Playing a decisive role for the food industry, through the production of sugar, and stimulating the diversification of the Brazilian energy matrix, with the generation of bioelectricity and biofuels, the sugar-energy sector faces challenges that increasingly demand the adoption of strategies capable of combining technology and sustainability.

And as one of the largest sugarcane processors in the world, BP Bunge Bioenergia has been using agricultural practices and field management solutions that increase productivity and minimize negative impacts on the environment. Based on investments in research and development guided by an agenda that values the circular economy, we ensure that the sustainability of our products is based on operational efficiency with a long-term vision.

In this sense, there is a whole set of actions that range from increasing the use of bioinputs , organic matter and pre -sprouted seedlings in crops, to alternatives to reduce the application of chemical pesticides, qualify biological control and promote the rational use of irrigation. Thus, a fundamental initiative involves the goal of eliminating, in planting, the use of mineral fertilizers by 2025, valuing vinasse and compost in soil nutrition.

Regenerative agriculture as a differential: Applied locally, vinasse, one of the by-products of sugarcane processing, makes it possible to avoid the use of water in irrigation and protect the quality of the soil, preventing the fields from saturating with potassium. Of the 300,000 hectares owned by BP Bunge Bioenergia, around 80% already use the residue, capable of extending the longevity of the sugarcane field by two years and bringing productivity gains of between three and ten tons per hectare.

The results are encouraging and by 2025 we project to increase this application to 96% of crops. Along the same lines, in the 2022 and 2023 harvest, we managed to replace the use of nitrogen fertilizers in 100% of the planting area, expanding the presence of the bacteria nitrospirillum amazonense. The solution collaborates with nitrogen fixation and sugarcane development, increasing productivity in the fields.

In addition, in 100% of the ratoon areas, the bacterium azospirillum brasilense is used , a biostimulant that inhibits nutritional stress and diseases and limits climate impacts. This practice has already made it possible, for example, to reduce nitrogen doses by 50%.

Present in the DNA of BP Bunge Bioenergia, regenerative agriculture relies on various techniques that protect the health and fertility of the soil and favor biodiversity. Among them is composting, where we can improve the condition of the soil and have a productivity increase of between 10 to 15 tons per hectare.

In this way, in the last harvest year, we started to standardize the compost yards for the mixture of filter cake (derived from the filtration of sugarcane juice) and bagasse ashes (derived from burning to generate bioenergy), by 2025, the goal is produce organomineral fertilizers from these organic materials and eliminate, in planting, the use of mineral fertilizers, such as phosphorus and potassium.

Good for the industry, better for the environment: Another significant axis in the search for excellence in agricultural management is the biological control of pests. In our 11 plants, we use drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, among other technologies, to distribute the larvae of the cotesia wasp flavipes in sugarcane fields, aiming to fight the borer (larva that causes great productivity losses in crops).

In the fight against leafhopper and s phenophorus levis (sugarcane boll weevil), the company uses, respectively, the fungus metarhizium anisopliae and the technology of entomopathogenic nematodes ( heterorhabditis bacteriophora ), where it is a pioneer and has excellent results.

In order to boost productivity in sugarcane fields, planting with pre -sprouted seedlings is very effective, important to ensure traceability and reduce costs. At the Pre-Sprouted Seedling Production Center, Moema unit, in Orindiúva, São Paulo, we generate around 3.4 million sugarcane seedlings per year, taking into account the specificities of each of the 11 units of the company.

This process leverages confidence in the origin of the material and provides healthier plants with 20% faster growth compared to other planting methods. Finally, it should be noted that the reduction in the collection and consumption of water and the quality of water resources are part of our sustainable agenda, present in the goals “Our 2030 Commitments”, which aim to guarantee the rational use of this resource in our agroindustrial processes.

Both to mitigate climate impacts and to maximize productivity in the fields, our water deficit mitigation management focuses on harvest organization and on the conscious expansion of irrigation and fertirrigation (without localized vinasse), helping with sprouting and improving the production cycle. In the last season (22, 23) the application of water or vinasse reached approximately 60% of the planted area.

In addition to harvesting and irrigation management, other practices are constantly used to promote root growth, such as, for example, the incorporation of organic matter, crop rotation, application of organomimeral fertilizer and development stimulators . It is important to point out that the use of wastewater and vinasse in the fertirrigation process also allows us to have less demand for capturing water from watercourses, for irrigation purposes.

Achieving high levels of productivity, in line with a sustainable development project, requires commitment, investment, research, technology. It requires advancing in best practices, efficiency and identifying opportunities. Our commitment to being a world reference in the production of sustainable energy goes through some of the techniques briefly highlighted in this space, which should gain even more strength in the coming harvests, aiming to build a low carbon future with the economy of financial and environmental resources.