Pilot Valley

One of the key takeaways from our Intelligent Ag event in São Paulo last week was that more than 90% of AI pilots in agribusiness never make it to adoption.

This doesn’t mean the technology is bad, corporates are not interested, or startups are building the wrong things. In many cases, the problem is more basic: the pilot wasn't set up with a clear enough path to become part of the business.

AI is already being used in agriculture for remote sensing, satellite imagery, weather forecasting, pest and disease detection, precision agriculture and machinery automation. These are no longer futuristic use cases. They are already being tested and deployed across the sector.

So the real question becomes: if AI is already useful, available and increasingly proven, why do so many pilots still fail to become part of the business?

Our keynote speaker Jose Damico of SciCrop called it the “valley between pilot and scale.” For most startups, the valley of death usually appears when they try to scale. In AgTech, the first valley often comes earlier. It sits between pilot and customer adoption.

The second panel, moderated by Mauricio Infantini from CNH, kept coming back to the same issue. Corporates, startups and investors are no longer talking only about technology. They are talking about data readiness, internal ownership, ROI, integration, governance and culture. Less sparkle, more plumbing. Less demo, more delivery.

Agriculture understands preparation better than most sectors. Nobody plants because the seed brochure looks good. You check the soil, the machinery, the forecast, the financing, the team and the window. AI pilots deserve the same discipline.

No Auto-Pilot

Corporate innovation has a weakness for pilots. They are visible, contained and easy to announce. A business unit has a problem. A startup has a solution. A project is launched. Everyone can point to movement.

But AI adoption does not run on auto-pilot.

Pilots in agriculture are unusually hard because the field does not wait for the project plan. Seasonality limits how often a solution can be tested. A crop cycle does not wait for procurement. A pest outbreak does not wait for legal. A logistics bottleneck does not wait for the next steering committee. Miss the window, and the company may lose months before it can try again.

Then come the practical issues. Field teams may not buy in. Data may be messy or inaccessible. Connectivity may fail. The real operation may not behave like the neat version described in the kickoff meeting. The startup may discover that the problem is different from the one it was asked to solve.

That is why a pilot can work technically and still fail commercially. It can produce a dashboard nobody opens, a prediction that arrives too late, or an insight that does not connect to a decision. It can excite the innovation team but never reach the operational team that owns the budget, the people or the process.

The usual assumption is that the main risk is technological. Will the model work? Will the AI produce a better answer? Those questions matter, but they are rarely enough. In agribusiness, the bigger risks are often organizational and operational: who owns the result, which workflow changes, what metric justifies expansion, and who has authority to move from test to rollout.

Without those answers, even strong technology can stall. The pilot may generate activity, but activity is cheap. Adoption requires time, trust, budget, behavior change and internal alignment.

Built In, Not Bolted On

AI only matters in agribusiness when it changes a decision.

Many companies are still testing tools around the edges of the business: LLMs, dashboards, agents, image recognition, predictive models and workflow automation. Some create useful quick wins, especially when they remove manual work or speed up analysis. But too many remain disconnected from the core systems and daily decisions that actually drive the business.

The symptoms are easy to recognize: isolated projects, uncertain ROI, shadow IT and no data integration. AI becomes something to test on the side, rather than something that changes how the company operates.

That is where many pilots lose momentum. They prove that something can be analyzed, predicted or automated, but they do not prove that the result will be used. A dashboard nobody opens does not change much. A recommendation that arrives after the decision has been made is just a very smart post-mortem.

Agriculture is full of decisions where better intelligence can make a real difference: when to spray, how to price credit, which freight route to choose, or which producer needs support before a small issue becomes a larger loss. AI can help with these decisions, but only if it sits close enough to the workflow to influence action.

The better question is no longer “What AI tool should we test?” It is “Which business decision would become faster, cheaper, safer or more valuable if better intelligence were built into it?”

ROI Roots

For an AI pilot to become part of the business, it needs to prove ROI. Everything else is a nice-to-have.

That may sound obvious, yet many pilots still begin with fuzzy goals like “improve efficiency,” “generate insights,” or “support ESG.” These can be useful directions, but they rarely close a budget discussion. In agribusiness, value needs to show up in familiar terms: reais per hectare, sacks per hectare, input reduction, days saved, risk avoided, freight costs lowered, claims reduced, working capital released or field visits optimized.

This is where Damico’s three pillars of data, integration and culture become practical. Data gives the model something useful to work with, but only if it is organized, accessible and tied to the real problem. Integration matters because an AI output sitting outside the workflow usually becomes another report. Culture matters because field teams, managers and operators need to trust the recommendation enough to act on it.

That trust is especially important in agriculture, where many decisions still depend on local knowledge and experience. A model may detect a pattern, but someone still needs to believe it enough to change a route, adjust an application, approve a credit line or call a farmer before a small problem becomes a larger loss.

ROI is also a useful discipline because it forces clarity. It makes the company define what the pilot is supposed to change, who needs to use it, which data matters, and whether the result is strong enough to justify moving forward.

The more concrete the metric, the easier it is to decide whether a pilot deserves to move forward.

Pilot Prep

A better AI pilot starts before anyone chooses a startup.

The first step is to define the problem properly. What decision needs to improve? Who owns that decision? What is the cost of getting it wrong today? Too many pilots begin with broad ambition, such as “use AI for ESG” or “improve productivity,” when they need a sharper business question.

The second step is to understand the solution landscape. Many corporates know they want AI, but have little visibility on what is already available, which startups are credible, and which tools are mature enough for their context. A good pre-pilot process should help separate real solutions from impressive demos.

The third step is to design the pilot for adoption from day one. That means defining success metrics, data requirements, internal owners, user workflows and next steps before the test begins. A pilot should not end with everyone asking, “Now what?”

We are developing a new initiative, the Pilot Readiness Program, to help agribusiness companies prepare AI pilots before they start, with a focus on problem definition, solution curation, internal alignment and ROI targets. More on that soon. For now, the point is simple: AI in agro does not need more pilots. It needs better-prepared ones.

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.

In Brazil AgTech news this week, Aravita is using AI to reduce produce waste in supermarkets, while the Ministry of Agriculture is launching a digital system to speed agrochemical and bioinput approvals. E-ctare is pivoting from rural credit to data infrastructure, biological seed treatments are gaining ground, and CCAB is bringing e-commerce logic to the agricultural inputs market.

In Climate Tech developments, Brazil’s data-center boom is becoming a new source of clean power demand as Microsoft, AWS and TikTok expand infrastructure in the country. Belterra is preparing new financing structures to scale cocoa agroforestry on degraded pasture, Flying Rivers Capital is backing low-carbon assets across biomethane, green fertilizers and recycling, and Atvos is investing in its first corn ethanol unit in Mato Grosso do Sul.

On the funding and M&A front, Brazil’s EcoInvest program is preparing a new round focused on green fuels and fertilizers, with the potential to mobilize up to US$10.9 billion through bank leverage. MBRF is investing about US$99 million in Gelprime to expand collagen and gelatin production, deepening its push into higher-value animal protein ingredients.

In Macro & Markets, Brazilian companies face rising security risks as AI-agent adoption accelerates. Glyphosate is facing a legal challenge, lawmakers approved tax incentives to support domestic fertilizer production, Brazil’s venture capital market is entering a more selective rebound after the startup winter, and JBS’ potential inclusion in the Russell 3000 could attract passive capital and support a major valuation rerating.

Table of Contents

AgTech

• Aravita cuts produce waste with AI

• Agrochemical approvals go digital

• E-ctare pivots from credit to data infrastructure

• Biological seed treatments gain ground

• CCAB brings e-commerce logic to inputs

Climate Tech

• Data centers drive clean power demand

• Belterra scales agroforestry finance

• Flying Rivers backs low-carbon assets

• Atvos adds corn ethanol in MS

Funding & M&A

• EcoInvest targets green fuels and fertilizers

• MBRF expands into collagen and gelatin

Macro & Markets

• AI adoption raises security risks

• Glyphosate faces legal challenge in Brazil

• Brazil backs fertilizer factories

• Brazil VC enters selective rebound

• JBS eyes Russell rerating

AgTech

Aravita cuts produce waste with AI Aravita is using artificial intelligence to help supermarkets reduce waste in fruits, vegetables and legumes by calculating the ideal purchase volume from suppliers. Founded in 2022 by Marco Perlman, Bruno Schrappe and Aline Neves de Azevedo, the company focuses on ultra-perishable foods, where forecasting errors can mean either lost sales from empty shelves or waste from excess inventory. Its models combine data such as seasonality, supplier availability, weather, promotions and consumer payment cycles to guide purchasing decisions. According to the company, its technology has reduced supermarket produce waste by 25% while improving supply-chain efficiency. read more

Agrochemical approvals go digital Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture will launch Sispa, a unified electronic system designed to streamline the registration and review of agrochemicals and bioinputs. Created under Brazil’s 2023 pesticide law, the platform will centralize petitions, post-registration changes and technical dossiers in a single digital workflow, replacing fragmented submissions across different federal agencies. The system was developed with support from private-sector partners, including Abrapa and IBA, which invested more than US$6 million in the project. The goal is to reduce bureaucracy, enable real-time process tracking and help meet legal approval deadlines, including up to 24 months for new products. read more

E-ctare pivots from credit to data infrastructure Minas Gerais agtech E-ctare is shifting its strategy from rural credit origination to data infrastructure and operational intelligence for agribusiness. Founded in 2015 with a real-time coffee price quotation platform, the company later moved into financing solutions, including receivables advances, CRAs and FIDC origination. After rising interest rates and higher default risk made rural credit less attractive, E-ctare identified its real asset in the data connections built across producers, cooperatives, agroindustries and management systems. The company now offers CRM, traceability, logistics, inventory control, field apps and commercial tools that plug into existing ERPs. read more

Biological seed treatments gain ground Biological products are now used to treat about 25% of seeds sold in Brazil, according to a Notícias Agrícolas report from ENSOJA 2026. The trend reflects growing demand for seed technologies that improve protection, nutrition and early plant development, especially in soybeans. Vittia highlighted its Raiz Forte program, which combines biological solutions designed to support seed vigor and root development, positioning biological seed treatment as part of a broader shift toward more efficient and sustainable crop management. The adoption level also shows how biologicals are moving from niche inputs into mainstream farm practice. read more

CCAB brings e-commerce logic to inputs CCAB part of the French InVivo group, is launching Farmi, a digital platform designed to bring more transparency, speed and predictability to Brazil’s agricultural input market. Inspired by the customer experience of Amazon and Mercado Livre, the platform will give farmers real-time information on product availability, credit, prices, logistics and delivery timing, starting with CCAB’s own portfolio of crop protection products. The system uses data intelligence across commercial, credit, tax and logistics areas, with plans to move from a web portal to WhatsApp and eventually add services such as finance and insurance. CCAB reported around US$320 million in revenue in 2025. read more

Climate Tech

Data centers drive clean power demand Brazil is emerging as Latin America’s leading data-center market as Microsoft, AWS and TikTok expand cloud and AI infrastructure in the region. According to DataCenter Hawk, Latin America contracted 328 MW of data-center capacity in the first quarter, already double the level seen in 2025, with Brazil leading hyperscaler demand. Campinas has tripled contracted capacity since 2023 and will host Microsoft server parks designed to train AI models with Nvidia chips. read more

Belterra scales agroforestry finance Belterra is preparing new investment structures that could raise more than US$159 million to convert degraded pasture into agroforestry systems focused on cocoa. The startup, founded by Valmir Ortega, already has around 2,800 hectares contracted across Pará, Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Maranhão, with about 600 hectares planted. After securing around US$20 million from BNDES’ Climate Fund and roughly US$15 million from MOV, Rise, Bold and Germany’s Ecosia, Belterra plans to use SPEs, or special-purpose vehicles, to finance expansion. The goal is to add 15,000 hectares over five to six years and reach around 20,000 hectares by 2033 or 2034. read more

Flying Rivers backs low-carbon assets Flying Rivers Capital, a climate-focused asset manager created from the climate vertical of eB Capital, has built a portfolio focused on Brazil’s low-carbon economy, including biomethane, green fertilizers, PET recycling and healthcare equipment platforms. The firm already has around US$198 million under management and recently had one of its funds approved under BNDES’ climate funding program, which could add up to US$99 million to the vehicle. Portfolio company Bioo also secured around US$2.9 million from Brazil’s Climate Fund to build a biomethane plant, while Cirklo raised about US$52 million through green debentures for PET recycling. read more

Atvos adds corn ethanol in MS Atvos will invest more than US$198 million in its first corn ethanol unit, expanding the Santa Luzia facility in Nova Alvorada do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2028 and will be integrated with the company’s existing sugarcane ethanol operation, allowing year-round production and better asset utilization. The unit will process 642,000 tons of corn per year and produce 273,000 cubic meters of ethanol, along with 183,000 tons of DDG for animal nutrition and 13,000 tons of corn oil. The project strengthens Brazil’s bioenergy platform beyond sugarcane. read more

Funding & M&A

EcoInvest targets green fuels and fertilizers Brazil’s Treasury will allocate about US$1.8 billion across six new EcoInvest theses, a program designed to provide FX hedging for foreign impact capital, including dedicated lines for biofuels and green fertilizers. With bank leverage, the round is expected to mobilize between US$7.9 billion and US$10.9 billion, bringing the program close to US$39.7 billion across five editions if targets are met. The structure is designed to reach companies at different stages, from innovation funds linked to venture capital to corporate credit for larger firms, while requiring recipients to invest 10% of funds raised in research projects with universities and research centers. read more

MBRF expands into collagen and gelatin MBRF, the meat company formed by the combination of Marfrig and BRF, will invest about US$99 million in Gelprime, the gelatin and collagen company in which it holds a 50% stake. The investment will expand production at Gelprime’s Londrina facility in Paraná, including a new functional collagen line expected in the second half of 2026 and an expansion of hydrolyzed collagen production planned for 2027. MBRF said the project should double Gelprime’s capacity and take it to around 30,000 tons by 2030, potentially placing the company among the world’s five largest gelatin and collagen producers. The move deepens MBRF’s strategy around higher-value animal protein ingredients. read more

Macro & Markets

AI adoption raises security risks Brazilian companies expect a 113% increase in AI-agent identities over the next 12 months, the highest growth expectation in the Americas and behind only Israel and Hong Kong globally, according to Palo Alto Networks’ 2026 Identity Security Landscape Report. The study also found that 91% of Brazilian companies reported identity-related security breaches over the past year, close to the global average of 90%. More and more agribusinesses, cooperatives, banks and input companies are automating workflows with AI agents, increasing the need for secure digital identity, permission controls and data governance. read more

Glyphosate faces legal challenge in Brazil Brazil’s Labor Prosecutor’s Office has filed a civil lawsuit against Anvisa and the federal government seeking a nationwide ban on glyphosate, one of the country’s most widely used herbicides. The action asks for the cancellation of all glyphosate-based product registrations and a prohibition on production, commercialization, import, export and use, citing alleged health risks to rural workers, environmental damage and water contamination. The lawsuit also accuses Anvisa of a “double regulatory standard” by moving quickly to approve pesticides while taking longer to review or ban substances considered risky. Bayer and CropLife Brasil defended science-based regulatory reviews. read more

Brazil backs fertilizer factories Brazil’s lower house approved a bill creating up to US$2 billion in federal tax incentives over five years to support new fertilizer plants and modernize existing facilities. The proposal, which now returns to the Senate, would create the Profert program and use federal tax credits with an annual cap of about US$397 million. The bill also sets gradual local-content targets for fertilizers produced in Brazil, starting with a 2% mandatory national blend in 2027 and rising to 10% to 30% by 2037. Brazil currently imports around 85% of its fertilizer needs, leaving farmers exposed to global supply shocks and price volatility. read more

Brazil VC enters selective rebound Brazil’s startup market is moving into a more disciplined investment cycle after the “startup winter,” according to Thiago Maceira, head of technology at Itaú BBA. He says the funding drought forced companies to manage cash, improve governance, seek profitability and build more mature business models. Investor interest remains steady rather than explosive, with foreign capital still tracking Brazil as a large, under-digitized market where structural inefficiencies create space for innovation. The strongest opportunities over the next 12 to 24 months are expected in B2B software, fintech, data applications, AI tools, customer service automation, onboarding, credit and workflow automation. read more

JBS eyes Russell rerating JBS’ inclusion in the preliminary Russell 3000 index could unlock up to US$15 billion in market value, according to Citi estimates. The move follows JBS’ dual listing in Brazil and New York, one of the company’s main goals for improving liquidity, passive ownership and valuation. Citi expects Russell inclusion to attract US$1 billion to US$4 billion in capital flows over the next 12 to 24 months as ETFs, passive strategies and asset managers normalize exposure. Morgan Stanley also noted that Russell inclusion could help pave the way for future eligibility for the S&P 500. 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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In AgTech news this week, US startup Ascribe Bioscience chose Brazil for the global launch of its Asian soybean rust biological, while Culttivo expanded from coffee credit into a broader financial platform and Cowmed projected strong growth for its dairy monitoring collars. ICL passed 10,000 NutroScan analyses in Brazil, and Agrimatching winners showed how AI is moving into fire detection, aquaculture and animal monitoring.

In Climate Tech developments, degraded pasture in Pará is being converted into agroforestry systems for premium cacao and chocolate. Embrapa showed how AI models can help predict weed pressure in integrated crop-livestock systems, supporting more preventive management and potentially reducing herbicide use.

On the Funding & M&A front, Cosan signaled it may eventually exit Raízen as the sugar and ethanol joint venture works through a financial restructuring. AgriConnection and Mosaic launched a fertilizer-focused Fiagro to finance purchases by small and mid-sized input distributors.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil’s strategic position in food, biofuels and clean energy drew fresh attention from Bradesco, while new EU antimicrobial rules added pressure to Brazilian meat exporters. A separate AI identity report placed Brazil among the global leaders in expected growth of enterprise AI agents.

Table of Contents

AgTech

• Ascribe Chooses Brazil for Global Launch

• Culttivo Expands Beyond Coffee Credit

• Cowmed Scales Smart Collars for Dairy

• ICL Scales NutroScan in Brazil

• Agrimatching Winners Highlight AI in the Field

Climate Tech

• Amazon Cacao Turns Pasture into Premium Chocolate

• Embrapa Uses AI to Predict Weeds

Funding & M&A

• Cosan May Exit Raízen as Holding Winds Down

• AgriConnection and Mosaic Launch Fertilizer Fiagro

Macro & Markets

• Brazil Gains Global Strategic Appeal

• EU Rules Pressure Brazilian Meat Exports

• Brazil Leads AI Identity Growth in the Americas

AgTech

Ascribe Chooses Brazil for Global Launch – New York-based Ascribe Bioscience, a Yield Lab portfolio company, will launch its first commercial biological product in Brazil before the United States, targeting Asian soybean rust with a natural molecule derived from soil microbiome compounds called ascarosides. The product works by activating the plant’s own immune defenses rather than attacking the fungus directly, and has already been tested in around 400 field trials across Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná and Minas Gerais. The company says its Brazilian launch reflects faster regulatory momentum, technically advanced farmers and a large bioinputs market. Ascribe expects US$10 million in Brazil revenue this year, with longer-term potential of US$100 million. read more

Culttivo Expands Beyond Coffee Credit – Culttivo, a fintech focused on credit for coffee growers, is using AI to automate credit analysis and expand into a broader financial platform for the sector. Culttivo, a Yield Lab Latam portfolio company, granted about US$60 million in credit to coffee producers in 2025 and aims to reach US$100 million in 2026 across Mogiana, South of Minas, Espírito Santo, Matas de Minas and Cerrado Mineiro. AI agents have reduced some document checks from 40 minutes to seconds, helping lower operating costs as the company grows. Culttivo has also launched a digital account, group-purchase financing, crop insurance, FX services and coffee price protection products, while preparing for a new funding round. read more

Cowmed Scales Smart Collars for Dairy – Cowmed expects revenue to grow 65% in 2026 as demand rises for its smart collars used to monitor dairy cows. The Brazilian livestock tech company should reach about US$6 million in revenue this year, up from roughly US$3.6 million in 2025, with a subscription model charged per animal monitored. Its collars track feeding, rumination, activity, rest, estrus, health signals and heat stress, with data processed by Vic, an AI system developed in-house. Cowmed already monitors 100,000 animals and aims to reach 1 million cows within five years, with Brazil driving most growth and expansion underway in Paraguay, Mexico and Uruguay. read more

ICL Scales NutroScan in Brazil – ICL has passed 10,000 field analyses in Brazil with NutroScan, its real-time plant nutrition diagnostic tool for soy and corn. The system combines in-field analysis with laboratory validation, giving ICL a growing agronomic database while helping producers identify nutrient deficiencies faster. Since its field launch in November 2025, NutroScan has reached 70% to 85% accuracy versus lab results, according to the company, with each new analysis improving the model. ICL is now expanding the technology to coffee, with sugarcane and cotton planned by the end of 2026, while also taking the model to other Latin American markets. read more

Agrimatching Winners Highlight AI in the Field – Umgrauemeio, Cadoma and Herdian won the Agrimatching startup competition at the Rural Tech Summit in Piracicaba, after 90 applicants and 45 selected startups competed across Pré-seed, Seed and Série A categories. Série A winner Umgrauemeio, a Yield Lab Latam portfolilo company, uses computer vision to detect smoke and heat in agricultural areas through its Pantera system, trained on more than 15,000 images. Seed winner Cadoma applies AI to automate fish feeding and monitor fish behavior, with revenue projected to reach US$2 million by 2028. Pré-seed winner Herdian monitors sow maternity pens with cameras to reduce piglet losses from post-birth crushing. read more

Climate Tech

Amazon Cacao Turns Pasture into Premium Chocolate – Producers in Castanhal, Pará, are turning degraded pasture into agroforestry systems that combine cacao, açaí and other crops with premium chocolate production. At Fazenda Monte Castelo, Osny de Azevedo Ramos converted former cattle land into cacao and açaí production, using fermentation and drying protocols to sell fine cacao at around US$8 to US$11 per kilo, compared with about US$2 for conventional cacao in the region. The farm now has 22 hectares planted and plans to reach 50 productive hectares. Nearby Fazenda Dom Manoel has 35 hectares in agroforestry systems and supplies Gaudens Chocolate, while planning its own chocolate factory and rural tourism project. read more

Embrapa Uses AI to Predict Weeds – Embrapa Milho e Sorgo and the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí are testing machine learning models to predict weed dynamics in integrated crop-livestock systems in the Cerrado. The study used climate, soil, crop rotation and weed population data from systems combining corn, sorghum, soy and brachiaria pasture in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais. Algorithms including Support Vector Machine, Decision Tree, Random Forest and K-Nearest Neighbors were tested, with Decision Tree and Random Forest reaching 99% accuracy in identifying crops more prone to weed emergence. The work could support more preventive weed control, lower herbicide use and more precise field decisions. read more

Funding & M&A

Cosan May Exit Raízen as Holding Winds Down – Cosan CEO Marcelo Martins said the company may sell its minority stake in Raízen after a planned financial restructuring of the sugar and ethanol joint venture with Shell. Negotiations with Raízen creditors are advancing around a possible debt-to-equity conversion, which could dilute Cosan’s position and end its shareholder agreement with Shell. Martins said Cosan does not intend to remain a long-term Raízen shareholder and may dissolve the holding company within three to five years, distributing stakes in invested companies directly to shareholders. Raízen is seeking to avoid court-supervised restructuring while managing debt of about US$13 billion. read more

AgriConnection and Mosaic Launch Fertilizer Fiagro – AgriConnection and Mosaic have launched a fertilizer-focused Fiagro, a Brazilian agribusiness receivables fund, targeting up to US$20 million to finance fertilizer purchases by small and mid-sized input distributors. The vehicle was structured with Exa Capital and XP Investimentos and will be offered to professional investors. The fund gives AgriConnection a path into fertilizer distribution while giving Mosaic access to smaller regional distributors that are harder to reach through traditional channels. The first prospect list includes 307 resellers, with 30 invited to São Paulo for the launch. The partners say the first year will focus on learning, with expansion expected in years two and three. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil Gains Global Strategic Appeal – Bradesco agribusiness economist Priscila Trigo said high interest rates, biofuels and geopolitical instability have helped place Brazil back on the global radar as a strategic supplier of food and energy. Speaking at the Rural Tech Summit in Piracicaba, she said the country combines food production, biofuel leadership, clean energy generation and distance from major conflict zones. Recent shocks, from the pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East tensions, have increased concern over energy and food security. Trigo also said Brazil’s still-high Selic rate, even after cuts, continues to attract foreign capital. read more

EU Rules Pressure Brazilian Meat Exports – Brazil is racing to send the European Union documentation on antimicrobial controls after the bloc removed the country from its list of authorized exporters of live animals and animal-origin products. The measure, set to take effect on September 3, affects beef, horses, eggs, fish, honey and poultry, although Brazil may return to the list if it provides the required guarantees. The government agreed with European officials to submit information within 10 to 15 days and has also issued new guidelines on antimicrobial use in livestock. Beef faces the highest risk of a slower reversal, with restrictions potentially extending into 2027. read more

Brazil Leads AI Identity Growth in the Americas – Brazilian companies expect the number of identities linked to AI agents to grow 113% over the next 12 months, according to Palo Alto Networks’ 2026 Identity Security Landscape Report. The figure puts Brazil ahead of the rest of the Americas and behind only Israel and Hong Kong globally, as companies move faster toward so-called “agentic enterprises” powered by autonomous AI tools. The same shift is also raising cybersecurity concerns, with 91% of Brazilian companies reporting security violations. The report points to a growing challenge for corporate governance as AI agents gain access to systems, data and workflows. read more

Notice: This Thursday afternoon, May 28, we will host the second edition of the Agro Inteligente event series at Cubo Itaú in São Paulo, with online access available through the SRB YouTube channel. The event will be held in Portuguese and will focus on real AI use cases that are improving profitability, sustainability and operational performance in agribusiness. More information is available here, and registration is available here.

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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Green Gap

One thing is universal about farmers: they are doers, not sayers. They do most of their talking in the field. They plant, test, adjust, harvest and deliver the best product they can. In general, they expect quality to do the talking, and they expect the market to pay accordingly.

That instinct makes sense in agriculture, where results are visible in the soil, the crop and the final product. But sustainability does not always work that way. Global buyers increasingly ask for cleaner food, cleaner fuel, lower-carbon supply chains, better traceability and stronger environmental practices. The demand is there, but the willingness to pay is often less clear.

Brazil sits right in the middle of this paradox. The country has built real advantages in renewable energy, ethanol, biodiesel, no-till farming, biological inputs, integrated crop-livestock systems and preserved native vegetation on private land. It is not a perfect story, and the challenges around deforestation, land use and enforcement are real. But there are also important moves in the right direction.

That was the sharper point behind a recent CNN interview with Brazilian agricultural analyst Marcos Fava Neves. Brazil already has many of the things global markets say they want. The question is no longer only whether Brazil can produce cleaner food, cleaner fuel and lower-carbon supply chains. The question is who will pay for them.

That is where the green gap sits. Brazil does not lack green initiatives. It lacks the business models to connect green value in the field with buyers, investors and lenders who say they want it. Corn ethanol, biological inputs and renewable-powered data centers all point to the same challenge: Brazil has the assets, but still needs better ways to capture the value.

Beyond the Bushel

Soybeans, corn, sugar, coffee, cotton and beef have turned Brazil into one of the world’s top agricultural powerhouses. But producing volume and capturing value are not always the same thing.

The recent move by Amaggi, one of Brazil’s largest grain and agricultural groups, to buy 40% of FS, a major corn ethanol producer in Mato Grosso, shows how that may be changing. Brazil’s agricultural giants are starting to look beyond the bushel, turning crops into fuel, feed, energy and potentially lower-carbon products closer to where they are produced.

That’s important in a state like Mato Grosso, where distance is always part of the business model. Even an efficient farmer can see margins squeezed by freight, storage and port bottlenecks. Local processing does not solve every problem, but it gives the system another outlet before logistics costs eat too much of the upside.

Corn ethanol fits neatly into Brazil’s broader green stack. It supports biofuel supply, creates byproducts for animal protein, uses biomass and can open the door to carbon-linked opportunities if emissions are properly measured and rewarded. For Brazil, the bigger prize is keeping more value close to where the crop is grown.

Micro Margins

Brazil is already one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets for biological inputs, and this growth is much more than a niche sustainability trend. It reflects a practical shift in how farmers are managing cost, risk and resilience in tropical agriculture. Many traditional inputs are imported, which exposes farmers to currency swings, supply shocks and high prices, while many products were originally developed for Northern Hemisphere agriculture, where soils, seasons and pest pressure are very different. What works in Iowa or France does not always work the same way in Mato Grosso or Bahia.

Biological inputs offer a more local and adaptive path because they use living organisms, natural compounds or biological processes to support crops and soil health, instead of relying only on fossil-based chemistry. When they work well, they can help reduce chemical dependency, improve soil biology, manage pests and diseases, and make production more resilient. For farmers, the appeal is practical rather than ideological. Lower cost, healthier soil and fewer surprises in the field usually beat a nice ESG slide.

This is also where AI could become useful, especially because biologicals are complex and highly dependent on local conditions. Performance can vary according to the microbe, the crop, the soil, the weather, the timing and the farm practice around it. Better data and AI tools can help identify promising strains, match products to local conditions and reduce some of the trial-and-error that still slows adoption. The opportunity is not only in discovering better products, but in helping farmers and agronomists understand where, when and how to use them.

The missing piece is still the business model. If a farmer improves soil biology, reduces chemical use or builds more resilient production, there should be a clearer path to economic recognition through cheaper credit, better insurance, stronger contracts or preferred access to buyers. Biologicals show that greener tools can scale when they solve real farm problems. The next step is building the credit, data, insurance and buyer models that reward those choices more directly.

Cleaner Data

Brazil’s renewable energy advantage is starting to create opportunities beyond farms, mills and fuel plants, especially as solar, wind and biomass generation expand faster than parts of the grid can absorb. Sugarcane mills are a good reminder that Brazil’s green stack is already more connected than many outsiders realize. They do not only produce sugar and ethanol; they also generate electricity from bagasse, the fibrous residue left after crushing cane, and can sell excess power back into the grid.

Minter, a mobile data center startup, is tackling a similar value-capture problem in renewable power by installing container-based units directly at generation sites. The units process data close to where electricity is produced, helping power producers monetize energy that might otherwise be curtailed when the grid cannot absorb supply. The company already operates a 20 MW site in Xique-Xique, Bahia, and plans to reach 40 MW by the end of 2026 and 500 MW by 2029.

The model follows the same logic as corn ethanol and biological inputs. It takes an existing green asset and finds a better way to monetize it. In a country with growing renewable generation, transmission bottlenecks and rising demand for computing power, that kind of business model can turn stranded or underused energy into a new revenue stream.

Larger data center projects, including Omnia’s renewable-powered project in Ceará, point in the same direction at a different scale. Brazil’s clean energy base can attract new industries, but the more important question is what gets built around them. For agriculture, better data can help prove and price what is happening in the field, from traceability and carbon intensity to biological input performance and credit risk.

Green Gains

The problem is not that farmers and agribusinesses need another lecture on sustainability. Most already understand where the pressure is coming from: buyers want cleaner supply chains, banks want lower risk, regulators want more data, and consumers want reassurance that the food and fuel they buy are not creating hidden environmental costs. The harder question is how those expectations become a better price, a better contract or a lower cost of capital for the people doing the work.

Better business models will have to connect what happens in the field with how value is shared across the chain. A farmer who improves soil health, uses biological inputs, reduces chemical dependency or lowers carbon intensity should have a clearer path to cheaper credit, better insurance, preferred supplier status or longer-term offtake. A biofuel producer with a lower-carbon product should be able to capture that difference through the fuel market. A renewable energy producer with stranded power should have more ways to turn that electricity into revenue.

This is where technology becomes useful, but only if it stays close to the money. Traceability, satellite monitoring, carbon accounting, farm data, AI tools and digital credit models all sound impressive, but they only matter if they help reduce risk, prove performance, open a market or support payment. Otherwise, they become another layer of reporting that farmers are asked to carry without seeing the benefit.

Brazil has plenty of green activity already. What it needs now are more bridges between practice and payment. Corn ethanol, biological inputs and cleaner data all show different versions of the same opportunity: take value that already exists in the system, prove it better, process it smarter and make sure more of the upside reaches the people and companies creating it.

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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In AgTech news this week, Zeit is taking lab analysis to the field with portable AI tools, while Semear Digital and Embrapa Agricultura Digital are using drones and computer vision to improve cattle slaughter timing. Brazilian researchers also advanced nanotechnology for slower urea release and biological control for soybean pests.

In Climate Tech developments, Copersucar is preparing two new biomethane plants tied to sugarcane mills, while LOTS Group and Cocal will use biomethane-powered trucks to transport vinasse and reduce diesel use.

On the Funding & M&A front, Aimirim raised capital from Indicator Capital and SP Ventures, Amaggi agreed to buy 40% of FS, Cleam Capital acquired control of Grano Alimentos, and Oby Capital is raising a new farmland Fiagro. Fertalvo and Novatech also formed Alvotech to expand specialty fertilizers in the Cerrado.

In Macro & Markets, StoneX Leite Brasil launched a dairy hedging platform with Cepea, Brazil’s meat exporters pushed back against new EU antimicrobial rules, and the National Monetary Council softened rural credit environmental requirements after farm-sector pressure.

Table of Contents

AgTech

• Portable Lab Speeds Farm Decisions

• Beef Timing Gets Smarter

• Nano Nutrients Reduce Waste

• Biologicals Battle Soy Pest

• AI Maps Farmland

Climate Tech

• Biomethane Buildout Expands

• Green Logistics Cuts Emissions

Funding & M&A

• Factory Automation Funded

• Corn Ethanol Consolidates

• Frozen Food Funded

• Farmland Fund Raises

• Fertilizer JV Expands Footprint

Macro & Markets

• Milk Market Modernizes

• EU Meat Rules Threaten Brazil Exports

• Credit Rules Recalibrated

AgTech

Portable Lab Speeds Farm Decisions – Zeit, a deeptech startup from Rio Grande do Sul, is bringing chemical analysis out of the lab and into the field with portable devices and embedded AI. Founded in 2020 by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Maria, the company expects to reach about US$1m in revenue in 2026, five times more than in 2025, after growing its client base by 300% since January. A joint venture with Nira monitors commodity quality in soymeal and milk, with more than 250,000 tons already tracked, while its Zeit K tool measures potassium in plants in under five minutes to guide fertilizer decisions. read more

Beef Timing Gets Smarter – Researchers are testing drones and AI to identify the ideal slaughter timing for feedlot cattle, potentially reducing feed costs and improving herd management. The system was tested at Fazenda Campanário in Laguna Carapã, Mato Grosso do Sul, tracking 110 Nelore cattle over 112 days. Using computer vision, the technology identified that animals were ready for slaughter up to one week earlier than traditional methods, creating an estimated feed saving of about US$2,700 for that lot. Applied across Fazenda Campanário’s 14,600 confined cattle, the efficiency gain could reach roughly US$360,000. The study was developed by Semear Digital in partnership with Embrapa Agricultura Digital. read more

Nano Nutrients Reduce Waste – Brazilian researchers developed a biodegradable nanotechnology coating that slows the release of urea, aiming to improve fertilizer efficiency and reduce nitrogen losses. The work, led by Embrapa, the University of Ribeirão Preto, Unesp, and USP, combines castor-oil-based polyurethane with mineral nanoclay to encapsulate urea granules. In water-release tests, conventional urea released more than 85% of its nitrogen in four hours, while the nanoclay-coated version released only 22% over nine days. In greenhouse tests with capim-piatã, the coated fertilizer improved dry matter production and nitrogen uptake, with absorption reaching twice the level seen under conventional fertilization. read more

Biologicals Battle Soy Pest – Brazilian researchers identified a new use for the bacterium Bacillus altitudinis to control brown stink bug, one of the hardest pests to manage in Brazilian soybean fields and linked to estimated losses of about US$2.2 billion per season. The discovery by INCT NanoAgro, connected to Unesp, showed near 80% mortality in lab tests, compared with the 30% to 40% efficiency range cited for many chemical products. The bacterium works through contact with the insect’s legs rather than ingestion, offering a different biological pathway. The technology is still at proof-of-concept stage and could take three to six years to reach the market. read more

AI Maps Farmland – Researchers from U.S. universities have built a global AI-powered agricultural field map that identifies farm boundaries from satellite images, creating a standardized dataset for crop monitoring, food security, and land-use analysis. The Fields of The World project mapped 1.55 billion agricultural polygons across 241 countries and territories in 2025, using Sentinel-2 imagery and a machine-learning model trained on field-boundary data from 24 countries, including Brazil. The tool could support more granular analysis of farms, crops, deforestation risk, and climate programs, although the project appears to be global research rather than a Brazil-specific deployment. read more

Climate Tech

Biomethane Buildout Expands – Copersucar plans to build two new biomethane plants at associated sugarcane mills from late 2026 or early 2027, adding momentum to its renewable gas strategy. Each unit is expected to cost between about US$40 million and US$60 million, bringing total investment for the two plants to as much as US$120 million. The company already has biomethane plants linked to Cocal in Narandiba and Paraguaçu Paulista, using vinasse and filter cake from sugarcane processing. Its BioRota project has replaced around 5 million liters of diesel, avoided more than 8,000 tons of CO2 emissions, and completed over 13,000 truck trips since April 2024. read more

Green Logistics Cuts Emissions – LOTS Group and Cocal will launch Brazil’s first industrial-scale operation using biomethane-powered trucks to transport vinasse, an organic fertilizer produced from sugarcane ethanol residues. The project will use 44 trucks running entirely on biomethane and is expected to replace more than 19 million liters of diesel over five years, avoiding about 41,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The companies estimate a 91% reduction in pollutants compared with an equivalent diesel truck operation. The partnership could later expand biomethane use to other areas of Cocal’s agricultural operations, including sugarcane transport between fields and industrial plants. read more

Funding & M&A

Factory Automation Funded – Aimirim raised about US$2 million in a round co-led by Indicator Capital and SP Ventures to scale automation tools for agroindustries. Founded ten years ago by mechanical engineer Renato Pacheco Silva and incubated at the Federal University of Uberlândia, the deeptech company combines hardware and software for industrial monitoring, including sensors that measure grain volumes in silos and devices that help reduce energy use in sugarcane boilers. The funding will support larger orders of its IoT devices, expand its commercial team, and help the company move beyond large clients such as BAT, Raízen, and VLI into mid-sized agroindustrial customers. read more

Corn Ethanol Consolidates – Amaggi agreed to acquire 40% of FS, marking one of the most significant deals in Brazil’s corn ethanol industry. The transaction, filed with Cade for approval, includes a US$100 million primary share issuance by FS, while the value of Amaggi’s secondary purchase from existing shareholders was not disclosed. FS and Amaggi will remain separate companies, but the agreement gives Amaggi board representation and exclusivity for future corn ethanol investments through FS. FS is building its fourth plant in Campo Novo do Parecis, has two additional Mato Grosso sites, and expects to open a carbon capture and storage unit in Lucas do Rio Verde in September. read more

Frozen Food Funded – Cleam Capital acquired control of Grano Alimentos, Brazil’s leading frozen vegetable company, opening a new growth cycle after a decade under Arlon. The transaction value was not disclosed and Rabobank advised the process. Based in Serafina Corrêa, Rio Grande do Sul, Grano holds more than 40% of the Brazilian frozen vegetable market, according to Nielsen, and expects to reach about US$55 million in revenue in 2026. The company aims to grow toward roughly US$180 million in annual revenue by expanding geographically, especially into the Center-West, Northeast, and North, while strengthening retail, food service, and co-packer channels. read more

Farmland Fund Raises – Oby Capital is seeking about US$23 million for a new Fiagro focused on buying and leasing farmland to producers and sugarcane mills. The Ribeirão Preto-based manager has around US$360 million under management and already runs a listed farmland Fiagro, LAFI11, with about US$16 million in assets. The new fund will use a buy-to-lease strategy and target qualified investors, with XP as distributor. Its initial pipeline includes 5,000 hectares across São Paulo and Minas Gerais, valued at roughly US$70 million, mostly linked to sugarcane production. The fund aims to acquire three properties. read more

Fertilizer Footprint Expands – Fertalvo and Novatech formed Alvotech, a joint venture focused on bringing specialty fertilizers to Cerrado producers in crops such as soybeans, corn, and cotton. The company is building a factory in Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, expected to begin operations in September with capacity of 3 million to 5 million liters per year and investment of about US$2.2 million to US$2.6 million. Alvotech expects to generate around US$5.5 million in revenue in 2026 and sees a potential specialty fertilizer market of about US$620 million. It has also opened a commercial base in Rio Verde, Goiás, to support expansion across the Cerrado. read more

Macro & Markets

Milk Market Modernizes – StoneX Leite Brasil launched a new hedging tool for Brazil’s dairy market in partnership with Cepea, giving producers, cooperatives, dairies, traders, and retailers a way to lock future prices and protect margins. The OTC platform offers four contracts: producer milk and UHT milk, each at 40,000 liters, mozzarella at 4,000 kilos, and industrial whole milk powder at 5 tons. Settlement will use Cepea price indicators, with no physical delivery. The tool arrives as Brazil’s dairy chain faces price volatility, low planning visibility, and a dumping investigation into milk powder imports from Argentina and Uruguay. read more

EU Meat Rules Threaten Brazil Exports – Brazil’s meat industry reacted after the European Union removed the country from its list of nations that comply with the bloc’s rules on antimicrobial use in animal production. If the decision is not reversed, exports of beef, chicken, honey, eggs, and other animal-origin products could face restrictions from September 3. Brazil exported about US$1.8 billion in meat to the EU in 2025, including 128,000 tons of beef and 230,000 tons of chicken. Industry groups ABIEC and ABPA said exports continue normally for now and that Brazil is working with officials to meet the EU’s technical requirements. read more

Credit Rules Recalibrated – Brazil’s National Monetary Council delayed and softened environmental requirements that had restricted rural credit for producers flagged by Prodes satellite deforestation monitoring. The rule, which began in April, had drawn strong opposition from farm groups and triggered a legal challenge by CNA at the Supreme Court. The CMN will now phase in the measure by farm size, with larger properties starting in January 2027, and will accept additional documents such as vegetation suppression authorizations and environmental commitment terms to prove compliance. Farm leaders called the move a partial victory but said they will keep pushing for broader changes in Congress and the courts. 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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In AgTech news this week, São Joaquim turns apples into a premium “caviar” ingredient, Olho do Dono targets Australia and China with AI cattle weighing, Jacto launches Brazil’s first autonomous sprayer, Solinftec tests a new robot adoption model in the US, TIM moves from farm connectivity into AI, and a new study links irrigation to stronger rural GDP.

In Climate Tech developments, Unicamp transforms passion fruit waste into bioactives for food and cosmetics, Embrapa tests struvite from swine waste as a phosphate fertilizer alternative, Brazilian corn ethanol gains approval for maritime fuel use, NaturAll Carbon partners with Fazenda Nova Piratininga on regenerative carbon credits, and CTC wins approval for herbicide-resistant GM sugarcane.

On the Funding & M&A front, Marfrig and BRF create Sadia Halal, a US$2.07 billion joint venture focused on halal protein production and distribution, with a potential IPO in Saudi Arabia planned by 2027.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil’s soybean crop could hit a record 181.6 million tons, urea prices ease after two months of gains, China’s beef quota could redirect Brazilian exports, ag exports help lift Brazil’s trade surplus, and the sector watches Lula-Trump trade talks for progress on beef, ethanol and tariffs.

Table of Contents

AgTech

• Apple Caviar Showcases São Joaquim Fruit Innovation

• Olho do Dono Targets Australia and China Expansion

• Jacto Launches Brazil’s First Autonomous Sprayer

• Solinftec Launches Freedom Per Acre in the US

• TIM Pushes from Farm Connectivity into AI

• Irrigated Regions Show Higher Rural GDP

Climate Tech

• Unicamp Turns Passion Fruit Waste into Bioactives

• Embrapa Tests Struvite as Fertilizer Alternative

• Brazilian Corn Ethanol Cleared for Maritime Fuel Use

• NaturAll Carbon Partners with Nova Piratininga

• CTC Wins Approval for Herbicide-Resistant GM Sugarcane

Funding & M&A

• Marfrig and BRF Create US$2B Sadia Halal Venture

Macro & Markets

• Brazil Soy Crop Could Hit Record 181.6M Tons

• Urea Prices Ease After Two-Month Rally

• China Beef Quota Could Redirect Brazil Exports

• Ag Exports Help Lift Brazil Trade Surplus

• Brazil Ag Eyes Lula-Trump Trade Talks

AgTech

Apple Caviar Showcases São Joaquim Fruit Innovation – A pastry chef in São Joaquim, Santa Catarina, has created “apple caviar” as part of a campaign to promote the city’s National Apple Festival and its role as Brazil’s apple capital. Bianca Goulart Zanete used molecular gastronomy techniques to turn Fuji apples into small spheres that resemble caviar, with a firm outside and liquid center. São Joaquim harvested 250,000 tons of apples in 2024, representing 25% of Brazil’s production and 58% of Santa Catarina’s crop, according to IBGE. read more

Olho do Dono Targets Australia and China Expansion – Brazilian startup Olho do Dono (Eye of the Owner) is preparing international expansion plans for Australia and China as it advances its cattle weighing technology in Brazil. The company uses 3D cameras and artificial intelligence to estimate cattle weight without conventional scales, helping ranchers monitor animals with less handling and lower operational friction. The startup has received new investment and is now negotiating entry into foreign markets. With beef supply chains under pressure to improve productivity, animal management and data capture, the company’s model points to growing demand for AI tools that turn visual field data into practical farm decisions. read more

Jacto Launches Brazil’s First Autonomous Sprayer – Brazilian machinery maker Jacto launched what it says is the first autonomous sprayer in the Brazilian market during Agrishow 2026. The Arbus 4000 JAV, developed since 2010 with orange juice company Citrosuco, is designed for citrus orchards and costs from about US$350,000. The machine can move through fields alone, apply crop protection products, stop when it detects obstacles and operate for up to 24 consecutive hours, with capacity to treat more than 1,000 hectares per month when properly configured. Jacto expects to produce 12 units this year, with four already delivered. read more

Solinftec Launches Freedom Per Acre in the US – Solinftec is launching a new “freedom per acre” model in the United States to accelerate adoption of its Solix farm robots through direct, on-farm experience rather than traditional sales pitches. The program will place robots for one week on farms, with a two-person team installing the equipment and translating machine performance into data on productivity, cost reduction and field coverage. Solinftec has mapped 10 producers across Indiana, Iowa and Illinois for the first phase, while operating 150 robots in the US and 100 in Brazil. The model is expected to arrive in Brazil in the second half of 2026, starting with sugarcane. read more

TIM Pushes from Farm Connectivity into AI – TIM Brasil says it has reached about US$74 million in IoT contracts with agribusiness clients and now wants to move deeper into data and artificial intelligence services for the sector. The company’s agricultural connectivity footprint reached 27.3 million hectares, up 32% from a year earlier, with potential to benefit 357,000 rural properties. TIM says agriculture now represents 36% of its IoT business, with clients including SLC Agrícola, Amaggi, Jalles Machado, BP Bionergy and Citrosuco. Its acquisition of V8.Tech, approved at about US$29 million, is part of a strategy to help farms connect data, reduce cloud costs and train AI for operational decisions. read more

Irrigated Regions Show Higher Rural GDP – Brazilian regions that use irrigation have stronger economic and social indicators than other rural municipalities, according to a study by Abimaq and ESALQ/USP. The survey found that GDP per capita in irrigated regions can be up to 256% higher, with Mato Grosso reaching more than US$37,000 per person in one example. Brazil currently has about 8.2 million hectares equipped for irrigation, but official data suggest the total could grow more than fivefold, adding up to 55.85 million hectares, much of it on pastureland. The study estimates that every 1,600 hectares added could increase agricultural gross value by about US$1.7 million initially, rising to around US$2.9 million over time. read more

Climate Tech

Unicamp Turns Passion Fruit Waste into Bioactives – Researchers at FEA-Unicamp have developed a sustainable process to extract natural bioactive compounds from passion fruit bagasse, a byproduct made mostly of seeds and peel that can represent up to 70% of the fruit’s weight. The technology uses supercritical CO2, water and ethanol instead of petroleum-based solvents to recover compounds such as tocopherols, tocotrienols and phenolics with antioxidant and anti-aging potential. The patent was licensed by the startup Rubian Extratos, a Unicamp incubator graduate, which has already launched the ingredient in cosmetic formulations and is now exploring international markets and nutraceutical applications. read more

Embrapa Tests Struvite as Fertilizer Alternative – Embrapa Agrobiologia is testing struvite, a slow-release fertilizer produced from swine farming waste, as a domestic alternative to imported phosphate fertilizers. Field trials in soy showed the material could supply up to 50% of phosphorus demand while maintaining productivity near Brazil’s 2025 average, at about 3,500 kg per hectare. Brazil imports around 75% of its phosphate fertilizer needs, making local alternatives strategically important. Embrapa estimates that adoption on farms with more than 5,000 pigs could generate around 340,000 tons of struvite per year, while also reducing nutrient pollution from animal waste. read more

Brazilian Corn Ethanol Cleared for Maritime Fuel Use – Brazilian second-crop corn ethanol has received an important approval from the International Maritime Organization, opening the door for its use in maritime transport. The IMO defined a carbon emissions baseline of 20.8 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule for Brazilian corn ethanol, compared with 93.3 grams for traditional marine fuel. The recognition gives shipping companies a technical reference for using the biofuel in decarbonization plans. Brazil is also seeking IMO approval for sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel made from soy and beef tallow for maritime use. read more

NaturAll Carbon Partners with Nova Piratininga – NaturAll Carbon has signed a partnership with Fazenda Nova Piratininga, one of Brazil’s largest farms, to develop a regenerative agriculture carbon credit project across 12,300 hectares in Goiás and Tocantins. The project will focus on converting pasture areas and adopting practices such as no-till farming, crop rotation, cover crops and crop-livestock integration to increase soil carbon sequestration. The companies expect the project to generate up to 30,000 carbon credits, with first issuances planned for 2027 after registration and verification by Verra. NaturAll is targeting 150,000 hectares under management by 2027, with potential sequestration of up to 300,000 tons of CO2 per year. read more

CTC Wins Approval for Herbicide-Resistant GM Sugarcane – Brazil’s biosafety commission CTNBio has approved a new genetically modified sugarcane variety developed by Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira, resistant to both sugarcane borer and herbicides such as glyphosate. The variety, commercially called VerdPro2, is expected to reach the market in the 2026/27 harvest after final legal steps. CTC plans to develop 14 varieties with the technology and initially introduce them with selected customers under technical monitoring. The company says the new sugarcane can simplify weed control, reduce phytotoxicity risks and help address borer-related losses estimated at about US$1.6 billion per year, while weed control costs exceed US$1.2 billion annually. read more

Funding & M&A

Marfrig and BRF Create US$2B Sadia Halal Venture – Marfrig and BRF have completed the creation of Sadia Halal, a joint venture bringing together halal protein production in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The new company has an enterprise value of US$2.07 billion and is preparing for a potential IPO on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange by 2027. BRF’s subsidiary will hold 90% of Sadia Halal, while HPDC, linked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, will hold 10%, with the option to raise its stake to as much as 40% before the IPO. BRF also signed a renewable 10-year supply agreement from its Brazilian units. read more

Macro & Markets

Brazil Soy Crop Could Hit Record 181.6M Tons – Brazil’s 2025/26 soybean crop could reach a record 181.6 million tons, according to StoneX, after favorable weather supported yields and the harvest neared completion across most of the country. The consultancy also raised its forecast for Brazil’s first corn crop to 28.32 million tons, up from 27.18 million tons previously. For second-crop corn, now still developing in the field, StoneX projected 106.15 million tons, a slight increase from last month’s estimate. Even so, total corn output is expected to fall by about 3 million tons compared with the previous cycle. read more

Urea Prices Ease After Two-Month Rally – Urea prices have started to weaken after two months of sharp gains, as softer demand begins to outweigh supply concerns linked to logistics restrictions in the Middle East. In Brazil, StoneX said urea prices have fallen for a second consecutive week, with deals closing slightly below US$770 per ton, around 4% lower than reference prices two weeks earlier. Price declines have also been seen in the United States, China, the Middle East and Egypt, pointing to a broader global correction. StoneX expects further declines to be limited in the short term, as Middle East bottlenecks continue to restrict international supply. read more

China Beef Quota Could Redirect Brazil Exports – Brazil is nearing its annual beef export quota to China, creating pressure on local meatpackers to redirect shipments to other markets. China imposed import quotas in early 2026 to protect domestic producers, and additional volumes above the quota face a 55% tariff. According to Bloomberg, China imported more than 510,000 tons of Brazilian beef in the first quarter, equal to 46% of the quota, and the share may have reached 65% by the end of April. Datagro expects the limit to be reached in June, which could slow Brazilian slaughter and increase supply to markets such as the United States. read more

Ag Exports Help Lift Brazil Trade Surplus – Brazil’s trade surplus rose 43.5% year over year from January to April 2026, reaching US$24.78 billion, according to Secex data. Total exports reached US$116.55 billion, up 9.2%, while imports totaled US$91.77 billion. Agriculture remained one of the main contributors, with ag exports reaching US$26.39 billion in the first four months of the year, up 6.6%. On the import side, agricultural purchases fell 21.4% to US$1.80 billion, widening the sector’s positive contribution to the trade balance. The extractive industry also grew strongly, while manufacturing posted a smaller export gain. read more

Brazil Ag Eyes Lula-Trump Trade Talks – Brazil’s agribusiness sector is watching the Lula-Trump recent meeting for possible progress on beef quotas, ethanol tariffs and broader trade risks linked to the US Section 301 investigation. Brazilian beef exporters want changes to the US quota system, as the current shared quota allows around 50,000 tons at reduced tariffs before a 26.4% tariff applies. US imports of Brazilian beef reached 107,000 tons from January to March, up 13.4% from a year earlier, according to Abiec. Ethanol was also expected to be discussed, after Trump criticized Brazil’s 18% tariff on US ethanol while the US charges 2.5% on Brazilian ethanol. 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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Hungry Capital

AI has already swallowed the venture capital agenda. According to Crunchbase, AI funding reached $211 billion in 2025, up 85% from $114 billion in 2024, representing roughly half of all global venture funding. OECD data puts the figure even higher, estimating that AI firms captured 61% of global VC investment in 2025, equal to $258.7 billion out of $427.1 billion.

This huge wave of investment was needed to build models, infrastructure and computing power before AI can be applied widely across the economy. But as this layer becomes more consolidated and harder for new entrants to win, venture capital will start looking for other places where AI can create real business value.

The next wave of AI investing will flow to where models can be applied to large markets, complex workflows and expensive problems. Legal, healthcare, finance and logistics are already attracting attention. Agriculture will also be part of that search, and this is where Brazil comes in.

Brazilian agriculture has scale, complexity, data, pain points and global relevance. It is also full of workflows that are manual, fragmented, relationship-driven and only partially digitized. The same complexity that made agriculture hard for traditional software may be what makes it so attractive for AI.

Big Field

Agriculture is often described as one sector, but that misses the point. It is really a dense network of decisions that stretch from the soil to the port, from the farm gate to the balance sheet, and from weather risk to working capital.

A farmer is not only deciding what to plant. He is managing weather risk, input costs and market timing. A cooperative is not only selling inputs. It is advising producers, extending credit and coordinating logistics. A grain trader is not only buying soybeans. It is managing freight, price risk and counterparty exposure.

Vertical AI becomes interesting in agriculture because so many of these decisions already shape margins, risk and cash flow. Selling grain, approving credit and spotting disease pressure are all high-value areas where better intelligence can make a measurable difference.

Brazil gives this thesis unusual scale. Agribusiness exports reached a record $169.2 billion in 2025, accounting for 48.5% of Brazil’s total exports. Brazilian agriculture is not a small market waiting to be discovered by technology investors. It is already one of the country’s core economic engines and one of the most important food and agricultural systems in the world.

Messy Moats

Every investor likes the word moat. In agriculture, the moat may come from the mess.

Brazil’s ag economy still runs through a blend of WhatsApp messages, field visits, invoices, satellite images, phone calls, spreadsheets, informal knowledge and long-term relationships. For traditional software, that can be difficult to organize. For AI, it is raw material.

To work in a vertical like agriculture, AI needs more than a strong model. It needs industry context, proprietary data and access to processes that outsiders cannot easily understand or copy. Agriculture has all three, although they rarely come neatly packaged. Information is often scattered across people, machines, fields, buyers, lenders and service providers, which makes the problem harder but the opportunity more defensible.

Moving grain in Brazil, for example, is a seasonal, regional and highly volatile decision system shaped by harvest timing, rail capacity and port lineups. A platform that understands those variables is doing more than digitizing freight. It is building intelligence around one of the biggest cost centers in the value chain.

The same idea applies across animal protein, biological inputs and crop monitoring. The companies that can capture and interpret signals from these activities will not only have better software. They will have a stronger position in the value chain.

Agrifoodtech funding has been through a painful reset globally, but investor interest is moving toward technologies that can create real defensibility, including AI, robotics, biotech and advanced sensing. That should favor companies solving hard problems, not those adding a thin AI layer to old software.

Credit Gateway

The easiest bridge between AI capital and agriculture may be the fintech route.

Latin America’s venture story has already been shaped by fintech. Many of the region’s most successful startups used better data, better interfaces and better underwriting to reach customers that traditional financial institutions ignored, misunderstood or priced poorly.

Agriculture has a similar opportunity, but with more variables and muddier boots. In consumer fintech, credit risk depends on income, spending patterns and repayment history. In agriculture, repayment also depends on production, weather and commodity prices. A farmer may be a good borrower and still have a bad year because yields fall, prices move or freight costs eat into margins.

That makes ag credit harder to model, and more valuable when done well. Traditional credit models are often too blunt for agriculture, while AI can process richer signals from satellite imagery, production history, invoices, market prices and logistics data.

Agfintech is already one of the most venture-compatible categories in agriculture because it has clear pain, large markets, recurring demand and business models investors understand. In The Yield Lab’s Latam portfolio, around 40% is already made up of agfintech companies. Much of the other 60% could eventually offer some form of embedded finance, because many already have customer relationships, operational visibility and rich data.

That may be the real unlock. Credit does not need to remain a standalone product. A marketplace can offer credit, a logistics platform can finance freight, and a sustainability platform can support transition finance. The first wave of agfintech digitized access to capital. The next wave could use AI to predict risk, price capital and personalize finance around the real economics of the farm.

Seed Scale

If global AI investors start looking seriously at Brazilian agriculture, they will not arrive searching for ideas. They will be looking for companies with traction, proprietary data, scalable distribution and enough maturity to absorb large Series A or Series B rounds.

That creates both an opportunity and a risk. The opportunity is that Brazilian agriculture fits what vertical AI capital will likely want next: large problems, complex workflows, valuable data and real economic pain. The risk is that many AI-native agriculture startups may still be too early when that capital arrives.

This is why early-stage conviction matters. Brazil needs more founders building AI-native solutions for large, scalable problems in agriculture. It needs more data-driven pilots with farmers, corporates, cooperatives and financial institutions. It also needs more events, demos and practical use cases that move the market from general AI excitement to measurable business value.

That is exactly the kind of momentum we hope to build at our next AI in Ag event on May 28 in São Paulo, with participation available both in person and online for Portuguese speakers. The goal is to showcase real use cases, connect the right people and help move AI in agriculture from potential to practice.

When capital moves from models to markets, Brazilian agriculture should be ready to serve.

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 Brazil AgTech news last week, startups are turning farm machines into data platforms, Roncador is converting rock from its mines into fertilizer, Agriodor is targeting Brazil with aroma-based pest control, China's XCMG is preparing to launch tractors in Brazil, and Bayer is expanding FieldView, prescription tools and machine integrations.

In Climate Tech developments, updated Zarc data shows climate risk has shifted planting windows in nearly 60% of Brazilian municipalities, machinery makers are testing ethanol and biomethane equipment at Agrishow, InPlanet is scaling basalt-based carbon removal, and FPT is investing in ethanol, biomethane and natural gas engines in Brazil.

On the Funding & M&A front, Agrorobótica raised US$2 million to scale soil carbon analysis, Finep received a US$620 million capital boost, EY agreed to buy MB Agro, Brazil launched US$1.8 billion in farm fleet credit, and Sicredi expanded its agro loan book to US$9.4 billion.

In Macro & Markets, John Deere called for a long-term state plan for Brazilian agriculture, while high interest rates, weaker machinery sales and election-year politics dominated the Agrishow agenda.

Table of Contents

AgTech

• Roncador Turns Rock into Fertilizer

• Agriodor Raises €15M to Target Brazil

• XCMG Prepares Brazil Tractor Launch

• Bayer Expands Digital Farming Tools

• Startups Powering Smarter Farm Machines

Climate Tech

• Climate Risk Shifts Planting Calendar

• Cleaner Machines Debut at Agrishow

• InPlanet Uses Rock Dust for Carbon Removal

• FPT Invests in Ethanol and Biomethane Engines

Funding & M&A

• Agrorobótica Raises US$2M for Soil Carbon

• Finep Gets Capital Boost

• EY Buys MB Agro Consultancy

• Brazil Launches Farm Fleet Credit

• Sicredi Expands Agro Credit Portfolio

Macro & Markets

• John Deere Calls for Long-Term Ag Plan

• High Rates and Politics Dominate Agrishow Agenda

AgTech

Roncador Turns Rock into Fertilizer – Grupo Roncador is entering the fertilizer market with a natural remineralizer made from crushed rock extracted from its limestone mines in Mato Grosso. After geochemical analysis with the Federal University of Goiás, the group found the rocks contained nutrients including potassium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus and calcium. Field tests in 2020 showed nine extra bags of soybeans per hectare where rock powder replaced potassium chloride. The product, registered in 2025 as “silicálcio,” is now used across 53,000 hectares, and Roncador plans to produce 2 million tons per year. read more

Agriodor Raises €15M to Target Brazil – French agtech Agriodor has raised €15 million in a Series A round to scale its natural aroma-based pest control technology, with Brazil identified as one of its key markets outside Europe. The startup develops “olfactory biocontrol” products that use plant-based aromas to attract, repel or disrupt insect pests, offering a complement to conventional insecticides. Its first commercial product was developed with Syngenta for sugar beet in Europe. In Brazil, Agriodor plans to start with fruit, vegetable and flower crops through local partners, while adapting its technology to local pests, regulations and farming practices. read more

XCMG Prepares Brazil Tractor Launch – Chinese equipment giant XCMG is preparing to sell agricultural tractors in Brazil, expanding beyond its established presence in construction and mining machinery. The company plans to commercialize two lower-horsepower models, with 86 hp and 100 hp, to test demand in the Brazilian market, with first sales expected at the start of the next crop season. XCMG already operates a factory in Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais, and is gradually localizing production, including a development center focused on adapting equipment to Brazilian conditions. Its main reseller, Grupo Extra, is investing about US$8.9 million to expand its local footprint. read more

Bayer Expands Digital Farming Tools – Bayer used Agrishow to present new digital agriculture tools built around FieldView, agronomic recommendations and sustainability-linked business models. The company’s FieldView Drive 2.0 will be available for the 2026/27 season, with data transfer up to 12 times faster than the current version. Bayer says FieldView now connects 31 million hectares, while its Valora Milho recommendation platform already has more than 650,000 hectares enrolled for the 2026 safrinha (second-crop corn). New integrations with John Deere will allow FieldView prescriptions to be sent wirelessly to machine operation centers, reducing manual steps and errors. read more

Startups Powering Smarter Farm Machines – Brazilian startups are gaining ground in agricultural machinery, drones and equipment, with 115 agtechs now active in the segment, according to Embrapa’s Radar Agtech 2025, up 47.5% from 2022. Brazil now has 2,075 agtechs, the first time the survey has passed 2,000 companies, and “inside the farm” solutions account for 41.1% of the total. Startups such as Velos and GeoIA are helping turn machines into data platforms, using sensors, telemetry, computer vision and algorithms to monitor operations, detect field problems and generate executable files for equipment. read more

Climate Tech

Climate Risk Shifts Planting Calendar – Climate risk has changed planting windows in almost 60% of Brazilian municipalities, according to updated data from the Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning system, known as Zarc. The new database shows changes in 3,285 cities, equal to 58.9% of Brazil’s 5,569 municipalities, based on climate series from 1992 to 2022. Of those, 1,474 cities saw shorter planting windows, mainly in the Southeast and Northeast, while 1,811 gained longer windows, mostly in the North and South. Embrapa says the next step is ZarcNM, which will combine climate risk with soil management quality. read more

Cleaner Machines Debut at Agrishow – Agricultural machinery makers brought more low-carbon equipment to Agrishow this year, with new models powered by ethanol, biomethane and other renewable fuels. Case IH showed advances in ethanol-powered machines, including a two-row sugarcane harvester with more than 600 hours of testing and a Puma 230 tractor that has passed 800 hours in sugarcane operations. Valtra presented a biomethane engine for sugarcane and grain farms, while New Holland’s T6.180 Methane Power can cut regulated pollutant emissions by up to 80% and CO2 emissions by 84% compared with diesel engines. read more

InPlanet Uses Rock Dust for Carbon Removal – InPlanet is scaling an enhanced rock weathering model that applies finely ground basalt to agricultural soils to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and improve soil quality. Founded by Niklas Kluger and Felix Harteneck, the Brazil-Germany climatetech now concentrates 100% of its operations in Brazil, where tropical rainfall, basalt reserves, large-scale agriculture and regulation for remineralizers support adoption. Farmers receive the rock powder without paying for the input, while InPlanet monitors the impact and sells verified carbon credits internationally. The company recently signed a Microsoft agreement to remove more than 28,500 tons of CO2 from 2026 to 2028. read more

FPT Invests in Ethanol and Biomethane Engines – FPT, the Italian engine maker owned by Iveco Group, will invest about US$45 million in Brazil through 2028, more than previously planned under a cycle that began in 2023. The company said the money will support factory improvements, new products, innovation and localization, with a focus on ethanol, biomethane and natural gas engines as alternatives to diesel in agriculture. FPT supplies the ethanol engine being tested by Case IH and says commercialization of ethanol-powered farm machines could begin in 2027. Biomethane engines are more advanced, with New Holland already selling some tractors using FPT technology. read more

Funding & M&A

Agrorobótica Raises US$2M for Soil Carbon – Agrorobótica has raised about US$2 million from VOX Capital, who manage Banco do Brasil’s corporate venture capital fund, to scale its soil analysis and carbon certification technology. Incubated by Embrapa, the startup uses LIBS laser spectroscopy, proprietary sensors and AI software to analyze 27 soil parameters in around 20 seconds, compared with up to 20 days for traditional lab analysis. Its technology already covers more than 1 million hectares and serves clients including Amaggi and Atvos. Agrorobótica says the platform could unlock at least US$178 million in soil carbon credits over two decades. read more

Finep Gets Capital Boost – Brazil’s government has sanctioned a capital increase for Finep, the country’s main public innovation financing agency, with approximately US$620 million from the Treasury using shares in Banco do Nordeste and Banco da Amazônia. The move is designed to expand Finep’s lending capacity for innovation projects across strategic sectors, including semiconductors, energy transition and AI. Finep says demand has accelerated under the Nova Indústria Brasil program, with nearly 3,000 financing requests totaling around US$7.1 billion over the past two years. read more

EY Buys MB Agro Consultancy – EY has signed an agreement to acquire MB Agro, one of Brazil’s best-known agribusiness strategy and market intelligence consultancies. The deal brings Alexandre Mendonça de Barros, José Carlos Hausknecht and the MB Agro team into EY, strengthening its advisory capabilities across market analysis, credit, risk, investment and M&A in the Brazilian agribusiness chain. MB Agro’s subscription reports and sector analysis products will continue to be distributed through EY Brazil, while its active client and project portfolio will also be incorporated. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. read more

Brazil Launches Farm Fleet Credit – Brazil’s government announced a US$1.8 billion Move Agriculture program at Agrishow 2026 to finance tractors, harvesters and farm implements with single-digit interest rates. The resources will be operated by Finep, with participation from Banco do Brasil, cooperatives and private financial institutions. The initiative follows an earlier Move Brasil program for trucks, whose funds were fully absorbed in about 90 days. São Paulo also announced about US$7.1 million in subsidies under Pró-Trator, targeting small producers and covering part of the interest cost on machinery financing. read more

Sicredi Expands Agro Credit Portfolio – Sicredi’s agro credit portfolio reached about US$9.4 billion in the first nine months of the 2025/26 crop year, up 16.5% from the same period last season. Growth was led by dollar-linked credit lines, which rose about 70% to roughly US$710 million, focused on farmers with export-linked revenues. Sicredi says its cooperative model and consultative relationship with members helped expand lending despite high interest rates, tighter credit and rising defaults in the broader market. The institution also handled about 80% of São Paulo’s Pró-Trator disbursements and around US$1.6 billion in BNDES-backed agro credit. read more

Macro & Markets

John Deere Calls for Long-Term Ag Plan – John Deere executive Alfredo Miguel Neto says Brazilian agriculture needs a long-term state plan rather than shifting government programs to address chronic bottlenecks in storage, logistics, credit, insurance and irrigation. He noted that agribusiness represented 25.1% of Brazil’s GDP in 2025, but still faces structural gaps, including storage capacity equal to only 70% of production and heavy dependence on road transport. The debate comes as the machinery sector faces tighter credit, lower commodity prices and weaker sales, with Abimaq revising its 2026 agricultural machinery outlook from 3.4% growth to a 5% decline. read more

High Rates and Politics Dominate Agrishow Agenda – High interest rates and the 2026 election cycle dominated discussions at Agrishow, with machinery companies warning that expensive credit is delaying investment decisions by farmers. Brazil's Agricultural Machinery Association, Abimaq, now projects an 8% drop in agricultural machinery sales in 2026, while first-bimester sales fell 17% from a year earlier. Executives said tight margins, lower dollar-linked revenues and high CDI-linked debt have made financing harder, especially after years of cheap credit. The debate also became political, with presidential pre-candidates using the fair to argue for lower public spending and lower interest rates. 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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Digital Dream

Agrishow, Brazil’s largest agricultural machinery fair, took place this week in Ribeirão Preto, about four hours from São Paulo. For one week, more than 200,000 people descend on the city to look at tractors, planters, sprayers, combines, drones, and whatever else promises to make farming a little more productive or a little less painful.

If you have never been, it is hard to describe the scale. There are machines everywhere. Huge machines. Machines that look more like mining equipment than farm tools. For decades, that was the point. Agrishow was where Brazilian agriculture came to show its muscle.

I was there this week for two panels, one on AI in agriculture and another on the evolution of the AgTech ecosystem. Machinery still dominated the landscape. Farmers still need to plant, spray, harvest, haul, store, and sell. No app is going to pull a planter through heavy soil.

The next layer of value is forming around the machine. It is in the software behind it, the data coming off the field, the image from the drone, the weather alert, the price signal, the WhatsApp message from the agronomist, and the ability to turn all of that into a better decision before the window closes.

That is the promise. A farmer should be able to ask a simple question during the day and get a useful answer. Should I spray now or wait? Is this freight quote fair? Should I sell soy today? Is this pest pressure showing up elsewhere? Can I afford to test this biological input? What machine should go where first?

AI makes that kind of tool much easier to imagine and much cheaper to build. The problem is that the tool is only as good as what it knows. On most farms, a lot of what matters still sits outside a clean database. It is in photos, voice notes, field visits, invoices, machine operators’ comments, WhatsApp groups, and the farmer’s own instinct.

That is where the next challenge begins.

Dating Game

In the past, some startups have been guilty of treating farmers like unpaid data-entry employees.

Fill out this form. Upload this file. Tag this field. Enter this activity. Update this dashboard. Log the spray. Record the cost. Connect the machine. Come back next week and do it all again.

That might look fine in a product demo. In the field, it dies quickly. It is also one of the main reasons many AgTech startups struggled to understand why farmers were not engaging, even when the product made sense on paper.

Farmers are already juggling weather, people, machinery, inputs, credit, prices, pests, logistics, and risk. Asking them to feed another system without giving something useful back straight away is a hard sell. Agriculture has enough friction. It does not need software adding homework.

That is why data capture is really a relationship problem.

You do not get the farmer’s information on the first date. You have to earn it.

The exchange has to be simple. The farmer gives something small and natural, like a photo, voice note, WhatsApp question, freight quote, planting update, pest observation, input price, or yield number. In return, he gets something useful quickly: a benchmark, alert, comparison, recommendation, market signal, risk warning, or next-best action.

This give-to-get exchange matters because farmers like comparison. They want to know what is happening over the fence. Am I paying too much for inputs? Is my freight quote high? Are neighbors seeing the same pest pressure? Is my yield on track? Should I sell now or wait? How does my cost structure compare with similar farms?

That was part of the early power of Farmers Business Network in the United States. Farmers shared information because they received benchmarks and transparency back. The comparison created value, and the value encouraged more sharing.

Brazil may be even more suited to this model because farmers already live on WhatsApp. It is the unofficial operating system of the countryside. Prices, photos, invoices, field problems, freight quotes, agronomic doubts, worker updates, and commercial negotiations already flow through it every day.

The best data capture strategy may look less like data capture and more like a useful conversation.

A farmer sends a photo of a leaf disease and receives a likely diagnosis, plus an alert that similar cases are appearing nearby. Another shares a freight quote and learns whether it is above or below the regional range. Another asks whether to sell soybeans today and receives local price intelligence, storage considerations, and cash-flow context.

Every useful response builds trust. Every trusted interaction creates more data.

That is how the farm data layer starts to form. Through value, not forms.

The App Trap

AI has made it easier than ever to build the front end of farm intelligence.

A startup can now create an app, agent, chatbot, dashboard, or recommendation engine much faster and cheaper than before. That is a good thing. It lowers the cost of experimentation and opens the door for more founders to build for agriculture.

It also creates a trap.

Build the app faster than the data relationship underneath it, and the product may look intelligent without being useful. A smart-looking recommendation sitting on incomplete data is still just a guess in a nice interface.

And AI language is everywhere now. Every platform wants to become a copilot. Every dashboard wants to become an agent. Every farm management tool wants to offer recommendations. That may be the right direction, provided the system knows enough about the farm to recommend something practical.

A satellite image can show crop stress, though not always why it happened. A drone can identify weeds, though not whether the sprayer is available. A sensor can measure soil moisture, though not whether the farmer has the labor, cash, or input stock to act. An ERP can show inventory, though not what the agronomist saw in the field yesterday.

A chatbot can sound clever. If it is disconnected from the farm’s real operating context, it is still mostly guessing.

This is the difference between digital decoration and decision infrastructure.

The app is not the intelligence. The agent is not the intelligence. The dashboard is not the intelligence.

The intelligence comes from knowing what is actually happening, connecting it with context, and helping someone act in time.

Join the Dots

The end goal is not a better dashboard. It is an easy-to-use tool that helps the farmer make better decisions throughout the day, across whatever activity matters at that moment.

That decision may be agronomic. Should I spray? Should I irrigate? Should I replant? Is this pest pressure serious or still manageable?

It may be operational. Which machine should go where first? Do I have enough labor? Is the sprayer free? Did the input arrive? Will rain stop the operation?

It may be financial. Should I take credit now? Should I delay a purchase? Can I afford a biological input trial? Does this technology pay back this season, or only over three years?

It may be commercial. Should I sell grain today? Should I store? Is this basis attractive? Is the freight quote too high? Should I buy inputs now or wait?

It may involve machinery, livestock, land, sustainability, insurance, certification, or market access.

One data point rarely makes a farm decision.

A field photo matters. A weather forecast matters. A satellite image matters. A machinery alert matters. A grain price matters. A cash-flow update matters. None of them are enough alone.

The farmer needs a system that can connect agronomy, weather, machinery, labor, finance, logistics, input prices, market signals, risk, and sustainability into one practical decision layer. The more relevant information the system can access, the better it can help the farmer make decisions that are efficient, profitable, and sustainable.

This is where AI becomes powerful. It can connect more variables than any human can hold in their head at once. It can notice patterns, compare scenarios, structure messy information, and suggest next steps.

Agriculture’s challenge is that too many of those variables are still scattered across systems, people, phones, machines, documents, and memory.

AI is very good at connecting dots. Agriculture’s problem is that too many of the dots are still sitting in people’s heads, phones, notebooks, and WhatsApp groups.

The real breakthrough will come when those dots can be captured naturally, connected quickly, and returned to the farmer as useful guidance.

Missing Link

The next phase of farm AI will not be won by the company with the prettiest dashboard or the loudest AI claim. It will be won by whoever solves the link between farmer behavior, low-friction data capture, and useful decisions.

That link has three parts.

First, the farmer must be willing to engage. The interaction has to feel natural. WhatsApp, voice, photos, videos, and simple questions will often beat another app login. The system needs to fit the farmer’s workflow, not force the farmer to fit the system.

Second, the farmer must get value back quickly. A benchmark. A warning. A comparison. A recommendation. A market signal. A better price. A lower risk. The exchange has to be clear. Give information, get insight.

Third, the information has to be connected. A farm is not a spreadsheet with soil attached. It is a living system of biology, machinery, finance, labor, weather, logistics, markets, and instinct. Capturing individual pieces is useful. Connecting them fast enough to change decisions is where the value lives.

Agrishow showed plenty of digital dreams this week. Some will be real. Some will be premature. The test is simple: does the product help the farm understand itself better, and does it turn that understanding into a decision?

The first wave of digital agriculture tried to make farmers use software. The next wave of AI will need to make software understand farmers.

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 AgriFood Tech news, a new biodetergent developed by Embrapa extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, while Agrishow 2026 highlights the growing use of data, automation and connected machinery in farm management. Solinftec is expanding its robotics platform alongside a multi-agent AI system, and adoption trends show a shift from isolated tools toward integrated operational systems.

In Climate Tech developments, second-crop canola is emerging as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, with emissions reductions of up to 55% in modeled scenarios. Brazil’s biofuels production is projected to reach 30 billion liters by 2030, driven by corn ethanol, while the government is considering an increase in the ethanol blend to E32. New initiatives are mapping coffee supply chains to meet deforestation rules, and Vale is advancing ethanol-powered shipping.

On the Funding & M&A front, Itaú Ventures is backing Minter’s mobile data center model to monetize curtailed renewable energy. VLI is investing $16 million to expand grain export capacity in Maranhão, increasing both port and internal handling throughput.

In Macro & Markets, Brazil’s crop protection market has returned to nearly $20 billion, supported by higher treated area and demand from soy and corn. Record harvests are shifting the focus toward management and technology use on farms, while the Supreme Court has maintained existing restrictions on foreign ownership of rural land.

Table of Contents

AgriFood Tech

• New biodetergent extends shelf life of fruits and vegetables

• Agrishow 2026 showcases AI, robotics and precision ag innovations

• Solinftec expands robotics and AI agent platform

• Brazil enters the “second wave” of AI in agriculture

• São Paulo accelerates AI adoption across agriculture

Climate Tech

• Second-crop canola shows SAF emissions potential

• Brazil’s biofuels expansion raises new “food vs fuel” questions

• Coffee giants launch global deforestation mapping initiative

• Brazil moves closer to E32 ethanol blend

• Ethanol-powered shipping gains traction with Vale deal

Funding & M&A

• Itaú Ventures backs mobile data center model to monetize curtailment

• VLI invests $16 million to expand grain export capacity in Maranhão

Macro & Markets

• Agro shifts from expansion to efficiency as technology becomes the edge

• Crop protection market rebounds toward $20 billion level

• Brazil maintains restrictions on foreign land ownership

AgriFood Tech

Brazilian researchers develop post-harvest biodetergent – Researchers from UFRJ and Embrapa have developed a non-agrochemical biodetergent designed to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by preventing fungal growth after harvest. In orange tests, 11 out of every 12 treated fruits remained intact after 10 days. The research began from a Petrobras-commissioned oil study in 2009 and later evolved through an Embrapa partnership focused on food conservation. The team is now preparing larger-scale tests using industrial application methods and evaluating the product on other fruits, including strawberry, papaya and guava, as well as grains such as beans and soy. read more

Agrishow spotlights data-driven farm tech – Agrishow 2026 will take place from April 27 to May 1 in Ribeirão Preto, bringing more than 800 brands to a 520,000-square-meter exhibition area, with expected attendance of more than 200,000 visitors. The fair will highlight automation, sensors, precision agriculture, connected machinery, robotics and digital farm management platforms, while visitors will also have access to an AI-powered app to help navigate the event. SAE Brasil research cited by Agrishow says 91% of surveyed producers use GPS, 85% use financial management apps, 76% use satellite imagery and agronomic management apps, 70% use precision agriculture practices and 61% use drones. Featured launches include equipment from Valtra, Massey Ferguson, Fendt, AGTech, PTx, Solinftec and TOTVS. read more

Solinftec expands robotics and AI agent platform – Solinftec will present two new autonomous agricultural robots, the Solix XT and Solix XC, during Agrishow 2026, alongside Alice IA Multiagente, a platform that uses multiple AI agents to turn field data into operational recommendations and actions. The Solix XT is designed for continuous operation through the crop cycle, with autonomy of up to 50 hours and coverage of up to 500 hectares, initially in sugarcane. The Solix XC targets larger-scale operations, with autonomy of up to 70 hours and coverage of up to 1,000 hectares per cycle in soy, corn and cotton. Alice will initially include six agents focused on support, operations, climate, data analysis, fleet availability and spatial projection. read more

Brazilian agribusiness enters AI’s second wave – Brazilian agribusiness is moving from isolated AI use cases toward broader automation of business processes. The shift includes digital contract management, automated purchase orders, document traceability, predictive analytics and natural language tools for compliance, supplier management, certifications and quality control. In export-oriented chains such as soy and beef, AI is being applied to integrate data across contracts, logistics, invoicing, regulatory compliance and commercialization workflows. read more

São Paulo expands AI use across agriculture – Artificial intelligence is being applied across agricultural operations in São Paulo to improve efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses by up to 30% and support decision-making. The state concentrates 845 agtech companies, representing 43.2% of the national total. Initiatives include innovation hubs connecting research institutions, startups and producers, and platforms that integrate climate, soil and financial data to forecast productivity and risk with high accuracy. Public programs are also using AI for geolocation of rural properties and environmental compliance. read more

Climate Tech

Second-crop canola shows SAF emissions potential – A life-cycle assessment by Embrapa and the University of Brasília found that sustainable aviation fuel made from second-crop canola in Brazil could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 55% compared with fossil Jet-A1 kerosene, depending on adoption scenarios. The study modeled the HEFA route, which converts vegetable oils into aviation fuel, and considered emissions from crop production through final fuel use. The result depends heavily on the use of renewable hydrogen in industrial conversion and on fertilizer management during cultivation. Researchers said canola’s use as a second crop in rotation with soy can improve land-use efficiency. read more

Corn ethanol to drive Brazil biofuels growth – Brazil’s biofuels production is projected to reach around 30 billion liters by 2030, with corn ethanol accounting for roughly one-third of the total. The country had 29 corn ethanol plants in operation at the end of 2025, with 16 more under construction, concentrated in Mato Grosso, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. Growth is supported by rising demand for sustainable fuels, including aviation fuel and maritime applications, while co-products such as DDG support animal feed markets. Constraints include biomass supply for energy generation and regulatory uncertainty around its sourcing. read more

Coffee giants launch deforestation mapping initiative – JDE Peet’s, Louis Dreyfus, Sucafina and Neumann Kaffee Gruppe are creating the Coffee Canopy Partnership to map coffee farms and support compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation, which takes effect on December 30. The platform will use satellite data, artificial intelligence and on-site verification to identify coffee production areas and will make the map publicly available. The pilot will cover about 1.2 million square kilometers of coffee-growing areas in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, with plans to expand to all coffee-growing regions by 2027. read more

Brazil moves closer to E32 ethanol blend – Brazil’s government is expected to review a proposal in early May to raise the anhydrous ethanol blend in gasoline from 30% to 32%. Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said the proposal will be discussed at the next meeting of the National Energy Policy Council. The measure could reduce gasoline import needs by around 500 million liters per month, supporting national self-sufficiency. The initial mandate would last 180 days, with the possibility of extension. read more

Vale orders ethanol-powered transoceanic ships – Vale and Shandong Shipping Corporation signed a 25-year charter agreement for two new second-generation Guaibamax ships powered by ethanol, with delivery expected from 2029. The vessels will be 340 meters long, carry up to 325,000 tons and may reduce carbon emissions by around 90% compared with heavy fuel oil on a well-to-wake basis. The ships will also be able to use methanol and heavy fuel oil, with design options for future conversion to liquefied natural gas or ammonia. read more

Funding & M&A

Itaú Ventures backs mobile data center model to monetize curtailment – Minter installs mobile data centers at renewable energy sites to use electricity that would otherwise be curtailed when the grid cannot absorb supply. The container-based units host up to 200 machines and process data close to generation, reducing transmission losses and improving project economics. The company operates a 20 MW site in Xique-Xique, Bahia, and plans to reach 40 MW by the end of 2026 and 500 MW by 2029. Its Series A round was led by Itaú Ventures and included Grupo Leste, Legend Capital and individual investors. read more

VLI expands grain export capacity in Maranhão – VLI will invest approximately $16 million in its São Luís terminal at the Port of Itaqui to increase grain export capacity by 23%. The terminal handled nearly 5.8 million tons in 2025, including soy and corn from the Matopiba region. The project will raise maritime loading capacity from 3,000 to 3,700 tons per hour and internal grain flow from 1,500 to 2,000 tons per hour, supported by rail logistics. read more

Macro & Markets

Crop protection market returns to $20B level – Brazil’s crop protection market grew 3% in the 2024/25 season to reach approximately $20 billion. The recovery follows a 13% decline in the previous season, driven by lower prices despite increased planted area and treatment intensity. Soy accounted for 51% of the market, followed by corn (16%), sugarcane (8%) and cotton (7%). Treated area reached 2.39 billion hectares, up 13% year on year, with further growth of around 8% expected in 2025/26. read more

Technology use becomes agriculture’s new differentiator – Brazil’s grain harvest reached a record 346.1 million tons in 2025, while projections for 2026 range from 340 million to 344 million tons. With less room for expansion in planted area, productivity gains are increasingly linked to management and technology use within the farm. Tools such as drones, telemetry, artificial intelligence and precision agriculture are widely available, with differentiation driven by how producers interpret data and manage operations. read more

STF maintains restrictions on foreign land ownership – Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously voted to maintain the existing legal restrictions on the acquisition of rural land by foreigners and Brazilian companies controlled by foreign capital. The ruling does not ban foreign ownership of farmland, and many foreign individuals and companies already own rural land in Brazil, but larger or more sensitive transactions can require prior approval from INCRA and, in some cases, Congress. Current rules also limit foreign ownership by municipality and nationality. The decision rejected an action filed by the Sociedade Rural Brasileira. 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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Hot and Cold

In my last article, I mentioned how impressed I was by the sophistication of the UK AgTech ecosystem. Lots of funding, strong talent, and serious technology. What it’s missing, however, is a market large enough to help these startups scale to venture capital heights.

A lot of the solutions I saw were agronomic in nature and aimed directly at farmers. That is a very tough market. It’s fragmented, seasonal, and slow to build. Most farmers are busy running the farm, and many are not looking to spend extra time or money trying out the latest technology unless the value is very clear.

That creates a problem for venture-backed startups. You can build a good product, raise serious money, and still find yourself selling into a market that is hard to grow quickly. In most cases, the technology is not the main constraint. The real issue is that the home market may simply be too small or fragmented.

This is where Brazil starts to look attractive. The market is larger, runs year-round, and the problems are often bigger and more urgent, including many outside the farmgate that are B2B in nature and easier to scale. The opportunity is there, even if getting in is not always straightforward. The three examples that follow show different ways that fit can work in practice.

Bounty Hunt

Building in the UK does not always mean building for the UK. In some cases, the much bigger opportunity is global. One good example of this is Tropic, a startup that came out of the Norwich Research Park and now operates internationally.

Tropic is a biotech company focused on improving tropical crops through gene editing. It has raised more than $190 million and is already operating well beyond the UK. Its work in bananas shows why.

The global banana industry still depends heavily on a single variety, Cavendish, which makes it unusually vulnerable. Disease pressure is high, and Tropic highlighted that around 50% of bananas are lost along the supply chain. One of the biggest threats is Panama disease, a soil fungus that can stay in the ground for up to 50 years. That is why resistant varieties matter so much.

Tropic is working on traits linked to disease resistance, but also on a gene to stop oxidization aimed at reducing browning and helping the fruit last longer after harvest. The company already operates in Brazil and other parts of Latin America, as well as India, the Philippines, and the Middle East.

Remote Edge

If Tropic shows how UK science can be built around global crop problems, Lacuna Space shows how a solution developed in the UK can become much more relevant in a market like Brazil.

Lacuna is a satellite company focused on connecting low-power sensors in remote areas. It is not trying to compete with Starlink or provide broadband internet. Its model is much simpler: help small field devices send small amounts of data from places where normal connectivity does not reach.

That fits Brazil well. A farm may have internet at the office, but that does not mean the field is connected. And in many cases, the sensor only matters if it is out in the field.

One reason Lacuna has landed well in Brazil is that it has found trusted partners such as Embrapa, USP, and Corteva to work on an important problem: black sigatoka in bananas. The system combines sensor data with weather, satellite imagery, and AI to improve spray timing and reduce fungicide use.

Brazil has the size, the crop diversity, and the rural connectivity gaps to make a product like this much more relevant than it might be in its home market.

Crop Pick

If Lacuna is about getting data out of the field, Fruitcast is more about what to do with that data. It also points to another useful strategy for startups: pick a high-value crop, where the pain is clearer, the margins are higher, and the return on a better tool is easier to prove.

Fruitcast started with a simple problem in strawberries. Growers often do not know with enough confidence how much fruit is actually in the field, which creates problems for labor planning, contracts, waste, and margins. In a high-value crop, a weak forecast quickly becomes an expensive one.

The company’s solution is quite practical. Someone walks the crop with a phone or camera, uploads the video, and Fruitcast uses computer vision to count fruit and flowers, estimate maturity, and project yield. It then adds weather, historic yield data, crop cycles, and variety information to build a digital view of the farm.

This matters because better forecasting gives growers more time to plan labor, manage supply, and deal with buyers if volumes are likely to be above or below plan. In a crop like strawberries, those gains can show up quickly, which makes it a much easier place for a startup to prove value than in broadacre.

Many of those high-value crop opportunities sit outside the UK today, but that may also change over time. Dyson Farming’s strawberry operation showed how far that can go when the crop is valuable enough to justify more technology and more capital. Using large greenhouses, novel varieties, and a hybrid vertical growing system, Dyson is producing strawberries all year round and has managed to triple yields from the same area.

Hard Ground

While Dyson hints at what the future can look like, all-year-round farming, especially in high-value crops, Brazil already offers that now. So why have more UK and other Northern Hemisphere startups not made the move? Because Brazil is still a hard nut to crack.

A company can have strong technology and still struggle if it does not have the right local partner, the right first customer, the right crop focus, or the right route to market. Brazil is not a place where you just land, translate the deck, and hope things work out.

That is especially true in agriculture. Conditions vary a lot by region, crop, and business model. What works in one market may need real adaptation in another. In some cases, the product fits well, but the go-to-market does not. In others, the issue is pricing, local support, or simply finding the right place to start.

Brazil may offer the scale many foreign AgTech startups are missing at home. But scale on its own is not enough. The winners will be the ones that find the right entry point, the right partners, and the patience to adapt.

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, 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.