Development and innovation in Colombian agriculture is one of the bases of Bayer’s agenda. This company plans to invest about 10 million euros in the plant they have in Barranquilla so that it continues to consolidate itself as one of the largest in the region.
(Read: Milk processors ask Minagricultura for measures to address the crisis in the sector)
Manuel Bravo, director of the company’s cropscience division for northern Latin America, explained the new model they are entering, as well as the plans they have for Colombia to open a biotechnological improvement center.
What is the new transformation based on?
A year ago, being very clear about the problem of bureaucracy within the company, the decision was made in Germany to make a change in our CEO. The new leader, Bill Anderson, wanted to attack that issue and we are looking to put the customer at the center.
In our case, to the farmer, in pharma to the patient and in consumption to the consumer. It’s a drastic change that no company the size of ours has made. We think that if we are able to make decisions faster, we will be able to move projects with more agility, bringing more innovation and therefore, the client will prefer us.
(See: Alpina and Alquería reduce milk purchases and worsen the crisis in the dairy production sector)
How is the agricultural business line going?
Our vision is to transform agriculture for the benefit of farmers, consumers and the planet, we tried to bring it much closer to a vision that was customer-centered.
We decided that we want to produce 50% more, restoring nature and scaling regenerative agriculture. The last few years have been very complicated. In this sector the most important variable is the weather and fluctuations make decisions increasingly difficult.
We have to be very attentive to producers to know what is hurting them and try to bring solutions that will help them.
(See also: Currencies from the agricultural sector in Argentina fell 37% in May)
Bayer Courtesy
Is there growth in the division?
In the region, we have done well. We have been able to grow double digits the last 3 years. In 2024 we set an aggressive goal of 10% or 11%. Today we are a little behind because the rains have not arrived in full, a fact that limits applications.
The advantages in the region are that we are diverse in the type of crops, in business models, in the type of farmer and even in the climate. We have a portfolio of options that allows us to mitigate the risks that may come from one side or the other.
Colombia is no stranger to the issue of rains, they have also been delayed. But the planting of potatoes and corn, which are relevant crops for us, have had double-digit growth that has helped us gain market share.
(Read more: Uncertainty grows in agriculture due to the use of parafiscal funds for economic reactivation)
What developments are you working on?
Bayer’s DNA is innovation. We invest as a company in the agricultural part between 11% and 12% of sales, that is, about 2.5 billion euros. We have five focuses: breeding, biotechnology, new phytosanitary and biological products and digital agriculture. We are investing in all of this globally, in the region and in Colombia.
There is a level of investment in northern Latin America alone of 40 or 50 million euros per year to generate these new products. We are looking at options to also do research and improvement work in Colombia for biotechnology issues.
(See more: Agriculture in Colombia: characterization and typologies of those who provide us with food)
Do you plan new releases?
We are thinking about bringing new active ingredients to the market. One called Plenexos and another called Sivanto, very important products in potatoes that allow attacking fungi.
Our bottleneck has to do with health authorities in several countries whose processes are relatively slow. We are making mixtures of already approved products. The process should be simpler as there is a need in the market. We are also going to bring innovation in that sense, and that in both phytosanitary and biological products.
And finally another one that is newer is everything related to digital agriculture. This year we are launching the largest platform we have at the Bayer level, which historically had been in corn and soybean producing and exporting countries, such as Brazil, Argentina and the United States and Canada.
We will launch it in Mexico with the possibility of extending it to our entire region. This is for massive corn crops and we are also testing platforms for vegetables, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.
Corn crop PHOTO: iStock
How is the Colombian market behaving?
The Colombian market, in terms of exports, is the one that is growing the most in Latin America, especially in bananas, coffee and avocado. We have monitoring tools that allow them to know how much residue the different products they apply have.
We accompany the degradation curve, controls and monitoring, so that they have the best combinations, complying with the regulations not only of Europe, but also of the United States, Japan, Asia.
Colombia has grown spectacularly for Bayer and also the country’s agriculture. And in the future it also has a lot of opportunity to continue growing, both in the local market, because today we are not self-sufficient in corn.
(Read also: ABC of the reasons why the price of fertilizers continues to fall)
How are the plants doing in Colombia?
Our Barranquilla plant is one of the two largest in terms of multiproducts in Latin America. We produce around 13,200 tons and we are going to invest 10 million euros in the next 4 or 5 years to keep it at its peak in terms of automation and product quality.
What progress is there in Tupia?
Throughout the new model, La Tupia, in Valle del Cauca, remained one of the two innovation centers in South America. The other is in Brazil. We will accelerate all early stage processes of new active ingredients and mixtures.
There we are starting with our hybrid development team in new tests to be able to produce corn seeds in Colombia. We hope to have our first result of the pilot in the second semester. We believe that Colombia is a great hub to be able to develop this type of projects.
(See: Coffee growers redouble their commitment to grow in the Chinese market)
Agro Taken from Twitter: @elsanoguerabaq
In the seed line, how are they doing?
In terms of production it is very positive. For example, Mexico does not allow genetically modified organisms, so we cannot produce the corn that is sold in Colombia, Honduras, Brazil or Argentina. Today we produce it in Honduras, but it has been growing and no longer gives us more capacity.
A year ago we took on the task of opening a new production area in Colombia that gives us more scale and opportunity to grow. In base research, in terms of germplasm, we have it focused on Mexico for the entire region. But for biotechnology research, we are analyzing the possibility of opening a biotechnology improvement center in Colombia.
(Read: More than 40% of rural lands in Colombia are large estates)
What focuses are there in biologicals?
We are betting like Bayer on biologicals, with all the certifications and the level of investment that we are putting into producing more and better products that allow us to control pests.
It is an important commitment that we have at Bayer and we want to lead this segment for agriculture. In these last three years we have a plant within the region that produces our most important biological product called Serenade. We invested close to 30 million euros to expand its capacity.
(See: Minagricultura activates Fonsa to alleviate debts of coffee producers)
Are you ready for the European Green Deal regulations?
We have had this between our eyebrows for 10 or 12 years, when it was still a bill or a proposal. We were in the talks, and knowing that it was going to come in 2025, we’ve been working on it ever since.
From more specific monitoring processes to applications, certifications, specific agronomic practices to meet the requirements of the European markets in terms of limits, to new products that comply with these restrictions.
