Brazil AgTech Report: Apple Alchemy, Passion Potential, Fertilizer Fix, Global Gaze
#73 BAR Brief
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 AgTech Revolution, feel free to reach out in the comments below, or on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to share what I’m seeing on the ground.
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.