Biological control to change Brazil’s agribusiness in the coming years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil is currently the world leader in the use of biological control in the field. In 2019 alone, over 23 million hectares used the technology, according to EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply).

The agency also disclosed that the global revenue with biopesticides in 2018 reached US$3.8 billion and is estimated to reach US$11 billion by 2025.

According to Decoy Smart Control CEO and biologist Lucas Von Zuben, a developer of biological solutions for pest control, biocontrol represents the future for agribusiness.

“We see a very rapid growth in the use of this type of technology, with expressive growth year by year. It is no exaggeration to say that biological control is the new technological frontier when it comes to pest control,” he says.

He says the market has been advancing based on two main vectors. The first is the result, because the end of a cycle of chemical use has been reached, with the exhaustion of this type of solution due to the resistance that insects have created in the use of these chemical controls, which have failed to deliver the results producers expected. The other vector comes from outside the farm, driven by the consumer market, since the consumption of organic food has been growing.

The use of biopesticides in livestock is an innovative and natural solution, with a system that does not damage the environment. “The technological basis is a concept as simple as it is sophisticated, which consists in using natural enemies to regulate the numbers of plants and animals. It is a process that exists in nature and that we only try to copy in the laboratory,” Von Zuben says.

He also says that there are three natural types of biocontrol, namely parasitoids, predation and pathogens (fungi and bacteria). “Nature is very wise and powerful. This technology harnesses this wisdom and power to solve problems that affect us and has a great impact on the market.”

The agricultural sector loses up to R$10 (US$1.9) billion annually as a result of the harm caused by pests such as ticks, according to Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) data.