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.
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.