Is the future of ag Brazilian? How the country provides fertile ground for farming innovation

Brazil’s agricultural sector is expanding thanks to a combination of free-market trade policies, internal and external investments, and the cutting-edge innovation — whether that’s biological crop inputs, AI, sustainable farming practices, or financial services.

Brazil is one of the fastest-growing ag markets in the world, driven by strong growth in soybeans, beef, and other agricultural products. The country exported a record $169.2 billion worth of agricultural goods in 2025, a 3% increase from the previous year, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

The story of Brazilian farming is “not one of government intervention or land expropriation” but rather a story of productivity, Francisco Jardim, co-founder and managing partner of SP Ventures, told AgTechNavigator at the 2026 World Agri-Tech San Francisco event.

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“Last year, Brazilian GDP grew by anywhere between 2.4 to 2.5%. Agriculture grew by 11% northwards. This means that without agriculture, Brazil’s GDP grew by 1.5%. So, agribusiness continues to be the most dynamic part of the Brazilian economy. It continues to be extremely resilient. It continues to perform even when the rest of the country doesn’t do well, and it continues to deliver productivity, innovation, science-backed breakthroughs,” Jardim elaborated.

As the sector grows, more start-ups are forming and finding success. Last year, 2,075 agtech start-ups operated across 468 municipalities, with 73% reporting growth in key areas, despite high interest rates in Brazil, according to Radar Agtech’s 2025 report.

This is because Brazil provides “a perfect fertile ground to launch new technologies and new innovations, whether digital, powered by AI, or whether biologics,” Jardim noted.

Biologicals are just getting started in Brazil

Biologicals continue to gain ground in Brazil — becoming a billion-dollar market —with room to grow, especially in the fungicide market, Jardim said. Major Brazilian growers, like SLC Agricola, Amaggi, and others, are turning to biologicals due to their “efficacy and economic returns” and not necessarily solely their sustainability benefits, he noted.

“If you look at the fungicide market, it is a $5 billion market. It’s traditionally been dominated by agrochemicals, chemical fungicides. If you look at the new generation of bio-fungicides, driven by Biotrop, driven by Gênica, and other local companies, you see the efficacy of the new bio-fungicides are up there with the chemical fungicides,” Jardim elaborated.

He added, “This is exactly what happened in bio-nematicides and what happened in bio-insecticides. First, the efficacy catches up, then it starts to surpass, as the chemical molecules start to lose efficacy, and then [biologicals] take over.”

Why trade is crucial to Brazilian agriculture’s future

On the trade side, Brazil is opening its agricultural markets amid a wave of protectionism. Earlier this year, a South American bloc of countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, signed a trade deal with the EU to establish one of the world’s largest free trade zones.

France opposed the EU-Mercosur deal due to the impact the deal could have on its domestic farming sector. However, the deal will go into provisional effect on May 1, while a European court reviews the trade deal.

“There’s a clear understanding from Brazilians that a lot of the pushback from Europeans comes from protectionism. French growers [and] Irish beef growers cannot compete with Latin American growers and cattle ranchers. And I think this is an economic issue. I think it’s part of the game. I think we have to take that into consideration — that it’s not an environmental decision — it’s an economic protectionist decision,” Jardim noted.

Despite obstacles with the deal, the trade deal is expected to stand as both sides are primed to benefit, Jardim explained. European consumers will gain access to affordable and high-quality agricultural goods, and South American countries will gain access to the EU market, he added.

“Time has run out. I think the agreement will pass. I think the European Parliament has no more options. They have come to make this hard choice, and I think that it’s going to be an incredible partnership ─ not only for Latin America but for Europeans. They are going to get the best, highest quality food produced anywhere in the world for the best price anywhere in the world ─ this is the merits of Brazilian agriculture,” Jardim emphasized.

Brazil takes control of sustainability narrative

The EU-Mercosur deal comes as some Brazilian ag stakeholders push back on sustainability requirements. At the start of the year, commodity buyers from the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), including Cargill, Bunge, Amaggi, and others, pulled out of the Soy Moratorium, according to Reuters reporting.

A 2006 Greenpeace campaign led to the Soy Moratorium, an agreement to ensure soybeans did not come from deforested land. The 1965 Brazilian Forest Code requires farmers to set aside 20 to 80% of their land as legal reserves, depending on the biome.

In pushing back on the Soy Moratorium and other sustainability metrics, Brazilian farmers are trying to take control of the story, highlighting the work they do on numerous fronts to improve the land that they farm, Jardim explained.

“Brazilians preserve nearly a third of our natural vegetation. Brazilians are by far the biggest users of biologics. Brazil has the most draconian Forest Code for farming in the world, which 99% of farmers adhere. So, when we talk about the pushback, it’s really saying, ‘Okay, we’re not commanding the narrative, but we are the most sustainable, productive, regen ag farming system, and we pay that bill’” Jardim elaborated.