Uncertainty about credit is the problem in Brazilian agriculture, says president of New Holland

The lack of predictability in the release of agricultural credit is the main obstacle for Brazilian agribusiness, as it does not allow rural producers to plan in the field.

The statement is from the Italian Carlo Lambro, world president of New Holland, one of the giants in global agro, for whom Brazil has an advantage over other countries for being able to produce the off-season and for having agronomic solutions and very advanced economic practices. in the field, which means, in his assessment, that he will have a “very, very positive future”.

“Honestly, the only issue that causes difficulties in our operation in Brazil is the issue of financing, BNDES. We are part of a very long supply chain. […] If it stops, we have difficulties everywhere. I’ve been coming to Brazil for many years and we’re always waiting, at this point, for the Safra Plan,” he said.

According to Lambro, for a company like New Holland, which produces and sells 35% of the harvesters it manufactures in the world in Brazil, production and delivery plan management is difficult with the annual scenario of uncertainty.

“If I were sitting at the Ministry of Economy or Agriculture, at that moment, with this difficulty in another country, with this production difficulty, with this agricultural issue, I would encourage it. After all, the problem is not knowing if the interest is 15 %, 18%. It’s knowing how to plan.”

Director of the brand’s Brazil Market, Eduardo Kerbauy agrees and said that a common denominator among the various manufacturers operating in the country is predictability.

“Regardless of how much, but when it starts, when it ends. We know, it will start in July, but the amount, the interest part [não]. If we had predictability, whether it’s good or bad news, the farmer will plan and do it. This is our demand, our agenda, to have greater predictability.”

This uncertainty becomes a bottleneck for the sector, according to Kerbauy, because the entire chain is prepared and it is not known how the market will react as it is not possible to see the scenario until the end of the year.

Regardless of the economic scenario, the brand has presented, in the resumption of trade fairs in the country, the tractor powered by biomethane, equipment that, in Lambro’s assessment, will serve mainly medium-sized equipment in the future, while the small ones should be electric and the larger ones, powered by hydrogen.

The cost of a tractor powered by biomethane is, on average, 40% higher than a similar one powered by diesel, in an investment that the company claims will be recouped in about two years, depending on the use made by the buyer. “The need for alternative energy is everywhere,” he said.

In addition to overcoming the historic delay in agricultural credit announcements, Lambro said that Brazilian agribusiness will develop with an even more efficient harvest, which means that connectivity in the field needs to advance.

More than 70% of Brazilian rural properties do not have access to the internet, according to data from the ConectarAgro association, which was created by manufacturers to take the signal to rural areas and remote areas of the country.

This means that, even if the producer has a machine that analyzes data in real time, the lack of internet does not allow the immediate transmission of information, delaying decision-making in the field, especially in large agricultural conglomerates.

ConectarAgro is made up of around 30 companies, including competitors such as AGCO (Massey Ferguson, Valtra and Fendt) and CNH Industrial, which in addition to New Holland has brands such as Case.

“Increased productivity is not just about increasing the availability of machinery and how we harvest, but also how efficient the harvest is. The digital world is much more economical. There are operators [manuais] very good, but sometimes it doesn’t reach the level of artificial intelligence. Infrastructure is a very important thing and it has to go step by step.”

Kerbauy also said that the program, in which 30 companies participate, has social benefits as it is an open network and allows the connectivity of regions around rural properties with antennas.
Since the program’s launch three years ago, more than 600,000 people have connected.

Industrial CNH

Founded: 2013 as CNH Industrial, which encompasses brands such as Case, from 1842, and New Holland
Revenue: $17.8 billion (2021)
Factories in the world: 38
Number of employees: 35 thousand worldwide
Main competitors: John Deere, AGCO, Caterpillar and Volvo