Climate Insurance – Guarda, a Brazilian insurtech focused on parametric climate insurance for agriculture, raised around US$800,000 in a pre-seed round to expand its digital platform. The round was led by Randon Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Brazilian logistics and industrial group Randon, with participation from angel investors with backgrounds in agribusiness, insurance, and fintech. Investors include José Kfuri, former CEO of Marubeni Grãos Brasil; Rodrigo Botti, an executive at Lockton and former CFO of reinsurer IRB; Alan Chusid, founder of Spin Pay; and Johann von Sothen, co-founder of Solfácil. The capital will be used to validate the model at scale, with pilot coverage targeting up to 10,000 hectares in early 2026. read more

Capital Markets Expect More Fiagros and Issuances in 2026 – Brazil’s agribusiness capital markets are showing signs of recovery after a difficult 18-month period marked by defaults, restructurings, and weaker issuance. In 2025, private rural credit began to normalize, with renewed investor appetite for instruments such as Fiagros (listed agribusiness investment funds), CRAs (agribusiness receivables certificates), LCAs (bank-issued agribusiness savings notes), and CPRs (farm production contracts). CRA issuance reached around US$10.4 billion in 2025, while total outstanding private agro credit surpassed US$280 billion, according to industry data. Market participants expect this recovery to continue in 2026, supported by clearer risk differentiation, stabilizing margins, and regulatory improvements. The rebound is viewed as positive for agfintech startups, which increasingly rely on capital markets to scale credit, insurance, and on-farm financing solutions. read more

Savencia Acquires Quata Alimentos to Expand Brazilian Dairy Portfolio – Savencia Fromage & Dairy, the French group that owns the Polenghi brand, announced the acquisition of Quata Alimentos to strengthen its presence in value-added dairy categories. Quata operates in cheese and dairy ingredient production and will be integrated into Savencia’s existing industrial and commercial structure in Brazil. The transaction expands production capacity and brand reach, with a focus on higher-margin segments. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal remains subject to approval by Brazil’s antitrust authority, Cade. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil Overtakes U.S. as World’s Largest Beef Producer – Brazil became the world’s largest beef producer for the first time, overtaking the United States in 2025. Brazilian output reached around 12.3 million tons, while U.S. production declined to around 11.8 million tons, following herd reductions linked to drought, higher feed costs, and tighter margins. The shift reflects Brazil’s expanding cattle herd, productivity gains, and lower production costs. Brazil also strengthened its role in global trade, accounting for more than 25 percent of global beef exports, with China remaining its main destination. read more

Brazil’s Ag Exports Surpass US$1.2 Trillion Over the Past Decade – Brazilian agribusiness exports exceeded US$1.2 trillion over the past ten years, reflecting a structurally diversified export base anchored by a few dominant commodity complexes. The soybean complex remained the main driver, generating around US$446 billion over the period and accounting for more than one third of total agribusiness export revenue. Animal proteins ranked second, with beef, poultry, and pork contributing approximately US$202 billion. Forestry products, including pulp and timber, added around US$137 billion, while the sugar and ethanol complex generated roughly US$121 billion. Agribusiness now represents close to half of Brazil’s total exports, reinforcing its central role in the country’s trade balance. read more

Chinese Surcharge Could Lower Beef Prices in Brazil – China announced an import quota on Brazilian beef that is expected to reduce export volumes to Brazil’s largest market in 2026. Shipments above 1.1 million tonnes per year will be subject to a 55 percent surcharge, effectively discouraging exports beyond that threshold. In 2025, Brazil is estimated to have exported between 1.5 million and 1.7 million tons of beef to China, meaning a significant share of volumes could be affected. Analysts note that surplus product may be redirected to the domestic market, potentially easing prices paid to producers and at retail, depending on how long the measure remains in place and exporters’ ability to diversify destinations. read more

Mato Grosso Confirms Abiove’s Exit From the Soy Moratorium – Mato Grosso state authorities have confirmed that Oilseed industry association, Abiove, has withdrawn from the Soy Moratorium, a voluntary agreement restricting the purchase of soy grown on areas deforested after 2008. Abiove argues that the agreement no longer reflects current Brazilian environmental legislation and that compliance with the Forest Code should govern production. State authorities say the move restores legal certainty for producers, while critics warn of potential implications for access to deforestation-sensitive markets. read more

Brazil’s Farmland Market Heats Up in 2025 With Multi-Billion-Dollar Deals – Brazil’s farmland market recorded a sharp pickup in activity in 2025, with major transactions totaling around US$1.9 billion across 19 disclosed deals. The buyers were primarily family-controlled agribusiness groups, including those linked to the Cervi, Roquetto, Logemann and Maggi families, which have built large-scale grain and fiber operations over decades. Most transactions involved prime grain-producing land in Mato Grosso, Bahia and other Cerrado regions, with smaller allocations to forestry and cattle ranching. Among the largest moves, SLC Agrícola completed transactions worth approximately US$460 million, covering farmland acquisitions, leases and partial asset sales involving more than 100,000 hectares. Other notable deals included purchases exceeding 40,000 hectares and individual transactions surpassing 100,000 hectares. Despite higher land prices and tighter credit conditions, demand remained strong, largely driven by long-term strategic expansion rather than leveraged financial plays. read more

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading,

KFG

Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years of experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups across Latin America.