*By Samantha Graiki Proença and Denny Thame

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The legal framework for bioinputs in Brazil was approved by the Senate's Environment Committee (CMA) on September 13, 2023, 7 days before Minister Marina Silva's announcement about the correction of the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), at the Climate Ambition Summit.

Bill No. 3,668/2021 , authored by Senator Jaques Wagner (PT/BA), provides for the production, registration, commercialization, use, final destination, research and experimentation, as well as incentives for the production of bioinputs for agriculture, including production for consumption on rural properties.

According to the National Bioinputs Program , biological inputs include products, processes or technologies of biological origin used to combat pests and diseases that attack agricultural, aquaculture and forestry production. They include everything from inoculants, plant growth promoters and biofertilizers to, for example, products for plant and animal nutrition, promoting sustainability and increased productivity. Therefore, bioinputs can replace pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

According to the Senate Agency (2023), the legal framework will contribute to the transition from the use of chemical inputs to natural ones, in addition to reducing the country's great dependence on imported synthetic fertilizers. This is a significant advance, since there is no specific legal framework for bioinputs in Brazil. Currently, Federal Law No. 14,785 of December 27, 2023, which repeals the previous legislation known as the “Pesticides Law”, applies to this topic. However, the fact is that bioinputs are very different from pesticides, especially with regard to their environmental impacts.

The bill takes this difference into account and also classifies bioinputs into three categories of producers: commercial biofactories, on-farm biofactories and production units – the last two referring to production for own consumption, but with different rules.

The proposed legislation also highlights the environmental advantages of bio-inputs, in line with the 2030 Agenda and Low Carbon Agriculture, in order to indicate the relevance of these products in tackling climate change and for Brazil's global repositioning in environmental issues.

Within the scope of Low Carbon Agriculture, the Sectoral Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change and Low Carbon Emissions in Agriculture (ABC+ Plan) is a strategic agenda of the Brazilian government that aims to promote adaptations to climate change in the field, strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of production systems and, ultimately, controlling GHG emissions from agriculture.

Integrated into the country's climate governance agenda, the ABC+ Plan is one of the sectoral policies to combat climate change and is aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals , particularly its goals 2 and 13, which refer, respectively, to the eradication of hunger and sustainable agriculture and action against global climate change.

The ABC+ Plan proposes, through an integrated landscape approach, the encouragement of the adoption and maintenance of sustainable production systems, practices, products and processes, which include Direct Planting of Vegetables, Irrigated Systems, Intensive Finishing, Integration Systems, Practices for the Recovery of Degraded Pastures, Animal Production Waste Management and Bioinputs, including Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) and Plant Growth Promoting Microorganisms (PPPM). The goal is, through these instruments, to reduce, in total, approximately 1.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalents, by the year 2030.

The exponential growth of biodefensives in Brazil and around the world has driven the creation of the National Bioinputs Program, established in 2020 by Federal Decree No. 10,375 , with the aim of expanding and strengthening the use of bioinputs in the country to benefit agriculture.

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) confirms that microorganisms have multiple positive impacts on agriculture. Replacing synthetic fertilizers in whole or in part makes it possible to significantly reduce Brazil's external dependence on inputs, while also helping to preserve water sources, biodiversity, and the health of farmers and soils.

Furthermore, the use of bioinputs is an action against climate change, as it provides an opportunity to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas (GHG) with high global warming potential, released during the chemical synthesis and processing, transportation and use of chemical fertilizers. In the meantime, Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) is used on a large scale in Brazil, especially in soybean cultivation. The technology is recognized worldwide and its constant use demonstrates its benefits in agriculture.

The first BNF studies in Brazil began in 1920, but slowed down due to lack of economic relevance. These studies resumed in the 1950s, using strains from North America and Australia, and interest in the topic only increased with the expansion of soybean cultivation in the country. Over the years, research has shown that microbial processes promote plant nutrition and provide productivity in the field and greater resilience, in addition to increasing the use of soil water reserves. Regarding the mitigation of GHG emissions, it was found that Biological Nitrogen Fixation in soybean cultivation (2020/2021 Harvest) prevented the emission of 206 million tons of CO₂ equivalents into the atmosphere by not using nitrogen fertilizers.

This recognition as a mitigation tool means that bioinputs are incorporated into Low Carbon Agriculture as one of the sustainable technologies and/or processes applied, initially, in the ABC Plan (2010-2020) and, now, in the ABC+ Plan (2020-2030), adding other Plant Growth-Producing Microorganisms (MPCP), in addition to Biological Nitrogen Fixation.

Scientist Mariangela Hungria, a researcher at EMBRAPA Soja and member of the National Institute of Science and Technology in Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms (INCT-MicroAgro) , highlights the relevance of bioinputs for the economy in soybean production in a chapter written by her and Marco Antonio Nogueira in a recent EMBRAPA publication on Biological Nitrogen Fixation.

Hungria and Nogueira (2022) state that Brazil imports more than 80% of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium consumed in agriculture, which increases the costs of the sector's processes due to exchange rate fluctuations. They exemplify that, considering the exchange rate of US$ 1 corresponding to R$ 5.4759, at a cost of US$ 0.91 per kg of urea - the main source of nitrogen used in Brazil -, the cost of nitrogen fertilizer would be US$ 462 per hectare (values from January 2021). In contrast, the average cost of the inoculant - a product composed of nitrogen-fixing bacteria - would be US$ 0.86 per hectare. Therefore, if applied to the 38.526 million hectares cultivated with soybeans in Brazil (2020/2021 Harvest), there would be a saving of US$ 17.88 billion.

Thus, reducing the import of nitrogen inputs and their consequent replacement by microorganisms can provide greater profitability for agribusiness, favor the reduction of GHG emissions and, at the same time, contribute to carbon sequestration in soils.

Furthermore, as part of climate adaptation policies, they can contribute to greater food security, avoiding disasters like the one Rio Grande do Sul is suffering, the consequences of which on food production have yet to be quantified.

In this sense, it should be noted that chemical inputs emit GHGs in two ways. First, during their production and international trade. This is because both the industrial process and maritime transport require energy, which is supplied by fossil fuels, with very rare exceptions in which renewable sources are used.

According to scientists, during use, chemical compounds can release GHGs when they are applied and come into contact with air or water. The most significant example is nitrogen fertilizers, which react with organic matter in the soil to produce nitrous oxide (N2O), a GHG that is about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). It is no wonder that, in the case of Brazil, this type of input is one of the main causes of GHG emissions from managed soils, as demonstrated by the survey by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals Estimation System (SEEG, 2023) based on the blue curve at the bottom of the graph below.

Figure 1: GHG emissions from the agricultural sector in Brazil

Source: SEEG, 2023

Bioinputs are advantageous because, in addition to generating insignificant GHG emissions when used, they promote an increase in the amount of organic matter and improve soil health. This provides greater productivity, more photosynthesis and carbon sequestration, thus leading to greater sustainability in agricultural activities. The advantages of biological nitrogen fixation in legumes can be seen in the comparative table below.

Figure 2 : Main advantages and disadvantages of using nitrogen fertilizers and the biological N₂ fixation (BNF) process in legumes.

Source: Adapted from Hungria and Nogueira, 2022 .

AGROICONE (2020) points out in one of its analyses on low-carbon agriculture that, between 2007 and 2009, Biological Nitrogen Fixation mitigated 17.98 to 19.47 million Mg CO₂ equivalent, which represents 169 to 182% of the Brazilian commitment made in this regard in the ABC Plan. This demonstrates the success of the technology in question, especially in soybean cultivation, which can even support the recovery of degraded areas.

Within the scope of the ABC+ Plan, for bioinputs, the proposal is to apply Plant Growth-Producing Microorganisms in an area of 13 million hectares by the year 2030. This corresponds to a mitigation potential of 23.4 million Mg CO₂ equivalent, a very significant number.

The direct impact of bioinputs on reducing GHG emissions from agriculture is one of the priorities in INCT – MicroAgro’s research projects. Researcher Segundo Sacramento Urquiaga Caballero (EMBRAPA Agrobiology) states that the institute continues to advance in the evaluation of bioinputs applied to legumes and grasses, particularly the bacteria recommended in the inoculants in use. The contribution of microorganisms and beneficial microbial processes continues to be verified and serves to support their application in Brazilian agriculture.

In this sense, a study containing relevant results was published in 2022. Scientist Melissa Obando and other researchers evaluated the emission of nitrous oxide by soybeans inoculated with different strains of Bradyrhizobium, a species of symbiotic bacteria used in South America to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The study reaffirms that Biological Nitrogen Fixation is economically advantageous in relation to the use of chemical fertilizers in soybean crops, emitting notably smaller amounts of nitrous oxide, in addition to contributing to greater sustainability in the field. The results of the study were analyzed and summarized by Caballero in the following terms:

Opportunities, actions and research continue to flourish, creating important connections and partnerships in Brazil. At the heart of the National Bioinputs Program, the Bioinputs Innovation Network was established with the aim of bringing together on a single platform, called Catalisa Hub, those who have collections of microorganisms that enable the development of sustainable products for agriculture, strengthening networks related to the bioeconomy.

The main agenda of the National Bioinputs Program includes updating standards; promoting good production and use practices; encouraging technical training and education; encouraging the implementation of biofactories; fostering research, development and innovation; and providing credit incentives to producers through the Harvest Plan. Under the same umbrella, some states already have their own programs related to bioinputs, such as Goiás and Mato Grosso, while others are still moving forward with proposing bills on the subject.

In October 2023, Minister Carlos Fávaro, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), participated in the Bioinputs in Agriculture Forum at the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), whose focus was soil fertility, potentialization of environmental gains and sustainability in agriculture. The event brought together experts, researchers and players from institutions who discussed the subject in 4 panels, discussing the national and global market scenario for bioinputs, regulations and public policies, as well as biodefensives; biofertilizers and bioinoculants.

The challenges related to tackling climate change and implementing Low-Carbon Agriculture are numerous and complex, involving different actors, strategies and actions. However, food and nutritional security must be considered. Procedures for promoting public policies and sustainable practices in agriculture in Brazil continue to be improved in line with the global recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and FAO's Climate-Smart Agriculture.

However, as FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized,

This is because such activity depends on the availability of natural resources and the climate, and disasters related to extreme weather events can weaken both food security and the sustainability of food systems.

Thus, in addition to making production systems more resilient through adaptation and mitigating GHG emissions, it is urgent that successful low-carbon agriculture technologies are accessible not only to large producers, but also to small and medium-sized producers, improving performance in the field, generating sustainable development, both for those in the field and for other links in the agri-food chain, thus contributing to generating greater food security with less environmental impact and, with it, bringing economic development within planetary boundaries.

In this sense, the new legal framework for bioinputs represents important progress in consolidating good sustainable practices with proven potential to fully or partially replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides, contributing to the mitigation of GHG emissions in agriculture and improvements in the country's food and nutritional security.

* Denny Thame researches sustainable circular bioeconomy at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo and is a member of LACLIMA.

* Samantha Graiki Proença – Geographer and educator, specialized in Geography Teaching from UNESP and Environmental Management from ESALQ-USP. She participates in the International Climate Resilience Research Network (RIPERC) and the Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (ESALQ-USP), through which she develops studies on public policies for Low Carbon Agriculture. She is a climate reality leader for The Climate Reality Project Brazil, a volunteer at the Atibaia Socioenvironmental Collective and the Families for the Climate movement.

Article publication date: 05/23/2024

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of LACLIMA.