Precision agriculture, crop rotation, no-till and green manuring. Although these techniques are not enough to avoid the impacts of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on fertilizer imports, the alternatives can help reduce the use of the product.
Brazil, which is the fourth largest consumer market for fertilizers, imports around 85% of what it uses, with Russia being the origin of 23%.
With this percentage of imported fertilizers coming from Eastern Europe, the conflict in Ukraine has put agribusiness on alert due to the risk of product shortages.
On several occasions in recent weeks, the Ministry of Agriculture has highlighted that Brazil has a sufficient stock of fertilizers to reach the next crop, which begins to be planted in October. It is from there that the lack of imported products —especially phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen— worries.
In the case of phosphorus and potassium, used in large quantities by agribusiness, the country has few quality mineral sources.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24. Between February 10 and March 10, the import price of MAP (phosphate used in farming) rose 35%. Urea rose by about 50%.
“Certainly, this rise in fertilizer prices should put pressure on producers’ margins in the 2022/2023 harvest,” says Felippe Serigati, from the São Paulo School of Economics, at FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas), and coordinator of the Professional Master’s in Agribusiness .
In recent days, the government has even launched a national plan for fertilizers that points out, among other measures, the need for research into the use of existing mines in Brazil to expand the sources of raw material available, albeit of inferior quality when compared with those of other countries.
To reduce dependence, a solution closer to the current reality is to try to work with nutrient cycling and their reuse, with green manure, crop rotation and integrated production systems.
In green manure, some plant species have the task of preparing and giving nutrients to the soil so that other plants are able to grow.
One way to do this is to plant legumes, as they are rich in fixing nitrogen in the soil and can pass it on to subsequent crops. Rotating crops also prevents the perpetuation of pests.
“Soybeans and legumes, in general, are true nitrogen factories and it is necessary to use imported products more intelligently”, says Jerri Zilli, a researcher at Embrapa Agrobiology.
“Many of the fertilizers that are sold are NPK [nitrogênio, fósforo e potássio]. If mineral nitrogen were abolished from soybeans, where it is not needed, it could fertilize the entire sugarcane crop in Brazil.”
By using crop rotation —in which there is an alternation of species in the same cultivation area— the presence of pests and weeds is also reduced and soil conditions can be improved in the long term.
Another example is that of the agronomist and field manager in Canhotinho (PE), Orlito de Oliveira Júnior, 40, who managed to convince the owner of the farm where he works to use an inoculant to absorb phosphorus throughout the corn crop in the property.
“The alternative was very important, due to the rise in fertilizer prices in recent months. We were gradually reducing the use of conventional products and betting on biological inputs.”
He says that the farm had a 15% reduction in production costs, when replacing traditional fertilization with more concentrated fertilizers and bio-inputs.
“It is still not possible to replace all synthetic products, but the high prices and the possibility of lack of them in the market should increase the use of less aggressive products on the property”, says Júnior.
According to Celso Manzatto, also a researcher at Embrapa, the techniques available today help to make the use of nutrients in the soil more efficient. “We have alternatives, such as rock dust and other materials, that can be used in agriculture. The search for efficiency in use will also be fundamental next year, so that these nutrients can be recycled.”
In the specific case of potassium, the soils in some regions of the country are deficient, and dependence on imports tends to remain high, he ponders.
Another way out is the no-tillage system, in which the objective is to avoid turning the soil as much as possible. It is recommended that this be done only where the seeds are deposited. With no-till, the soil becomes more fertile and nutrients are reused.
The so-called precision agriculture, in turn, avoids the application of inputs in the same amount throughout the property, mapping and evaluating soil conditions so that the producer knows where to use the products more efficiently.
Renato Borges, from Agrointeli, a startup from Mato Grosso do Sul specialized in precision agriculture, recalls that the intensive use of fertilizers causes economic losses, increasing production costs.
“Precision agriculture takes into account the heterogeneity of the soil, applying the most correct amount, according to the needs of each part of the land. The practice ends up converting into economic gain for the farmer, he spends less money on these products and has a cost reduction in the final product.”
Borges adds that the war in Ukraine shows how Brazilian agribusiness cannot wait for the next international crisis to take action.
“It will have greater productivity gains, regardless of the crisis. But it is necessary to put together an efficient action plan in all areas, so as not to allow the lack of fertilizers to become a serious problem in the business. With this, the producer can use and correctly apply pesticides, fertilizers and seeds.”
Reducing dependence on imported fertilizers also involves a strategic plan for the country in the coming years, recalls Zilli.
“Our industry basically mixes imported with national components. In 2010, Brazil had a plan to be self-sufficient in urea by 2015, but many factories were discontinued by Petrobras. It lacked vision and it is necessary to make up for lost time.”
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS REINFORCE FERTILIZER REPLACEMENT
In addition to the economic impacts, reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers also has a positive effect on the environment. Considering direct emissions from agribusiness, the activity that pollutes the most (65%) is enteric fermentation — the popular “ox burp”, but the use of synthetic fertilizers falls into the category that represents 28.8% of the sector’s total emissions.
In 2020 alone, products were responsible for almost 30 million tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The environmental footprint of fertilizers is linked to the release of nitrous oxide, one of the gases that most contribute to climate change.
According to the SEEG (System for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals), an arm of the Climate Observatory, the increase in the use of fertilizers has been pushing up agribusiness emissions.
In 2020, the most expressive percentage growth in emissions from the sector came from managed soils, which was driven by the explosion of synthetic fertilizers.
Even with the pandemic, consumption of the product was the highest ever recorded in the history of Brazil: 5.3 million tons, an increase of 20% compared to 2019. Consequently, emissions from the use of fertilizers also rose: 17, 4% more than 2019.
For Renata Potenza, climate and emissions coordinator at Imaflora (Forest and Agricultural Management and Certification Institute), the search for alternatives to fertilizers has a relevant effect on reducing greenhouse gases.
“When we work with our farms, one of the solutions [que sugerimos] is the replacement of fertilizers by more organic ones or by green manuring. They even have a certain impact in terms of emissions, but it’s much lower than nitrogen fertilizers and urea,” he explains.
According to her, the option for integrated systems —like the ILFP (Integração Lavoura Pecuária Floresta) — reduces dependence on synthetic inputs, but also brings other benefits, such as the absorption of carbon in the soil and trees. “For sure, these solutions will have an environmental impact from the point of view of emissions”, she says.
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