What was a topic of discussion between environmentalists and scientists, today is a variable in the equations for projecting results in market trends. Meetings such as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference have a chapter on measures to be taken to mitigate climate change. It is estimated that the average minimum temperature could grow another 2° by the end of the century, with more climate instability and agricultural uncertainty.
Emissions from agriculture, although they do not bear the bulk of the responsibility, could positively offset what is produced by sectors that naturally emit carbon dioxide (energy, transport or industry). Here, Argentina has an advantage: the method spread over more than 90% of the arable land is direct sowing, which is a world model of sustainability.
However, the effect of climate change is also present in the succession of periods of drought with heavy rains. Averages can be misleading, since what characterizes distribution is distribution and its effect on production is only offset by another variable that is good news for Argentine agriculture: the permanent adoption of biotechnological innovations, applied technology and good management practices. of the production. Last year, just over 100 million tons of grains and by-products were shipped, 12% more than the previous year and 0.5% less than the 2019 record. This despite the drought that affected soybeans above all, but which was also favored by the record price in international markets.
Digital niche. Adrian Poletti (title of Increase Agricultural Consulting and from the platform Agtrace), explains that climatic uncertainty is the most important factor in structuring the agricultural business. “There is a natural productive stress in the combination of the area to work and the incidence of the weather, and not only in Argentina. For example, 49 million tons of grain were projected and now expectations have been lowered to 43 million as a ceiling”, he stresses. In his opinion, the growing volatility of the markets is enhanced in the country by short-term policies that take breath away from sustained growth in production.
Innovation is a registered trademark of Argentine agriculture. In the incessant search for productivity, perhaps moved by the fiscal burden resulting from the combination of withholdings, wealth taxes, direct taxes and municipal taxes, but, above all, the existing exchange rate gap, attention is focused on three variables: the good management, optimization in the use of phytosanitary and biotechnological inputs and the unstoppable advance of digitization.
the multinational Bayer, is one of the leading companies in the use of digital agriculture tools to help farmers work more efficiently by combining their experience and knowledge of their fields with tools that collect data from satellites and machines that they themselves generated in their agricultural campaigns. Thus, they provide information presented in an accessible and fast way, which allows them to make better decisions. in your application Climate Fieldview, use science to decide what to grow and use custom-designed seeds based on regions, climates and soil types. At Precision Breeding Projectfor example, managed to generate a data warehouse that collects genetic information from all over the world.
For his part, Poletti explains that already in 2017 they observed that the phytosanitary issue was getting complicated. “If there is no control of the use of agrochemicals, when it is detected, it is done at the destination and if there is a problem, it is already late,” he recalls.
Information. In the case of Xaviusfor example, is a digital agriculture application developed by BASFwhich helps optimize production. Hernan Mora, the commercial leader of the firm for Argentina and Uruguay, emphasizes that the company opted for the digitization of the sector to increase efficiency through tools (satellite information and predictive models) and also a better use of inputs, in turn in full biotech revolution.
For Mora, having a long series of data and details of the performance of each zone and the precise moment of the crop allows him to add value by gaining in efficiency, assertiveness and improving the availability of information for decision making. Being more precise allows for a substantial increase in productivity, but it is also very useful to be able to rely on traceability: what is produced and how. “By having a combination of information on the climate, the soil and its history, it allows us to keep a more accurate record of each campaign and predict what will happen with each batch with less margin of error,” he details.
Change cannot be stopped, but it can be incorporated into the margins of uncertainty in a business that is increasingly oriented towards the intensive use of technology.
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