Bayer, Embrapa And Experts Present Scientific Advances To Boost Low-Carbon Agriculture

At an event last Wednesday (4), companies launched version 2.0 of a calculator to measure carbon footprint and predictive model to estimate organic matter stock in the soil

São Paulo /PRNewswire/ - In order to advance the construction of an ecosystem for even more sustainable tropical agriculture, combining science and co-creation, Bayer held in Campinas (SP) last Wednesday (4 ) the second edition of Carbon Science Talks. The technical event, aimed at academics, companies, consultancies and partners of the PRO Carbono program, was attended by 24 speakers, as well as researchers and regulatory agencies from around the world, to discuss new solutions based on nature, tools and scientific advances linked to to the future of the carbon ecosystem in agriculture.

Among the new features are two tools developed from the multinational's partnership with Embrapa. One of them is the evolution of the Footprint PRO Carbono calculator, which had its first version launched in May this year. The solution uses an internationally recognized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to quantify emissions and measure the carbon footprint of soybean crops and, now, corn. In addition to the calculator, those present were able to learn first-hand about the PRO Carbono Predictive Model, which will allow producers to simulate the impact of management interventions in relation to CO₂ stocks in the medium and long term.

These new advances reinforce Bayer's commitment to facing the challenges of climate change and food security, in addition to reflecting the importance of working together with partners in building regenerative agriculture, according to Fábio Passos, director of the Carbon Business from Bayer to Latin America.

"We understand that a transformation of current agricultural systems is necessary, paving the way for greater adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, which allow producing more, with fewer resources and regenerating more ecosystems. Innovations such as those introduced in Science Talks will certainly contribute to the challenge to deliver productivity and profitability gains to farmers, while providing concrete benefits to the environment", says Passos.

Both the new version of the Footprint PRO Carbono calculator and the PRO Carbono Predictive Model will be made available within the Conecta PRO Carbono platform, responsible for gathering, aggregating and processing data from properties participating in the project with a transparent and friendly interface, grouping georeferenced information, social analysis environmental information, satellite images, land use history and agricultural operations data.

Perfecting the measured footprint
In May this year, Bayer, in partnership with Embrapa, ADM and ten producers from the Cerrado and Amazon biomes, launched PRO Carbono Commodities, a program that, for the first time, presented a load of Brazilian soy with a measured, tracked and free from deforestation (DCF – Deforestation and Conversion FREE Soy). The Footprint PRO Carbono calculator was one of the tools that made the program viable, as it processes data to assess the environmental impact related to the commodity's greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Renata Ferreira , leader of carbon business enablers & certifications for Latin America at Bayer, there has been a process of continuous improvement since the launch of the first version, in May this year, with the support of a panel of experts from Europe and Europe. Latin America. "This team was responsible for evaluating all of the calculator's features and opportunities for improvement, which allowed us to reach more assertive diagnoses, achieve a better analysis of environmental impacts and be aligned with the main international standards", she says.

The tool, developed through a partnership between Bayer and Embrapa Meio Ambiente, was previously only available for soybean cultivation. Now, the solution also involves measuring the impact of carbon emissions on corn crops. "The improvements implemented in the calculator after evaluation by experts enable the results to become even more precise and realistic for tropical agriculture, allowing assertive diagnoses, greater transparency in the chain, better analysis of environmental impacts, in addition to contributing to better decision-making by farmers", says Marília Folegatti, researcher at Embrapa Meio Ambiente and one of those responsible for the project.

This second version also increases the scope of parameters that enter into the footprint calculation, such as irrigation, energy and grain drying processes, starts to consider the impact of organic fertilizers and allows the use of satellite image data for change detection of land use, delivering a more accurate result. Until then, the impact referring to the municipality in which the property is located was used.

The calculation carried out by Footprint PRO Carbono is based on an internationally recognized methodology, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and takes into account the emission by different variables throughout the chain, from the extraction of natural resources, the production of inputs (such as seeds and fertilizers) in the industrial phase, the application of these inputs in the field, energy consumption, even fuel expenditure in transporting production after harvest and the grain drying process.

Having solutions that allow for increasingly precise measurement, with traceability and transparency, is a very important prerogative towards the decarbonization of the commodity trading chain – one of ADM's priorities, as explained by André Germanos, ADM's Carbon Manager for Latin America .

"We have sustainability as the basic foundation of its operations and as a pillar of its growth strategy. This principle is transversal and directly contributes to our purpose of feeding the world, protecting nature and enriching lives. Our actions in regenerative agriculture, sustainability, traceability and environmental protection, are an integral part of the support given to both rural producers and end customers in our value chain on the journey towards an increasingly green economy", says Germanos.

Lower cost, higher precision
Another new feature presented at Carbon Science Talks, which will also be integrated into Conecta PRO Carbono in the future, is the PRO Carbono Predictive Model, led by researcher Luis Gustavo Barioni , from Embrapa Digital Agriculture. The tool will help farmers estimate the current carbon stock in the soil of their properties and simulate the future impact of interventions adopted in management in terms of CO₂ sequestration and emissions.

One of the objectives of the solution is to reduce the number of soil analyzes and the costs of quantifying the carbon stock, without compromising the accuracy of the estimates. Through more efficient data collection, producers will be able to work with different scenarios to understand which management practices can sequester more carbon and how to do so more economically.

The tool, still in the development phase, performs calculations based on modeling that processes data entered by the farmer about their production, climate, culture, property size, satellite images, management history and other information. "Armed with local data, the solution provides producers with better estimates of carbon stocks in the soil than those based solely on field sampling. The tool also allows for more assertive predictions that make it possible to optimize management and obtain an even greater and more cost-effective capture of lower marginal carbon abatement", says Barioni.

Solutions that help break down technical and scientific barriers contribute to Bayer having more assertive and scalable strategies for reducing emissions and carbon sequestration, according to Fábio Passos. "This type of partnership is an essential part of our global sustainability strategy, including our initiative launched this year to protect forests, which will deliver other actions to expand the generation of positive impact in the agricultural chain, helping agriculture to assume an even greater role more protagonist in the protection of biomes", he concludes.