Brazil AgTech Report: Bio Breakthrough, Coffee Credit, Dairy Data, Chocolate Carbon
#75 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, 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.