92
Withafinancialbonusscheme,area
devotedtoconventionalsoybeanisgaining
momentuminMatoGrossoasanalternative
tocostsandplantsresistanttoglyphosate
MARKETS THAT OPEN THEIR GATES
One of the factors that makes a difference in the cultivation of conventional
soybean is the plus in the commercial value fetched by the farmers in their
sales to European and Asianmarkets. “We are looking for other markets to
leverage the growth of our domestic production under special conditions, that
is to say, with a financial bonus through the cultivation system”, says Endrigo
Dalcin, president of the The Mato Grosso Association of Corn and Soybean
Producers (Aprosoja-MT) and the Free Soybean Institute.
O
n the verge of being discard-
ed because of the technology
jump brought by the Roundup
Ready(RR)system,whichasso-
ciates transgenic cultivars with
glyphosate herbicide, conventional soybean
bean varieties are making a comeback to the
Brazilian fields. Mato Grosso, largest soybean
producer, devotesmore than 60%of the area
tothistypeofcultivationintheCountry.
The number of arguments is enormous
and strong: smaller production cost com-
pared to genetically modified cultivars;
growing number of glyphosate-resistant
weeds, difficult to control; R$ 15 bonus
per sack of conventional soybean, paid by
most Asian and European importers in the
past season; smaller dependence on pri-
vate international technologies; support
to national research works (public, private)
and rotationofmainherbicide active ingre-
dients, among other factors.
On the grounds of this argument, Mato
Grossowill devote 15%of its area to this sys-
tem in the 2017/18 growing season, accord-
ing to theMato Grosso Agricultural Economy
Institute (Imea).The Mato Grosso Associa-
tion of Corn and Soybean Producers (Apros-
oja-MT) informs that thepercentage is equiv-
alent to 1.2 million hectares, up nearly 10%
from the area of the previous season. In Bra-
zil,theareadevotedtoconventionalsoybean
is around6%, or 2millionhectares.
Arguments in favor of conventional soy-
beanhavepickedupevenmoresteaminlate
July 2017, with the creation of the Free Soy-
beanInstitute(FSI),whichcomprisessectoral
entities, research works and extension ser-
The
present
past
Free Soybean Institute drives the systemforward, but insists onmore technology
of very strong arguments”, he comments.
“Some growing seasons from now, we will
become the largest soybean producer in the
world, but if we follow the present route we
will depend almost 100% on multinational
technologies. For a matter of strategy, sover-
eignty and even food safety, we need to en-
courageBrazil’s researchworks”.
Within this principle, although acknowl-
edging the quality of the available cultivars,
which have achieved productivity rates of
over 70 sacks per hectare in some fields, the
soybean farmers are requiring faster evo-
lution of the productive potential, stabili-
ty, resistance to diseases, insects, climate
stresses and other genetic breakthroughs
responsive to management, resulting into
sustainable fields, with more available op-
tions. “Now, productivity isbeingchokedby
the cost of biotechnology. This dependence
requires us to keep the gates open to other
technologies”, he argues.
Dalcin classifies conventional soybean
as an important tool for field manage-
ment, with positive results in terms of en-
vironmental gains and sustainability of the
supply chain. “Management is more inten-
sified.Animportantcharacteristicisthecon-
trol and resistance of pests. We have weeds
that are getting more and more resistant to
glyphosate, which is a selective control her-
bicide”, he stresses. “And the conventional
seeds bring back the post-emergent herbi-
cides, practically no longer in use, but, with
correct management, they control several
types of resistant weeds”, he explains.
n
vices. “It used to be a strategic program run
by Aprosoja-MT, which, due to its grandiosi-
ty and relevance turned into an entity with a
lifeof its own”, says agronomic engineer End-
rigoDalcin, president of the association, who
wasalsoelectedtopresideovertheFSI.Inhis
view, it is a priority, apart from the structural
organization of the institute, to speed up the
introduction of the system and the dissemi-
nationof technologies toconsolidate it.
“We are going to encourage the supply
chain to keep and expand the area for con-
ventional soybean on the grounds of a set
