The project supports corn and wheat farm growers to increase productivity and, at the same time, keep their costs.
Stara and Yara, a worldwide leader in plant nutrition, announced the distribution of licenses to be used in a year on Atfarm, a Precision Agriculture tool from Yara, for Stara customers that grow corn and wheat. The technology will allow the farmers to monitor their crops and apply nitrogen fertiliser at a variable rate to increase production and consequently increase profit.
“The farmer has been suffering from the impact of the crisis, the stress of the food network and the democratization of technologies for Precision Agriculture can increase the yield and positively impact the profit. At Yara, our goal is to be the favorite partner of our clients. It is caused by the solution offer of high added value and services, such as Atfarm”, says João Benetti, Commercial Director of Yara Brazil.
Stara is a pioneer in Brazil to develop and trading technologies for Precision Agriculture. “Our first product to deliver technology solutions was the Hércules spreader line, the first in Brazil to apply at a variable rate. As a result, it provides savings in fertiliser and boosts yield. We have been working with Yara for 12 years, and now we’re partners in this project”, says Cristiano Buss, Director of Research and Development of Stara.
“The project Nutrir o Brasil (Provide nutrients to Brazil in Portuguese) will boost the efficiency of the calibration curves in the prescription and optimize nitrogen usage. Together, this is an important step to provide this possibility to several farm growers that own Stara spreaders. It is rewarding to be partners in such a project”, says Márcio Fülber, Commercial Director of Stara.
The companies aim to reach up to 5000 farmers, who will have access to the Atfarm functions and create maps of nitrogen application at a variable rate and saving fertilisers and optimizing the nitrogen efficiency, which is highly related to boosting the crop plant productivity. The average gain results are 10%, according to the research carried out by using calibration curves. It represents a yield increase of 5 sacks per hectare for wheat and 10 sacks per hectare for corn without increasing the farmer costs since it keeps the applied nitrogen amount.
“Yara is committed to promoting sector transformation through digitalization. For this reason, we invest even more in opening innovation and innovative efficient digital tools when it comes to resources that make the farmers produce more and optimize the resources they already have. Thereby grow a positive meal future for nature with smart choices and low carbon emission”, says Chantal Ghannam, Director of Digital Solutions of Yara.
“We are giving a huge step through the partnership with Yara and showing that variable rate is indeed an excellent tool to boost yield. Therefore, we can deliver more options for the partner farmers of Stara who will produce more and save inputs and translate it into the satisfaction of our customers”, says the Stara CEO, Átila Stapelbroek Trennepohl.
The farmers can learn more about the partnership at Stara stand in Agrishow, in the city of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, which takes place until April 29th.
About Yara
Yara, the worldwide leader in plant nutrition, provides knowledge to feed the world and protect the planet. To engage in this commitment, the company develops digital farming tools for Precision Agriculture and works with its partners in all the food network value. It was founded in Norway in 1905 to solve the emergent starvation crisis in Europe. It is present in the whole world, with more than 17 thousand employees and operations in more than 60 countries and a common goal: to be the plant nutrition company of the future. In 2020, the company adopted a new global organizational structure, with operations directed to the regional units (America, Europe, Asia/Africa). A unit of Global Plants/Operational Excellence and a new function of Farming Solutions to focus on the client.
In Brazil, Yara is present in all main farming poles – 5 units of fertiliser production and mixers in more than 20 cities and 2 corporate offices. With 6.2 thousand employees, the company seeks to develop sustainable nutrition solutions for all the farmer and crop profiles to cooperate with the agriculture growth and leading role in the country to the challenge of feeding a growing worldwide population. Since its installation in Brazil in the 1970s, Yara has been working to boost the national production of fertilisers to reduce the import dependency of raw-material and, consequently, the final cost of the farmer inputs. The company also offers industrial solutions to reduce pollutants to improve the air quality of the cities.
