Now in its fifth year, the summit returns to São Paulo on June 24-25 where 700 leaders from across the global agtech landscape will meet to drive innovation, collaboration, and investment in the sector.
How can MRV best match tropical realities?
Top of mind this year is how to ensure MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) methodologies reflect tropical realities.
With the Brazil-hosted COP30 fast approaching, South America’s role in climate-resilient agriculture is under scrutiny. MRV improvements are essential to showcase mitigation successes, such as Colombia’s 23.4% methane reduction or Argentina’s 50% cuts through improved livestock efficiency.
But the problem is that South America’s tropical agriculture relies on practices like biological nitrogen fixation, crop-livestock-forest integration, and conservation soil management. These systems often sequester carbon but are poorly represented by global MRV frameworks, which tend to overestimate emissions by using generic factors.
A fireside chat among MRV experts at the summit will explore how MRV can be fine-tuned to be able to better showcase the ecological benefits of tropical agriculture and unlock valuable potential new revenue streams for farmers.
Cooperate or collapse?
South American smallholders face notorious challenges such as price volatility, limited bargaining power, and high input costs. Cooperatives play a big role in addressing these issues by pooling resources, enabling bulk purchases of supplies at lower costs, and securing better prices for products through collective marketing.
But with climate change threatening crops like coffee and cocoa, what more can cooperatives in the region do to promote climate-smart practices? And despite their benefits, cooperatives often struggle with management inefficiencies, member disengagement, and competition from agribusinesses.
Another expert fireside chat at the event will ponder how coops can best ensure transparent governance and tailor support for smallholders to boost sustainable ag.
Will demand for high-value crops hold or fold?
High-value crops play a significant role in Latin American agriculture, contributing to economic growth, food security, and biodiversity. Latin America’s high-value specialty crops like fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs are gaining prominence on the back of rising global demand.
These crops often provide higher profitability compared to traditional staples like soybeans or maize. For example, quinoa and cañihua, native to the Andes, have become globally popular, boosting incomes for small-scale farmers in Bolivia and Peru.
But despite their potential, these high-value crops face hurdles. Infrastructure gaps like poor transportation and storage facilities can limit market access, especially for smallholders. Droughts and soil degradation threaten yields, particularly in regions like Brazil’s Cerrados. Cheaper, mass-produced alternatives dominate consumer preferences, undermining local crops.
Another fireside chat will look at how precision technologies like drip irrigation, moisture sensors, and AI-driven water management systems can optimise water use to enhance the yield and quality of fresh produce crops. Experts will also explore how governments and private sector can collaborate to develop affordable, scalable irrigation technologies that meet the needs of smallholder farmers.
How to accelerate innovation in gene editing and precision breeding
Gene editing is also increasingly pivotal in Latin American agriculture, driving innovation, sustainability, and economic growth. Countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Chile have adopted progressive policies, distinguishing gene-edited crops from GM crops.
Gene editing enhances traits like nutritional content (e.g., biofortified maize) and pest resistance, seen as critical for smallholder farmers. But some nations like Peru and Ecuador ban gene editing due to GMO concerns and others face bureaucratic hurdles.
Intellectual property complexities and uneven R&D funding further slow progress in countries like Bolivia and Paraguay. Meanwhile, gene-edited crops could help meet EU Green Deal demands. However, NGOs remain wary of the risks.
Another fireside chat will bring us up to speed with latest regulatory developments regarding gene-edited crops in South America and look at how regional research institutions are collaborating with global research centers and private biotech firms to create frameworks that support both scientific advancement and commercialisation of gene-edited crops.
Can the biofuel sector keep its foot on the gas?
Biofuels are also playing a big role in Latin American agriculture, offering economic, environmental, and energy security benefits.
Biofuels create new revenue streams by using agricultural by-products and dedicated crops like sugarcane (Brazil), soybeans (Argentina), and oil palm (Colombia). This boosts rural employment and reduces poverty. Countries like Brazil have become global leaders in ethanol production, attracting foreign investment and enhancing trade balances.
Biofuels are proving a transformative sector in Latin American agriculture, but their success hinges on sustainable practices and equitable policies.
Another fireside chat will explore how farmers can participate in carbon markets by incorporating biofuel production from waste streams and energy crops. Experts will ponder which innovative policy mechanisms, such as carbon pricing, tax incentives, and renewable fuel mandates, have proven effective in South America, and ask what lessons can be learned from these successes?
