Congress Special Edition - November 2023 by Revista Aapresid

TOPICAL NEWS

EDITORIAL

04 Embracing Carbon

opportunities in favor of a new sustainability

“What happens in Aapresid does NOT stay in Aapresid”

Can we compensate for GHG emissions with C sequestration in No-Till Farming?

Argentine agribusiness potential on climate change mitigation

Worldwide carbon strategies

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Insights on the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation

Bioeconomy, global trends

Worldwide agri-food system, climate and society: a challenge to contemplate together

From the field to the table. Sustainable strategies on agrifood supplying chain

What will production and companies of the future look like?

Regenerative agriculture and Agroecology: two sides of the same coin?

Soil, environment and data: improvements led by the University of Tennessee

The future of plant nutrition: approaching soil health, crop nutrition and climate change

Growing services

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Late corn planting issues in Argentina’s central region: can we improve its management?

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Applying artificial intelligence to weed management

116

Possibilities and strategies for South American meat

EDITORIAL PAGE Embracing carbon opportunities in favor of a new sustainability No one knows as much as what we all know together. Once more, we proved how much we enjoy the experience of meeting to thrive collectively. The 31° Aapresid Congress "C, a life element," was my last Congress as Deputy Director of Aapresid Prospectiva, the area where we place beacons to try to foresee future scenarios. Any expression of appreciation I can show is not enough to convey how deeply grateful I am toward this institution that honored me in leading this management. These years represented in every way a major learning stage in my life, but most of all my hard skills development.

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Predicting future scenarios to become more sustainable is an operation that necessarily demands the cooperation of many people. In my humble opinion, dialogue, conversation and debate concerning possible scenarios about the future is what strengthen us further than investigations on these matters. This is what all these years in Prospectiva meant for me: multiple exchanges with the Congress team, executives, Aapresid programmes managers, staff, partners, members of thematic axes, and internal and external specialists. In addition to institutions, foundations, universities, and an endless list of people always ready to contribute to our prospective vision. At this C Congress, it was clear that the one in charge is the soil. Credits, bonds and other externalities are well received, but more important is to keep an always green, always alive, and always diverse soil. We reassert the immense value that products, software and hardware, as well as new technologies provide to our systems. We also relearn that this value is maximized the more combinative and capable technologies are by coacting with others when integrating them into processes controlling our sustainable production systems. Furthermore, it is evident that we are diverse and that these combinations, these sustainable production "elixirs," varied according to numerous ‘depend’. There are as many ‘depend’ as professionals in the agro-bio-industry gathered at the C Congress.

We were 7899 attendees in total, gathering to say yes to bioeconomy. We met to agree that through communication, education and public policies there are no limits for a living carbon economy. The wealth of our large photosynthetic sink represents an opportunity for Argentina's development. I would like to close by stating a famous quote by José Ingenieros, as I think it could help us understand the value of the moment we are currently living: "Yesterday's utopias nurtured today's reality, just as tomorrow's utopias will throb new realities." Yesterday's utopia was, I believe, no-till farming utopia. Through which we built today's slated sustainability, our current and hurtful reality. However, this current sustainability has proved its strength by assembling many of us despite knowing our differences. This current sustainability has also proved to be resilient, and above all, capable of evolving: we are always willing to move toward a more sustainable reality. Tomorrow's carbon utopia will throb new sustainability. The only thing missing is that we keep increasing our numbers and embracing with respect, conviction and courage all carbon opportunities, our life element. THANK YOU KINDLY!

Nicolás Bronzovich Outgoing Deputy Director of Aapresid Prospectiva

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#TOPICAL NEWS QUO VADIS 10

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"What happens in Aapresid does NOT stay in Aapresid"

Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Aapresid Congress does NOT stay in Aapresid. Once more, reflections on the last edition of the Congress straddled the borders of Rosario, which returned to be the congregant city of this annual encounter.

Jorgelina Traut Journalist and broadcaster

It is usual that the Aapresid Congress leave such an impression, working almost as its leitmotiv. Basically, everything that happens in Aapresid remains in every one of us and in every group coming in a herd, everybody with the sole intention of not missing any details of what is happening there.

You see them. Young people, some very young, others not so much, but they are together, arriving hand in hand and then return to their houses, fields, farms or their agri-SMEs, carrying with them all they saw and learned and what sparked their interests.

The first panel addressed the agrifood world and the large amount of information on the Netherlands and Brazil, including the very familiar history of an Argentinian company still expanding and promoting development.

What happens in Aapresid, leaves with each and every one of you. And don't get me started with QUO VADIS. Let me share with you how I experienced it in the flesh from end-to-end once more.

The spokespersons leading the debate about the world's demands, particularly Europe, were: Kai Purnhagen, from the University of Bayreuth in Germany; Simkje Kruiderink, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands; Andrea Parrilla, Agricultural Attaché Office at the Embassy of Brazil in Argentina; and Ignacio Lartirigoyen from Lartirigoyen & Cía. The panel analyzed the case in the Netherlands as an

Grateful already repeatedly, though never redundant, to the organization for the opportunity to be part of this event and to learn side by side with the rest of the people. Together we look into every story, every career path and every thought.

example of water management and long-term approach, the same analytical scenario when observing Brazil and its last 20 years of common politics for the agri-bio-industry, regardless of governmental changes. Lartirigoyen's case was also stressed by exemplifying the full human capital capacity in Argentina. This panel ushered in what would become a combination of positive emotions that attendees would take with them to "Las Vegas." Afterwards, arose a question somewhat ancient— no offense intended—but which still lingers: "agribusiness? industry? or agro-industry? Right at this moment, we relish by listening to seasoned

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This panel ushered in what would become a combination of positive emotions that attendees would take with them to "Las Vegas."

professionals that, with quite solid arguments, immerse ourselves into deep thoughts that we are eager to transform into meat. Diana Mondino urged us to leave aside dichotomy, by weighing that always have, are and will be "agribusiness and industry." On the other hand, Teddy Karagozian's suggestions, among others, aimed at hiring people from private employment. Certainly, these views came to unify rather than to separate. With some differences on the ‘how’ but without much opposition, it was a setting where everything coincided with the course the country might take.

There was a third great and final moment at the QUO VADIS that is so moving to me, just before the closure of the Congress and the final picture. It was the time to address the question: "Is it a country with place for everybody?" At that moment, I felt a lump in my throat, it was a mixture of feelings between pain and opportunity. The feeling of both "I want to hug you because of what you decided to go through to help others" and "I want to hug you because it fills me with hope to know a different Argentina is possible, with place for everybody!" The brave leaders of this panel were: Florencia Galimberti, from the Local Innovation Network (RIL in Spanish); Lucas Amadeo, founder of Jornaderos Agro; Catalina Hornos, from Haciendo Camino; and Evelyn Coronel, from Aapresid Joven. Their

"I want to hug you because it fills me with hope to know a different Argentina is possible, with place for everybody!"

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stories moved the entire audience and planted that always intact seed of hope, that seed always ready to be in contact with the land and perform photosynthesis. They were the ones in charge to cause us goosebumps once more. Lucas' energy, who proved that to just open up and watch somebody else' necessities can help us understand how to improve people' lives and connect them, as they do, with young people—those newly graduated from agronomy studies, who are very ambitious but usually unaware of what awaits for them beyond books. Florencia's enthusiastic presence, who, from RIL, assist in a daily work with every city council and group of people willing to change the fate

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of the city they live in, and whose popular vote has or will put them to work before long. With her originality and goodwill to take part and keep growing in the seedbed that is Aapresid Joven, Evelyn conveyed the audience about each member's daily work and unavoidable commitment. Catalina, a representation of pure love, unwavering dedication and commitment in favor of teenage mothers and their premature babies, fighting against the lack of information, the real and palpable illiteracy, and the extreme and indiscriminate poverty. Despite most adverse situations, she is still devoted and eager to keep accompanying, not by asking how far, but what else can she do to help.

It is hard not to feel moved by any of the represented situations. It is difficult not to grasp when I spoke about a lump in the throat and the feeling of the heart getting bigger, as it discovers there is more place to help other people. Now I want to conclude with the premise I highly proclaim: "Take over." Recently, I editorialized in Campo Minado by Radio Perfil about this pre-mise, however, today makes more sense than ever. In addition to knowing, recognizing and empathizing with somebody else' hardships, the challenge is offering solutions that can help them regarding medium-sized problems, at least. Let's imagine if, through our daily work, we sponsor or dedicate even a little of our time and the resources we have to help others, then what would happen? How many people would we be? How many people would have the chance to study, to grow, to thrive or to form a family? As the song says, Cómo sería? (In English meaning How would that be) I think it would be great, almost utopian. Although, let me tell you that dreams can come true. This group of young people has already done their part by signing a cooperation agreement for joint activities.

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Let’s dream we can make it work. Let's transform Argentina into a place for everybody. Do not leave all of this at the QUO VADIS panel, make it a slogan for today and tomorrow, so that... "what happens in Aapresid does NOT stay in Aapresid." As it has been up until now, let it follow the path as a community and let it materialize in present and future realities.

Can we compensate for GHG emissions with C sequestration in No-Till Farming? On the first day at the congress "C, a life element," Miguel Angel Taboada, Carbon Group Agro-Climatic Solutions SRL and School of Agriculture of the University of Buenos Aires (FAUBA in Spanish), gave us his view about Carbon management within the most typical production systems in the region, the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and those practices needed for increasing soil carbon capture. It is clear that climate change is currently in the world agenda, that is why during the exhibit Taboada started by asking: can we reach carbon neutrality levels? Can carbon compensation neutralize greenhouse gas emissions? Nitrous oxide is the main gas emitted by ecosystems and one of the three emitted globally. Nitrous oxide originates from all the nitrogen entering into the system every year as a result of crop residues on soil, as well as through nitrogen fertilization and, in front of a livestock production system, animal wastes should be considered as another source. A special feature of nitrous oxide regarding carbon dioxide and methane, is that agriculture is the only source of emissions.

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One of the main characters of GHG is carbon dioxide, which is not only emitted by organic matter mineralization in agroecosystems, but also by the burning of fossil fuels. Unlike carbon dioxide, nitrous dioxide is the only gas that can be captured and absorbed through photosynthesis to become part of soil organic matter. In this regard, Taboada said: "[. . .] Much of carbon dissemination in soils is the mechanism we have to monitor carbon storage in lands." He also added: "A large amount of this monitored carbon, set either in soils used for farming or in different forests ecosystems or pastures, is one of the current topics on nature-based solutions to compensate GHG emissions [. . .]"

What is happening with carbon stock in our productive systems? The problem we are currently facing is how to keep carbon stocks stored in our lands, which is not an easy task. Over the past years, Aapresid's headquarter in Bahía Blanca has been conducting comparative studies reflecting the complexity of the situation.

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Firstly, the study revealed that in crop production within agricultural management systems, they lose carbon compared with a natural pasture system. The decline in carbon stocks was higher in fields where farming practices were performed than in those employing no-till farming (zero tillage). Due to various reasons, these farming practices are being implemented again, so we must pay attention as carbon stock could start to decline, alongside already known effects, such as soil structure degradation.

Carbon balance indicated a total of 2200kg of Co2 Eq./Ha. of emissions in tillage systems, whereas in no-tillage systems showed 1740kg of Co2 Eq./ Ha. of emissions. To conclude, this proves that we must proceed with no-till farming to reduce up to 18% of total emissions and to better preserve soil organic matter.

The influence of our practices on GHG emissions and C capture. In our agroecosystems, 25% of GHG emissions are due to agricultural residues; moreover, 40% of emissions are caused by nitrogen fertilizations (urea, use of UAN), although in Argentina is less than 10% of total emissions, as sometimes minerals are replenished in lesser quantities than they are extracted; 27% of soil-emitted carbon is the result of mineralization and fuels burning on sowing, fertilization and harvest procedures. Studies conducted in Pergamino and Rojas regarding rotation intensifying in our agricultural systems, on the basis of two different types of soil and by applying the same rotations, proved that increasing carbon stock in our soils will depend on initial carbon stocks available. Thus, we can confirm that the higher the starting point in the initial stock, the harder it will be to increase organic matter in soils. Soil carbon sequestration capacity differs significantly and one of the managing factors is initial stock. If we compare different rotations, we find that, for example, standard rotation of wheat-soybeancorn-soybean, compared to others, causes less emissions but has low sequestration capacity;

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wheat-soybean-pea-corn rotation, where there is a strong presence of legumes, has major carbon sequestration capacity. Rotations with grass predominance, such as wheat-late corn-wheatlate corn, emit large amounts of nitrous oxide due to their required levels of fertilization, and in cover crops, as well as pastures, emissions are slightly above sequestration levels. Carbon sequestration entails not only carbon in soils, but also how much has been emitted to produce it, known as net emissions, which is the basis for calculating carbon footprint. At the end of the panel, we understood that, if we keep working in agriculture as we always have, total emissions are unlikely to be compensated. It is crucial to emphasize that it is the only agroecological system in the world capable of carbon capturing. Because of that, we should combine the available

means and those proven to have positive endresults, such as the use of cover crops in rotations, no-till farming in crops producing large amounts of residues, and appropriate plant nutrition, so we could compensate all GHG emissions and create systems as close as possible to neutrality.

Argentine agribusiness potential on climate change mitigation Aapresid and Syngenta disclosed the results of a study that reveals carbon sequestration opportunities and climate change mitigation in agricultural Argentinian soils.

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Rosario city, August 10th, 2023. At the 31° Congress, Aapresid and Syngenta showed the first results of an evidence gap map revealing carbon capture potential in agricultural soils and how a widespread adoption of methods, such as no-till farming without stirring the soil, crops rotation with at least 50% of grass, cover crops and balanced nutrition would help approach that potential. Aapresid and Syngenta's conjoint work agreement allowed data collection, reflected within evidence gap maps between current agricultural soil organic carbon (SOC) levels and those achievable and potential levels for every region.

Achievable SOC is the one the producer could aim at if employing the suggested practices intended to increase soil carbon contribution. Whereas potential SOC is constant and represents the maximum SOC level stored in soil, which also depends on elements such as type of soil, texture and depth. Both gap maps were obtained through simulation models projected to 20 and 50 years from now. Among most relevant results, these gap maps revealed that, for average agricultural lands in the country, soils are only at 46% of their SOC sequestration capacity. “Widespread adoption of practices, such as

uninterrupted no-till farming, grass in crops rotation, cover crops and balanced nutrient management would help to close the gap between achievable and potential. This would represent a rise of 15-20% of current SOC levels, allowing to mitigate more than half of emissions related to agriculture,” claimed Marcos Bradley, Director General of Syngenta Crop Protection in Latin America South. “Leading this project alongside Syngenta is very important, since it will allow us to know where we stand in relation to SOC levels and what values we can aim at in each region. On the other hand, it is key to understand how we can adjust strategies

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to maximize sequestration in every environment (intensification level, diversification, nutrition, etc.),” said Marcelo Torres, Chair of the Argentine No-Till Farmers Association (Aapresid in Spanish). “Following that path, the contribution of Aapresid's producers that have been employing practices related to sequestration is essential because it leads the way toward that desired ‘achievable’. Finally, this project will facilitate the creation of tools to guarantee our role concerning climate change mitigation and our position in the world,” he added.

"Products generated within the carbon gaps project are "living" products, which will be updated (on an annual or biannual basis) and improved as more producers join this initiative, allowing us to develop more specific and precise information. We need to keep nourishing this map with data and information in order to strengthen it even further. In the short-term, these results will be incorporated into an online platform allowing those interested to enter, visualize generated products and compare their data with current, achievable and potential values," added Marcos Bradley. Carbon gaps distribution (in absolute terms, tC/ ha at 0-11,81 in): (A) Gap between current and achievable levels; (B) Gap between achievable and potential levels; (C) Total gap between current and potential levels.

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Figure. Carbon gaps (tC/ha at 0-11,81 in): (A) between current and achievable levels; (B) between achievable and potential levels; (C) between current and potential levels.

Worldwide carbon strategies The XXXI Aapresid Congress honored its motto "C, a life element" by displaying numerous carbon-related projects being executed all around the world.

Food production is responsible for one-quarter of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions; however, agriculture, livestock and forest production can also be carbon suppliers by making use of photosynthesis to carbonize soils and decarbonize the air. In Aapresid, one of the pillars of this new responsible agriculture is promoting the employment of no-till farming.

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Front: Beltrán Galo Benedit (Bayer)

On the last day of the Aapresid Congress 2023, eminent scientists working on carbon footprints, expound facts about production, politics and society in multiple geographies developing projects for GHG emissions mitigation and carbon capture in soil. They assert the need for public policies that turn these projects into real strategies of change, exceeding governments and engaging all actors of society.

Bayer: developing projects for the world Bayer is developing two types of projects pursuing the implementation of environmental impact measurement protocols. On the one hand, carbon credit projects focused on the employment of sustainable management practices to capture carbon in soil through decarbonization, where plants take CO2 in the atmosphere and set it in the soil. On the other hand, value chain intervention strategies or sustainability services that seek to make processes more efficient and mitigate emissions produced throughout the productive chain. Thirteen countries all around the world already add 4,000 producers and 360,000 hectares employing conservation agriculture or sustainable intensification practices. These projects are addressed according to production facts in each area, aimed to find main causes of emission and to create practices or methodologies attempting to reduce them. Therefore, in the United States, due to poor

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adoption of no-till systems, producers are encouraged, through a subsidy system, to promote this methodology, along with crop rotation and cover crops. Moreover, a value chain intervention is being developed, in order to streamlining nitrogen fertilizers application in grasses. In Asia, there are two projects involving rice producers centered on rice cycle reduction and water conservation. One of these projects is no-tillage in rice crops and the training of small farmers with the purpose of avoiding strip cropping along with subsequent manual transplanting. The other one is an intermittent irrigation method to reduce water usage and flooding periods that generate methane gas as emission. In contrast, European demand is the result of social pressure, so it is the industry that is taking carbon initiatives. The target is to work jointly with growers of tomatoes, potatoes, wheat and barley, while mapping their systems to create an emissions inventory and search for accurate

practices to reduce these emissions. The same applies to Latin America, where industries and traders are assisting to record supply chain emissions, find the best methods to reduce them, achieve mapped and certified production, and, additionally, have access to a diffrentiated market. "We are certain that to materialize the carbon market for producers, it is imperative to operate in the ecosystem, which means to start working with producers, together with organizations, researchers and the industry," said Galo Benedit, head of Sustainability at Bayer in Argentina.

What is Germany doing in favor of carbon farming? Ludwig Wreesmann is one of the leaders of the German Society for Conservation Agriculture, which, just like Aapresid, plays a significant role in the promotion and improvement of conservation agriculture practices in the region by encouraging more sustainable and resilient farming. This non-profit organization consists of 1,200 members, most of them producers, consultants, researchers and industry partners. Production reality is diverse, from producer owners of 5 hectares each to big farmers of 5,000 hectares, most of them employing no-till farming, but many still using conventional tillage methods, along with seeds ranging from traditional to organic. In addition, it must be taken into account the various edaphoclimatic conditions. "In a broad sense, the important fact is the very poor adoption of conservation agriculture, and there is a lot to do," said Ludwig. In Germany, there are 3 big projects being developed. The first one, called "companion planting"–cover crop for us–, is testing rapeseed sowing interposing peas or other beans. The good thing about these crops is that, in winter, these companion plants get frozen and leave a

vast amount of covering, protecting the soil and letting rapeseed crops benefit from nitrogen. The second one, is called "permanent cover crops", with the basic concept of "always green and always alive soil". Finally, the third one, "increasing soil carbon" is difficult to fulfill due to policies that generalize contracts in favor of carbon sequestration with leasing situations, meteorological hazards and agricultural practices changing every year.

The soil under the spotlight Frank Loeffler, microbiologist at UTK, presents even more unforeseen issues in the production of organic carbon in the soil. Agriculture was once

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art as experience, and now we are moving on to digital agriculture with data science, and plenty of decision-making information.

"We need to place sensors in the soil to measure its microbiology and to understand current processes in order to monitor organic carbon and nitrogen in soil, so that it can be favorable to crops,” said the researcher.

From left to right: Manuel Pereyra Iraola (Aapresid's Moderator), Frank Loeffler (University of Tennessee), Ludwig Wreesmann (German Society for Conservation Agriculture).

The soil is one of the most diverse habitats for microbes, therefore, researchers have been working to find biomarkers that indicate "microbiology is making organic carbon in the soil to increase" or "there is a lot of emissions here". This information, contributing to understanding microbial processes and how we act and work in agriculture, helps us to improve soil health and fight climate change.

Insights on the new European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) The XXXI Aapresid Congress was the setting for the 25° International Oilseed Producers Dialogue (IOPD), which had a panel destined to analyze the new EUDR’s challenges and consequences.

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On the first day at the Aapresid Congress “C, a life element,” took place the 25° International Oilseed Producers Dialogue (IOPD). Supported by Aapresid, Acsoja and ASAGIR, together with other organization representatives and producers from countries all around the world, this side event held discussions related to market trends and technologies connected with oilseeds. Within that framework and moderated by Aapresid's honorary president, María Beatríz "Pilu" Giraudo, the panel titled "Insights on the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation" aimed at sharing outlooks on the new EU regulation against deforestation (EUDR).

In the EU, 90% of deforestation and forest degradation are caused by the expansion of agricultural lands.

To get to know first-hand the details on this regulation, Viktoria Lovenberg, Head of the Economy and Trade Section of the Delegation of the European Union in Argentina, explained the main points and the reasons that inspired its creation. The professional said that the major goal is to reduce deforestation and forest degradation contributions all around the world. Thus, this measure seeks to attenuate the risk of supply chain products related to deforestation from being introduced into the EU market or exported from it. Moreover, it is intended to increase EU demand and market on raw materials and products that are legally certificated and “deforestation-free.” According to information shared by Lovenberg, 420 million hectares of forest were lost globally between 1990 and 2020, which represents a greater area than the entire EU. "90% of deforestation and forest degradation are caused by the expansion of agricultural lands," she said. In this regard, legislation’s cornerstone is due diligence standards for import and export operators of products of the EU market, products that must be deforestation-free.

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What is happening at home? The managing partner of the international market consulting company ESTRATECO, Sabine Papendieck, granted her viewpoint regarding the issues this regulation implies to producers in developing countries, such as Argentina. In spite of the fact that South America recorded a forest net loss of 2.6 million hectares between 20102020, net loss rate decreased substantially as compared with 2000-2010. In this matter, she emphasized that this is important information since it forecasts positive values. "Although there is still a lot to do concerning deforestation, South America is making progress. This is the notion we need to consider, besides taking into account reforestation activities led by developed countries, where we witness reduction commitment with respect to previous decades," she said.

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According to Papendieck's stance, in developing countries it is important to seek economic return from ecosystem services that afforestation implies in order to the feasible development in these regions. "It is important for implemented measures to be ecofriendly as well as sustainable," she stated. She also remarked on the significance of balancing conservation and development, encouraging producers to employ sustainable practices. “To make this effective, we should consider equilibrium, bearing in mind every impact category, different development level and funding,” she added.

Pursuing domestic and regional regulations The need to take into account national and regional regulations was a turning point during the panel, in addition to the strong defense of the region's production systems that conserve and regenerate. Sonia Tomassone, the International Trade consultant of the Paraguayan Grains and Oilseed Traders Association (CAPECO in Spanish), said: “Although this regulation claims that it will respect domestic regulation, due diligence is not clearly defined." “My competent national authority has the legal power in my country where there are actual systems, that is why it is important that the EU regulation acknowledges it. We can adapt it and create equal

systems, as long as they comply with competent national authority and domestic regulations. Every association should be based on mutual trust alongside trusting in each country's authorities," affirmed Tomassone referring to Paraguay. About the responsibility that legislation gives to operators, the speaker described it as "serious". "If operators have any doubt or reason to believe that there is some risk of non-compliance cargo, they can decide to abstain from buying in certain markets. This will cause importers to have no providers left, because the fact is that we are only few, resulting in drawbacks of goods and food availability," she added.

Viktoria Lovenberg, Head of the Economy and Trade Section of the Delegation of the European Union in Argentina

Sabine Papendieck, managing partner of the international market consulting company ESTRATECO

Gustavo Idígoras, Chairman of the Argentine Edible Oil Association (CIARA)

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Similarly, Gustavo Idígoras, Chairman of the Argentine Edible Oil Association (CIARA in Spanish), warned about the economic and social effects of this regulation on exporting countries: "Argentina is a major exporter of soy-based products in the world, and Europe represents only 20% of our target market. However, when the EU asks for a new requirement, we need to assess not only that 20%, but also the totality—100%—of our sales." As he suggested, this regulation does not take into account countries' pre-existing situations. “The recognition of every country's system is important, so we do not have to create something new within 18 months,” he said. Idígoras also regretted the absence of a European law that acknowledges regenerative agriculture. "We are Mercosur's worldwide leaders in regenerative agriculture, which is highly beneficial as regards carbon capture, erosion reduction and fertilizers usage. That is why I believe it is imperative to change from a regulatory sanction perspective into a regulatory fruitful perspective," he claimed.

The entire exchange showed the region's historical commitment on sustainable practices and the caring and worrying—through numerous ongoing initiatives—about pairing "Deforestationfree" with promoting production systems that reconcile environmental care, economy and population development.

The region is committed to sustainable practices and the caring and worrying—through numerous ongoing initiatives—about pairing "Deforestation- free"

Bioeconomy: global trends “After bioenergy development and biotechnologies employment, effective carbon strategies are the future," said Eduardo Trigo from IICA, on the second day at the Aapresid Congress, "C, a life element".

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On August 10th, on the second day of the Aapresid Congress, "C, a life element", professionals Jochen Dürr from Bonn University and Eduardo Trigo from IICA, together with moderator Marcelo Regunaga from Southern Producing Country Group (GPS in Spanish), spoke about current trends on bioeconomy.

Firstly, Regunaga said that, in the last 5 years, global advances in Bioeconomy were promoted by climate change issues and the need to transition from a fossil economy to a biologicalbased one. Significant advances were achieved by redefining policies and strategies, either from institutions or private sectors. Thus, when facing new challenges, new expansion opportunities arise.

Global Trends and new challenges

According to Global Bioeconomy Summit, Bioeconomy "is the production, utilization and conservation of biological resources, including related knowledge, science, technology and innovation, to provide information, products, processes and services within and across all economic sectors and enable a transformation to a sustainable economy."

Investigation and development trends derive from biotechnological advances through startups creation. The processes to be developed are those with a solid biological foundation, such as enzymatic reactions, which originate from new raw materials like wastes or by-products. Thus, new products are expected, within the context of a more circular bioeconomy.

On his part, Jochen Dürr, stated that Bioeconomy development is founded on five pillars: food security, sustainable management of natural resources, less dependance on fossil resources, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and economic development, which can be measured by more job vacancies, territorial development and improved competitiveness. To achieve these aims, innovation is required not only from a technology approach, but also from institutional and social spheres.

Consequently, Dürr mentioned that boosting value chains is still important, which gets more and more complex, turning the economy even more circular. As a result, "waste" biomass can be considered as input for other industries, including food, biopolymer or biofertilizer, energy, etc.

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In addition, one of the biggest upcoming problems is energy and transport decarbonization. Therefore, biomass production will not be enough to replace fossil fuel, so it must be joined with larger CO2 capture. In opposition, materials and chemical production will demand greater amounts of C, which should be provided by biomass, C capture and, mainly, recycling. Despite development and opportunities, there are still some difficulties to overcome. Dürr said that there are still many conflicts to be solved at the basis of the objectives, such as the dispute between food and energy resources. Another issue delaying its set up is the yet slower development of the C market, and in most cases, lack of finance.

Latin America: biodiversity and markets

The management consultant at the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Eduardo Trigo, said that bioeconomy can be summarized in two main elements: biological resources and knowledge. Regarding resources, Latin America has rich biodiversity, agricultural potential and almost one-third of the world's freshwater. Said region plays a critical role as a worldwide carbon sink and its future is intrinsically linked to carbon management in the world. A leap forward bioeconomy can boost this action effectively by profiting from agricultural productivity gaps and plant biomass. As regards science, research and development investments are much lower than in other regions around the world, although there are big platforms allowing access to knowledge. However, putting them on the market requires an innovative entrepreneurial mindset.

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Bioeconomy in Latin America is already underway in numerous sectors. This area is a leader in bioenergy, with great crop diversity, such as bioethanol and biodiesel, which was useful for new development platforms, yet the generation of regulatory frameworks is still a pending matter. The field with major impact was biotechnology. Its adoption allowed significant improvements at domestic level and regulations are on the leading edge in this region. The next leap is toward C, which will be a commodity for the new market. A major challenge is changing to be "Carbonefficient" adding value to it. Lastly, Trigo commented on the remaining discussion about new institutionalism required to thrive in the future. In terms of governance, there is yet to gain development vision and apply it to a solid political discourse. Currently, this region has an outdated development vision and an unbalanced territoriality.

Transitioning to bioeconomy will not be easy and will demand proper creation of agreements and regulations. Country cooperation, investigation improvements and political commitment will be essential to propel evolution and achieve sustainable development aims.

Agrifood world, climate and society: a challenge to contemplate together On the last day at the AAPRESID Congress "C, a life element," experts from all around the world addressed their experiences and how to understand the current worldwide agrifood system through dialogue.

The moderator of the panel was Manuel Chiappe (Barbechando), and the specialists were: Kai Purnhagen (University of Bayreuth); Simkje Kruiderink (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands); Andrea Parrilla (Embassy of Brazil); and Ignacio Lartirigoyen (Lartirigoyen & Cía). They expounded on how to identify new opportunities for sustainable development in the agrifood system.

A common agenda Firstly, Kruiderink spoke about the new channels for dialogue created between public and private sectors and society in general, despite agricultural disturbances in the Netherlands and the emergence of a new political party devoted to representing producers and country dwellers.

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Historically, co-existence with nature marked the relation between the Netherlands and its surroundings. This fight is represented by land reclaimed from the sea, but they also outline the need for a more sustainable approach. In spite of its small size compared to other countries, such as Argentina, the Netherlands are the second major exporter of food. However, these achievements are not problem-free. The country has 1.6 million head of cattle, 17.5 million Dutch, 12 million hogs and 37 million poultry,

which causes real issues regarding emissions and environmental degradation. The focus toward biodiversity and climate change is promoting the return of productive lands to the sea, proving a new nature-based perspective. Therefore, they were able to develop policies for the future, pondering nature in the first place, society in second and economy in third, which has to be coherent with the other two levels.

a los programas de sustentabilidad y adopción de tecnologías de Yara

Mayor rentabilidad

Seguimiento agronómico

Mayor eficiencia

Herramientas digitales

Descarbonización

Prescripciones variables

Kruiderink also commented that even with complicated dialogues, the working strategy is creating a common agenda together with the public and private sector, with a long-term approach protecting soil and water, within the context of the EU regulation helping to not lose focus.

Public policies transcending governments On her part, Parrilla mentioned Brazil's case that, after launching ABC PLAN (Low Carbon Emission in Agriculture), managed to mitigate 193 million tons of Carbon equivalent in the first

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10 years. This plan is based on the development of systems integrated in forest, livestock farming and agriculture production employing sustainable practices, such as no-till farming, irrigation, animal waste treatment, forest plantation and natural spaces preservation. Between 1970 and 1990, the Brazilian government made a significant investment on scientific investigation and technological improvement, which allowed the tropicalization of plant varieties and animal races, turning acidic, poor soils into fertile soils. The turning points were a bold vision, and science and technology investment.

Thus, they underwent food insecurity to later become one of the export leaders, reducing by 40% the basic food basket cost. Agribusiness' productivity increment was the catalyst for social and economic development, due to State policies that have not changed with the change of government. Moreover, Parrilla explained that owing to new global environmental demands in food production, there are many sustainable initiatives and practices in southern countries. "Import countries should acknowledge these practices, and value added should be reflected in the price," she concluded.

Ignacio Lartirigoyen (Lartirigoyen y CIA).

Manuel Chiappe (Barbechando).

EU Deforestation-free regulation: threat or opportunity? The fighting against deforestation is a global issue and requires determined and strategic action. On this matter, Purnhagen spoke about the new changes in the EU reglamentation policies to stop deforestation, diminish C emissions and promote reforestation. This normative came into force in June 2023, and seeks, above all, for imported goods to proceed from deforestationfree territories, meaning that the change in land utilization should have happened before 2020. The affected goods include cattle, soy, cacao, coffee, palm oil, among others. To achieve this, it is important to ensure information traceability and geolocation certifying that the

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entire production period abides by required demands. Likewise, these establishments can be randomly and unexpectedly audited, and in case of not complying, sanctions would be severe. Although this strategy faces criticism regarding its level of bureaucracy and possible competitive constraints, it is a necessary step to tackle worldwide deforestation. These measures are expected to have an impact not only in the EU but also in other regions by promoting positive change. Similarly, Chiappe said that, since 2008, most Argentine provinces are under laws that regulate forest resources, which allows us to have a competitive advantage as a country. Our challenge is traceability, in which many institutions are already working on, aiming at proving our

commitment with sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. Lastly, Lartirigoyen mentioned that: "in front of future challenges, we Argentinian producers are resilient and well-prepared, and we have come a long way as regards environmental and productive sustainability, where instead of restricting actions, new technologies and suitable practices are being developed and adopted. However, it is necessary to keep working on the social element." Currently, two very different worlds are being brought together through dialogue and education: the city and the countryside. Lartirigoyen added that 'gathering' is part of the solution.

From the field to the table: sustainable strategies on the supply chain Agrifood industry leaders shared their insights about the present and the future of the supply chain in this area, and provided their experience regarding sustainability.

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"We can see that Argentinian producers run their business efficiently. However, we still do not see consumers willing to pay higher prices for potato chips produced by regenerative agriculture," admitted Guillermo Cascardo, Agribusiness Deputy Manager at PepsiCo, at the panel that took place on the second day of the Aapresid Congress and that gathered representatives from renowned food companies, so they can share their experiences on sustainability.

Pepsico has been working closely in collaboration with Argentinian producers, who provide them with potatoes, oats and corn, for Lay's, Doritos and Quaker products. "We have a group of 15 producers with whom we have been working for more than 25 years now. We are convinced that the key is to be close to the producer, as it is him who decides in the end. Confidence is what allows us to make faster progress toward sustainability," Cascado said.

The company has demonstrative farms, called "Demo Farms," where producers try new technologies to improve matters such as water consumption, soil regeneration and carbon footprint reduction. "As a company, if we do not act to improve production methods, our supplies will get more and more expensive. This model helps us so producers can test and incorporate new technologies, and assess solid results," he added. In this respect, Melina Marquisio, Sustainable Agriculture Leader at Nestlé, highlighted the role they have as a company in being the link between consumers and producers. "On the one hand, we seek to train producers for technical issues and give value to what they do differently. On the other hand, we need to educate consumers so they value what they are consuming," she explained. To make this happen, the speaker urged the importance of cooperation: "All changes require a collaborative approach. It is a conjoint effort that needs everyone's conviction to make it happen." In relation to the consumers' rising concern about quality and the processes behind the products they buy, she emphasized that there is great company binding in this matter. Nestlé is introducing numerous programs promoting regenerative agriculture and offering bonuses for joining producers. "We understand that every change has to be translated into shared benefits," she said.

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From the field to the bottle, a sustainable journey As a representative of one of the leading brewing companies, the Inclusive Growth and Sustainability Manager at Quilmes, Vanesa Vazquez, said that they are focused in disclosing collaboratively and honestly the path followed by the ingredients in their products. "It is crucial to draw the path from the field to the plate and convey it to the consumers, considering that, for example, 1 in every 4 beers is made with barley from Buenos Aires Province, as a way to acknowledge and give value to all actors involved," she claimed.

The company has been working in the interaction and cooperation with the ecosystem, founding its management on three principles: environment, society and governance, targeting carbon neutrality for 2040. "This can be translated into the expression 'from the field to the bottle', which sounds familiar to the consumer and allows us to notify which are those good agronomic practices employed by Argentinian farming producers," said Quilmes representative. Vazquez also mentioned that nowadays they have cases proving regenerative agriculture, where 28 producers are starting to walk that path, and that from 2019 they have been making use of renewable electric power wind farm-based with 15 windmills, located in Achiras, Córdoba Province. Stock up on materials and products that are sustainable since their origin is something that came to stay. "These days, consumers are worried about knowing the provenance of what they eat, which is a contributory factor in their buying choices," claimed Héctor Ivancovichi, Agribusiness Director at Bimbo Company.

In accordance with a sustainable approach, the Mexican multinational company focused its attention toward regenerative agriculture as a means of addressing soil deterioration. Ivancovichi stated that six years ago Bimbo initiated a project in this matter, built upon three main objectives: restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity and improving life quality of associated communities. In this transformation process, he stressed the importance of measurement for testing if the adopted process is actually reaching the desirable results according to the established objectives. For this, Bimbo collaborates closely with scientific partners who help in understanding the benefits, measuring them and analyzing collected data for process improvement. Thus, the executive noted the consumer' growing interest in what he eats and where it comes from. "This is already influencing purchase decisions, that is why is essential to stock up on materials that are sustainable since their origin." Ivancovichi said that for 2050, the company aims to use ingredients based 100% on regenerative agricultural practices.

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Recalculating... the evolving market On his part, Francisco García Mansilla, Origination Manager at Viterra Argentina, pointed out the changes that the market and the agribusiness in general are currently going through. "Flows, target markets and consumer demands are in constant evolution. In the current outlook, we big companies are leaving behind our customary role as trading entities focused on unique assets, to place ourselves as companies of generation and distribution, adapting to the need of offering, not standard products, but personalized ones according to new market demands," he declared.

The speaker also underlined the importance in understanding this change as an ecosystemic challenge, which implies a deep alteration in working methods for both companies and producers. Although he acknowledged that Argentinian producers are efficient, he commented on the necessity to improve production chains and solve internal issues. "Today is not enough to be production efficient. We need to solve many problems altering the chain. Nowadays, production is not end-to-end efficient. Confidence is crucial to achieve this efficiency," he concluded.

What will production and companies of the future look like?

Professionals from various companies shared their insights on how technology, data and cooperation are shaping the future of business and productivity in a constantly changing world. The second day of the Aapresid Congress, "C, a life element," presented a panel that sought to answer the question "how will production and companies of the future look like?" Bernardo Milesy (Glocal), Agustín Torriglia (Aapresid), Martín Hagelstrom (IBM) and Federico Miles (Syngenta), shared their visions and perspectives on how will the future of companies and agricultural productivity look like within a framework of population growth and varied demands. The Director of Auravant, Guadalupe Converton, was the moderator in charge of the panel.

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Agustín Torriglia, member of Aapresid’s Regional at the Río Cuarto head office and co-founder of Innventure—an investment fund created by producers, companies and professionals supporting innovative startups—started the debate by emphasizing the necessity of reconsider food production and resources in an ever-changing environment. Targeting future demands on food, energy and fiber, Torriglia highlighted the importance in diversifying agriculture production and exploiting new opportunities based on biomass.

Agustín Torriglia (Aapresid).

He also mentioned the need for reducing productivity breaches and monetizing value chain products. "In perspective, we see an increasement in food demand and we need to close productivity gaps, which can be accomplished by technology, but also by embracing opportunities. We can produce more with less ecological footprint by understanding we can monetize what we are producing," said Aapresid's member.

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On future issues regarding technology and agribusiness, Torriglia emphasized four points: "Firstly, there are always more disciplines and actors involved, which requires cooperation in order for new companies to arise. Secondly, we need to process the huge amount of data we generate every day. Thirdly, new opportunities to generate goods and products are emerging. We cannot let two-thirds of corn just be exported as grain. We must relate somehow with the rest of the supply chain to transform and give value to biomass," Torriglia stated.

Finally, he emphasized agriculture´s critical role in carbon capture and sustainability-related issues. "We say we produce with less ecological footprint but we cannot see the price difference we can gain. Currently, in Argentina, we are not measuring it and we are losing the opportunity to benefit from it," he claimed.

Technology and innovation: toward a collaborative future Martín Hagelstrom, from IBM, underlined the importance of the cooperation between different actors—from technological companies to suppliers—in the agro-industrial ecosystem to make a significant impact. "IBM works with the ecosystem. We are not capable or experienced enough to get involved in every industry, that is why the only way to end up with value is by building alliances with companies closer to the end user,” he said. IBM’s representative mentioned some concrete examples of how artificial intelligence and climate data analysis can help farmers make more updated and sustainable decisions. "YARA, for instance, is using our climate data to provide advice to smallscale producers," Hagelstrom noted.

"Buying technology is not enough, we must be capable of creating technological solutions for businesses, and the only way to achieve it is by working in an ecosystem where I partner with others rather than do everything myself,” he added. About the issues on increasing productivity, Hagelstrom aimed at how important it is for companies to align both sustainability and business purposes. "Initiatives should contribute to increase productivity, improve efficiency and reduce costs in order to be sustainable over time," he said.

Federico Miles (Syngenta).

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Similarly, Federico Miles, Digital Agriculture Manager in Syngenta, mentioned the importance of collaborating with distributors and consultants so technology can reach producers effectively. "The right path is creating new synergies and promoting new business models. New connections between the various actors in the supply chain will allow new offers and new services for producers," he said. According to him, the problem is to avoid addressing all aspects at once by taking a gradual approach. To make this happen, he proposed to set up meetings and synergies at a domestic scale, where every actor participates actively.

"This is growing, and engaging is vital. Nobody knows how agriculture will evolve, but there is no doubt it will be collaborative. The proper path is toward developing new business models by partnering with other companies and actors, something that was, until now, unimaginable," he claimed. Syngenta's representative also mentioned some concrete initiatives on carbon footprint measurement and how these solutions can lead to change according to how agricultural products are valued.

Bernardo Milesy (Glocal).

Monetizing data potential Glocal's representative, Bernardo Milesy, CEO and manager partner of this startups investment fund, shared the company’s vision in promoting more sustainable production systems, and claimed that agribusiness can follow the path of the soccer industry by exporting high-tech. The businessman underlined the importance of creating new business models that benefit from technology so as to change food production. Furthermore, he noted the need for understanding that real value comes from data and how it is used to generate value in the supply chain.

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"Despite the uncertainty arising from changes, we are confident that the future is focused on the producer and the generated data. The issue is to understand that it is information that is going to be sold, that is the business we are aiming at. For data to become valuable, this will require expansion and joining other players," he said.

Milesy also pointed out the challenges that the farming sector faces when conveying their achievements effectively to society. In this regard, he emphasized that data measurement plays a key role in the process of conveying the multiple positive contributions accomplished by agribusiness. "Data measurement is the way we can communicate all positive improvements we are currently working on," he claimed.

Regenerative agriculture and Agroecology: two sides of the same coin? The XXXI Aapresid Congress was the setting for a debate about two major concepts put forth by agribusiness.

Since agroecology overtook the scientific and academic field, it has become a polysemic concept with numerous possible interpretations. Agroecology arises as a result of the union between ecology, devoted to the study of natural ecosystems, and agronomy, based on the study of farming systems. They deal with relationships between living beings and the environment, although they have different goals; therefore, agroecology emerges as an answer to connect both sciences.

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Thus, what do we mean when we speak about agroecology, regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture and farm management? Are they all the same? The answer is clearly not. To answer these queries, A.E. Eduardo Requesens lectured on the matter during his presence on the first day at the Aapresid Congress "C, a life element"

For agroecology, science and regenerative agriculture, biodiversity. The first great discussion Requesens introduces to the audience is about the attention we pay to agroecology as science, movement or just another productive method. There is no doubt that it is a science resulting from the combination of ecological and agronomic interests, being agroecosystems its subject matter. Moreover, it is not about a productive method. "For instance, no-till farming has its scientific foundations on edaphology–the study of soil–but when we perform no-till farming we do not say we are doing edaphology [. . .] One thing is the science supporting it, and another thing is the methods based on that knowledge," the specialist claims. Nowadays, there are many new concepts, such as sustainable agriculture, regenerative agriculture and farm management, all sharing agroecology as their scientific foundation. The connection between agroecology and regenerative agriculture is the search for a new balance on farming systems that have been modified by mankind. Back in the 60's, the equilibrium of natural ecosystems and environment, both mature, with high biodiversity

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and biological continuity, but low net productivity had been replaced by the model of green revolution. Replaced with simplified systems working in a state of immaturity, away from the equilibrium with the environment, with low biodiversity and biological discontinuity, but with a high net productivity, which was necessary to supply a growing global population. The ideal of this simplification was to direct every environmental resource toward a single crop species of productive interest and to synchronize agricultural practices without minding the residual effect of biodiversity loss. Biodiversity is much more than species variety in a certain system, it also concerns gene, cell, genotype, population, and ecology niche varieties, all working together as a complex adaptive system. That behavior provides the system with homeostatic capacity, autoregulation ability. It is there where regenerative agriculture emerge to regenerate biodiversity eroded by said simplification; it has come to return three main features to the system: stability– an answer to soften interannual variability–, resilience–the ability to recover after stress–, and sustainability–the ability to maintain productive capacity indefinitely.

How to regenerate our agriculture? Requesens emphasized, firstly, the need to regenerate biodiversity. This can be accomplished, in a planned way with productive value crops, rotation increasement and intensification; in a related way by giving functional value to those areas with no productive value but that contribute to improve production, namely, natural or human-made biological corridors. Secondly, the need to regenerate biological process continuity by assimilating the new concept of "always alive soils". Cover crops are an excellent tool for occupying fallow lands and

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contributing to carbon capture, reducing weed infestation, incorporating nutrients to soils and protecting it against erosion, among other issues. Finally, it is necessary to take action to regenerate ecological processes underlying productive ones. Specifically, working in matter-related processes to improve soil health: pests population dynamics through integrated management; microbial population dynamics as they allow pests control or improve pollination by using shelterbelts and biological corridors. Moreover, working in processes related to natural selection by monitoring pests’ resistance development; and also working in processes related to plant competition in order to improve crops’ competitive ability and to reduce herbicides usage, choosing sowing dates according weeds growing flow, cultivars, densities, germination vigor and fertilization.

Cover crops are an excellent tool for occupying fallow lands and contributing to carbon capture.

Moving from conventional farming to regenerative agriculture, cannot be done overnight. It requires joining agronomy and ecology, giving time to the system to stabilize, and during this transition it is necessary to assess the system's evolution by measuring biological, edaphic, productive and economical parameters. Therefore, are agroecology and regenerative agriculture two sides of the same coin? Yes, definitely. Agroecology is a science that provides theoretical framework to regenerative agriculture, which becomes a practice of the first one. In time, it becomes a virtuous cycle, which should be the center of our attention, said the specialist to finalize the panel. The engineer leaves a last encouraging message on the "increasingly awareness and commitment [. . .] we are beginning to walk that path, and these spaces of debate, such as Aapresid Congress, are marvelous."

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Soil, environment and data: Improvements led by the University of Tennessee Researchers from the Tennessee University Institute of Agriculture addressed how technology, microbiology and supercomputers are revolutionizing agriculture.

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Under the heading “Soil, environment and data analysis: improvements led by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (Knoxville, US)”, on the second day of the Aapresid Congress “C, a life element”, took place an international panel made up of professionals and researchers from this prestigious institution. Participating in this panel were: Dr. Frank Loeffler, professor of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Tennessee (UTK); Dr. Jie Zhuang, professor at UTK and head of a group that deals with smart farming; and Deborah Penchoff, professor at UTK and Associate Director of Innovative Computing Laboratory. These experts offered a deep insight on how technology, data analysis and microbiology investigations are promoting transformation in the agricultural sector.

The first to take the floor was Dr. Jie Zhuang, who focused on the essential food, energy and water network needed for human survival. The speaker talked about “Net Zero” greenhouse gas emissions and the importance in targeting mitigation by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050. Regarding how to reduce emissions and achieve zero emissions, Zhuang focused on three issues: system challenges, system solutions and science applied to practice. The researcher shared statistics revealing that agriculture and electricity generation consume most freshwater (95%), and he mentioned some studies that are being brought about in this matter: “At our university, we are assessing actions to reuse and recycle water in different fields. This refers to very promising technologies that will be available in coming years”.

butes to 34% greenhouse gas emissions globally and consumes 70% of global water, among other problems. We should turn problems into solutions, focusing on regenerative agriculture and regional cooperation to optimize resource usage,” he said. Zhuang also advised of the failure in effective policies and the need for producers to employ new sustainable technologies, and also urged cross-sectional collaboration between scientists, legislators and other interested parties to achieve practical solutions.

Zhuang also remarked that the challenges concerning food, energy and water supplies are closely associated with population growth and climate change. “Notably, agriculture contri-

Soil DNA analysis usage enables us to acquire information about existing microbes and predominant proteins. This can be transferred to crop treatments, manipulating systems so that these soil-applied processes result beneficial for agriculture.

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Unraveling soil microbiology Dr. Frank Loeffler's lecture was focused on soil microbiology. From a detailed approach, the professor from the Department of Microbiology at UTK, emphasized on how microorganisms present in soil play an essential role in agriculture and how their actions affect emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) sequestration. One of the main approaches in his presentation underlined the connection between microoganisms in soil and nitrogen oxide emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Dr. Loeffler mentioned the importance of understanding nitrogen reduction processes and denitrification, as well as the competence between beneficial and harmful processes.

At the same time, he referred to other studies that reveal microbial diversity and its purpose, along with its role in agricultural improvement. “Soil DNA analysis usage enables us to acquire information about existing microbes and predominant proteins. This can be transferred to crop treatments, manipulating systems so that these soil-applied processes result beneficial for agriculture,” he said. Another question Loeffler introduced was how to make carbon absorbed by crops turn into recalcitrant carbon that benefits and remains in the soil over time. “Although microbes play a key role in this process, their behavior is still a black box and we ignore their functioning,” he claimed.

At this point, he said that biomarkers measurement surface as a feasible alternative, since it could reveal the mysteries behind carbon transformation from labile to recalcitrant carbon. "Making the most of these biomarkers enable us to distinguish if the land is winning or losing recalcitrant carbon," Loeffler said.

Through biological indicators, such as biomarkers, we can discern if the land is winning or losing recalcitrant carbon- Dr. Frank Loeffler

Before finishing his presentation, the speaker stressed the importance of establishing a more active collaboration between agricultural

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investigation and its practice, in order to optimize production, reduce emissions and move forward into a more sustainable future.

Supercomputer and AI revolution The Director of the Innovative Computing Laboratory and professor of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UTK, Deborah Penchoff, spoke about high performance computing and AI transformative power. What is supercomputer or high-performance computing? "You can picture this as a vast number of elements that allow parallel processing techniques to provide fast solutions," Penchoff summed up. On this basis, she pointed out computer evolution, and that although current technology is fast, she claimed even bigger advances will be expected within the next decade. The researcher underlined how these advances grant massive datasets analysis, a task that was once unapproachable. "The merge of supercomputers and algorithms provide valuable answers to complex questions," Penchoff stated.

She emphasized that AI is not magic, but a tool that requires suitable data and algorithm biases monitoring. "If there is a biased algorithm, production will be biased. That is why we need plenty of suitable data. Nowadays, agribusiness produces an infinite amount of data that can be classified, and, therefore, builds the algorithm used to give answers to questions that otherwise could not be acquired,” Penchoff said. The lecturer also mentioned sustainability issues and the need of multidisciplinary collaboration to solve them. Within her team, scientists from numerous areas focused on matters such as critical minerals, environmental recovery and biocarbon for carbon sequestration. Finally, Penchoff stressed that the merging of supercomputer and AI can alter agricultural practices, economic models, and public policy designs, promoting a greater union between science and practice for the benefit of society at a regional and global extent.

The future of plant nutrition: an approach to soil health, crop nutrition and climate change Dr. Achim Dobermann attended the XXXI Aapresid Congress "C, a life element" to address the new responsible plant nutrition paradigm, which forces us to consider how we want to nourish our crops in the next ten years. On the first day at the Aapresid Congress "C, a life element," Dr. Achim Dobermann, International Fertilizer Association, encouraged the audience to think about the future of plant nutrition to approach soil health, crop nutrition and climate change. Due to a combination of worldwide events that interrupted the market, the last 2 years registered a decline in the annual purchase of fertilizers, from 2% to 3% of nitrogen, 4% to 5% of phosphate and up to 10% of potassium. The events triggering these declines were high prices of gas in Europe, COVID-19 crisis that saturated the supply chain, and Russia-Ukraine war which affected huge volumes of fertilizer exports.

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Nevertheless, this season is expected to have a slight recovery of the market, and in the long-term, projections for 2050 aim for a global annual growth rate of 1% in fertilizers demand. Thus, it is necessary to ponder how much worldwide population will grow, how it is going to feed itself, how we can be more efficient to produce more with less fertilizers, and how much we are prepared for it. Dr. Dobermann urges us to think beyond, how much nutrients can we recycle in the future? Will bioinnovation success be possible? How much could artificial intelligence contribute?

New paradigm for plant nutrition Since they provide food, it is a fact that mineral nutrients are necessary both for plants and for humans (Figure 1). That is why this new nutrition paradigm responsible for plants re-evaluates the role of nutrients in a food supply chain system.

Figure 1: necessary minerals for plant and human nutrition

For that reason, Dobermann claims that the fertilizers industry has to find balance between food security and environmental protection throughout the nutrient chain. Thus, speaking about plants responsible nutrition is to consider sustainability as a business opportunity from a

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food system approach (Figure 2). Therefore, "from now on, the clear purpose is reducing emissions and other environmental impacts to improve soil health and nutrition–more organic matter and carbon–as well as productivity, efficiency and resilience in crop production by recycling

nutrients from residues within the framework of a circular economy, a current trending topic," said Achim about the novelty already making noise in the field.

Figure 2: Responsible plant nutrition axis

Changing food system from a nutrients perspective New trends and progresses in the matter are centered in transformation, which means changing the way we have been doing things. Currently, there are five innovative key points that seem promising in the medium-term. One of them deals with decarbonized and decentralized fertilizer production. At the moment, Co2 emissions from ammonia production represents almost 1% of the total global carbon emissions; however, the goal for 2050 is net-zero for "green ammonia". This is basically using renewable energies–solar and hydropower–to generate electricity, from which nitrogen in the air and hydrogen in the water can be divided to later

A new game is starting. Interesting. The creation of a totally different business unit is beginning. One example is Nitrofix, an ammonia generator that makes us question if it could be possible to make our own nitrogen fertilizer. One developing product is Nitricity, which is a generator of nitric acid (HNO3) to produce ammonia for direct field fertigation. A third popular prototype is nitrogen (N) fixation in microwave plasma, which is basically the same principle of the appliance that generates ammonia synthesis by N2 reduction, or direct production of NO2/NO3 by oxidation, at low temperatures and low energy requirements.

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be fused to elaborate ammonia. Something absolutely innovative that would allow green ammonia industry to generate not only ammonia fertilizer as we know it, but also green energies and ammonia as shipping fuels and other uses. It is at this point where a real market revolution will take place, due to non-dependency of fossil fuels to elaborate fertilizers, and the possibility of producing it anywhere in the world, which would change supply and demand price dynamics.

These latest methods to make nitrogenous fertilizers and the use of renewable energies allows us to consider when 'green' price premium will arrive, alongside more certifications demanded by global markets. Similarly, there is an interest in the development of the next generation of fertilizers: nano, bio- and smart fertilizers, which embodies the concept of controlled-release of nutrients, combining chemistry, science and microbial genetics, pondering high-priced products but high performance.

What is the role of artificial intelligence? A new industrial game is clearly beginning, that of the agronomic intelligence, which no longer implies only food production but also climate change and the way digital tools of today and tomorrow will assist agribusiness' suggestions and decisions. Current advice regarding fertilizers are starting to show limitations. They keep being centered on one field, one crop and one nutrient, and they generate great dependence on soil

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tests. Moreover, algorithms do not take into consideration many elements stimulating crop reactions to nutrients, let alone uncertainty, as well as the fact that it does not convey the risks to the producers. This negative efficiency feedback on learning and local adjustments could come side by side with artificial intelligence as a teammate for the agronomist and the producer.

Large language models are being developed and tested, all based on big data collection allowing constant and adaptable analysis, process and exchange of field studies. There could be different ways of suggesting field studies by using

WhatsApp linked with chat GPT so as to generate consultive agronomic models. The upcoming universe is massive and we must be prepared and proactive when taking initiatives and integrating technology.

Figure 3: Advising on self-learning crop nutrition based on artificial intelligence and data.

Growing services Within the framework of the XXXI Aapresid Congress, Gervasio Piñeiro and Viviana Florencia Bondaruk presented the analysis and results of the Aapresid Cover Crops Network for the season 2022/23.

"We usually use 3 or 4 cash crops and we already know them well; that is why diversity within systems should be included through cover crops," started Gervasio Piñeiro from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET in Spanish), to give context to the research that has been conducted by the Cover Crops Network team in Aapresid. The aim of this Cover Crops Network is to generate information about these crops through the connection between producers, technical coordination teams and those companies providing knowledge and materials to be assessed.

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On this occasion, researchers Gervasio Piñeiro and Viviana Bondaruk, both from CONICET, assuming the network's technical responsibility, brought the obtained results of season 2022/23 on the various study lines focused on finding production ranking by species and varieties, productivity moments of every species, water consumption in comparison with fallow lands, and the relation carbon/nitrogen through time.

Gervasio Piñeiro (FAUBA - CONICET).

Learning about diversities and their behavior according to the environment The first question raised by the network for the season 2022/23 was how to understand the behavior of numerous species and diversities within species used as cover crops in the network's 9 locations. These locations cover the entire extension of the country and were grouped according to the season's precipitation rate. Tandil, Quenuma, Plaza Clucellas, General Roca and Paraná were in the humid area; whereas Monte Ralo, Río Segundo, Las Breñas and San Agustín were in the dry area. This classification sought to measure, for both humid and dry sectors, aerial biomass production in different cover crops. A wide selection of these, all available in the market, included: Brassica carinata, 2 types of radishes of the Cruciferae family; for the grasses group 3 types of white oats and 1 of black oat, feed barley and rescuegrass, 4 types of rye, 2 of triticale and 1 ryegrass; and finally, for legumes Melilotus albus, clover, Vicia villosa and common vetch.

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Name and variety of cover crops

Scientific name

Family

Brasicca Carinata

Brasicca carinata

Cruciferae

Radish

Raphanus sativus

Cruciferae

Radish

Raphanus sativus

Cruciferae

White oat

Avena sativa

Grass

White oat

Avena sativa

Grass

White oat

Avena sativa

Grass

Black oat

Avena strigosa

Grass

Feed barley

Hordeum hexastichum

Grass

Rescuegrass

Bromus unioloides

Grass

Rye

Secale cereale

Grass

Rye

Secale cereale

Grass

Rye

Secale cereale

Grass

Rye

Secale cereale

Grass

Annual Ryegrass

Lolium multiflorum

Grass

Triticale

Triticosecale

Grass

Triticale

Triticosecale

Grass

Crimson clover

Trifolium incarnatum

Legume

Common vetch

Vicia sativa

Legume

Vicia villosa

Legume

Melilotus albus

Legume

Figure 1: Species and Varieties CSBs 2022-202

When averaging all species production, at plain sight Tandil was in first place reaching between 7,000kg and 10,000kg MS ha-1 of biomass production, whereas Río Segundo was in last place with only 500kg to 600kg MS ha-1. Most interesting is understanding the interactions of species in the environment they were sowed. Thus, by analyzing humid locations, grasses work better in southern environments, and

Cruciferae in northern ones, highlighting carinata productivity over radishes. On the other hand, tested grasses had a medium and alternate oat and rye production as best, while triticale and ryegrass were less productive. Finally, between legumes, Vicia villosa and common vetch had similar yields in humid places, although clover did poorly.

When evaluating dry sectors, Cruciferae yields were alike in both environments. Grasses were a complete surprise, as rye and triticale showed better aerial biomass production than oats, barley and ryegrass. The same happened with

legumes, where, regarding data, Melilotus albus stood out leaving behind Vicia villosa, common vetch and clover.

How is the temporal dynamics of that biomass production? This work can be separated into a second study line based on the measurement of aerial biomass production over time within varieties of every species in both environments. Data was analyzed by making four cuts in the time scale. The first one, was made around the first 100 days thinking of a short window of cover crops; later it was one cut per month, in September, October and November for those places that did not dry before that date. The great conclusion is that there is genotypeenvironment interaction and, therefore, it is important to choose species and varieties of cover crops to sow.

There were some other conclusions as well: Grasses: oats are of high production, as both Elena and Susana variety showed the highest levels of MS ha-1s. Inside the grass group, triticale worked better in dry areas rather than humids, being Barbol the best one. Raygrass was the

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slowest and the least productive in almost every sector; whereas Don Carlos rye variety performed better and faster in humid areas. Legumes: Vicia villosa is the best in dry areas and ties with common vetch in humid areas. The interesting thing here is the good performance of Melilotus in dry environments in the north of the country. Cruciferae: present good production on humid environments and are usually early crops. Compared to radishes, Bokito variety always defeats Daikon. Lastly, Brassica carinata looks promising in humid environments.

Figure 2: Temporal dynamics of biomass production

Water consumption and biomass quality in cover crops: what do we know? In addition, water consumption was measured in fallow lands and cover crops. Ranking species by environments, on humid areas, carinata and vicia were the species with largest water consumption levels, followed by rye with a wide variability range in consumption. While in dry areas, the availability and consumption of water was lower, being grasses the ones of highest consumption. Water consumption drew attention in fallow lands of around 150 mm, similar to cover crops on the dry area. This means that cover crops sowing is still profitable in spite of the water used for subsequent crops. It is necessary to see the whole picture and the services it provides.

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Regarding biomass quality, the team measured C-N relation and claimed that grasses indicate bigger C-N the more away from tillage they are, consequently decreasing quality. Whereas legumes–mainly vicia–are constant on quality over time and do not represent inoculation changes. When the values for mixtures were analyzed, it was also verified that the high-quality ones are those with the largest proportion of vicia in their composition (75%) and even higher when incorporating radish. "The key is to think agronomically which is the crop, variety, and service we need to address in each area and plot, always trying new things and learning from the rights and the wrongs," claimed Gervasio at the end of the panel.

Late corn issues in Argentina's central region: can we improve its management? On the second day of the Congress, Santiago Alvares Prado from the National University of Rosario (UNR in Spanish) and CONICET, introduced last season's promising results acquired by working alongside the Late Corn Network.

Santiago Alvarez Prado (UNR-CONICET)

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Aapresid's Late Corn Network (RMT in Spanish) is an area coordinated by Sistema Chacras emerging from the producers' need and was created to provide answers to demands through the development of sustainable technology. These systems, under the banners of learning by producing and network prominence, founded the late corn network to address specific issues in the center region of the country. The team has a long track record in the analysis of productivity performance in numerous corn hybrids sowed in late dates on the extended central area, for which Alvarez Prado disclosed outcome progresses in the last season 22/23.

Exploring RMT database At the XXXI Congress, the team working in RMT alongside Alvarez Prado, revealed the results of the season 22/23 by exploring the ten-year database owned by the Network.

The studied main region includes several cities grouped in 5 subareas: center Buenos Aires, south Santa Fe-north Buenos Aires, southern Córdoba, center-northern Córdoba and coastline. In these subareas, following general experimental conventions, various tests were conducted in strips of 8 furrows of 200m length, arranged in block design with two repetitions. The interesting fact is that each case was managed by the producer, meaning that they were the ones who chose the sowing date for late corn, along with density decisions, fertilization and pests and disease management.

When we speak of corn sowing dates, we think only about late and early, but actually within every section there is a high variability of possible dates. Thus, for this season, late corn was sowed from 11/29 to 01/05, and there also was, among all cities, density variation from 3 to 7 plants per m-2. Undoubtedly, the most noticeable feature after 3 successive droughts, was the variation of useful water for sowing ranging from 16% to 92% of water available for sowing (field capacity), and later in the course of the crop cycle there was also high variations regarding precipitations.

Figure 1: Late Corn Issues

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What did this season leave us? On the total amount of 18 cultivated locations using 18 different hybrids, the agricultural engineer announced the promising results of the 9 harvested places up until the moment of the presentation. To provide context, it was one of the worst years in terms of yielding, due to the average 5,900kg ha-¹ obtained, compared to the historical 8,500kg ha-¹ average of the Network. The average intends to exhibit these imbalances

as, for example, by analyzing two contrasting subareas, in center Buenos Aires yields were the lowest, even in those ten years of assessment; whereas in southern Córdoba yields were above average, making it a challenging season reflected in both studies and producers.

Figure 2: Yield Late Corn Issues

An interesting aspect was the impact the environment had over genotypes and crop humidity. As a result of the analysis of two contrasting subareas, such as center Buenos Aires and southern Córdoba, the season denoted high temperatures above 95°F, interrupted by a mid-February frost, followed by several days of extreme heat. The difference consisted in the fact that the former started with less than 60% of the useful water for sowing–in two of the four subarea locations–whereas the latter was above that level.

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However, in center Buenos Aires, late corn produced an average of 5,547kg ha-¹ (ranging from 3,500kg to 7,400kg ha-¹) with an average harvesting humidity of 17%, and southern Córdoba reached 7,347kg ha-1 (ranging from 4,900kg to 9,800kg ha-¹) with an average humidity of 14%.

Hence, these thermal events were not trivial as they happened during or finishing crops' critical period, disrupting yields directly; moreover, useful water for sowing and precipitation during the cycle also explain these differences significantly. Similarly, if we pay closer attention to hybrid selection, the team found out that 1% of yield variation is explained through the genotype. In Buenos Aires, choosing genotypes properly represents among 2,500kg and 3,900kg ha-1 of the difference between the lower and higher yielding hybrids. In southern Córdoba, that genotype selection can vary between 2,000kg and 2,500kg ha-1.

It was one of the worst years in terms of yielding, due to the average 5,900kg ha-¹ obtained, compared to the historical 8,500kg ha-¹ average of the Network.

After ranking all locations and hybrids used, greater differences between 600kg and 10,000kg/ha regarding yielding varieties were found, and from 13% to 25% in harvest humidity, although the profit for choosing the genotype correctly was reduced to 1,200kg/ha and 1.5% of humidity. The important thing according to Alvarez Prado is that, independently of the studied subarea, water for sowing is what explained 70% of yielding, and another bigger part was explained by precipitations occurring throughout the cycle. "This makes us reconsider the idea that with late crops we should be concerned only about nitrogen and density, and not about atmospheric demand."

Figure 3: Environment

Can we adjust late corn management? The answer is an obvious yes. It is not the same to choose any sowing date or any density or genotype. This selection varies according to every subarea and every location within the subarea, and it is affected by multiple components, as was the case of this season's drought.

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Lina Bosaz, RMT coordinator and moderator of the panel, claimed that there are still many questions unresolved, which is the Network's goal for the future. The team is seeking a way to optimize late corn crop management on different subareas. To achieve this, the work is directed toward identifying environmental and managing variables of major influence in late corn yielding on the expanded central area, in order to quantify yielding results based on each area variation.

There are differential responses of genotypes based on sowing date and environmental density, and the answer regarding yield and nitrogen fertilization is not only given by hybrid plasticity but also by water available for sowing and water supply within the cycle.

The general idea is to be able to predict achievable yields through an "ideal management" combining the most important agronomic variables in their optimal levels for every subarea. Moreover, allow the comparison, through field studies, between that "ideal management" maximizing yields and the producer's management in different subareas.

Artificial Intelligence in weed management The specialist Guy Coleman claimed that "weed targeted application revolution will come side by side with 'Deep Learning Algorithms'."

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Near the end of the first day at the Aapresid Congress "C, a life element" took place a panel titled "From nature to algorithms: detecting weeds with machine learning." This space held a debate about new technologies applied to weed management led by speakers Guy Coleman (University of Sydney) and Marcos Mammarella (DeepAgro), moderated by Agustín Bilbao (producer member of Aapresid).

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To provide some background, Bilbao mentioned that around 80% of agrochemicals used in Argentina are herbicides, that is why selective control tools turn up strategic. Moreover, the continuous increasement in resistant weeds entails the search of new solutions addressed from a systemic vision.

What is new? Targeted application had existed for decades. Originally, for machines to be able to "see" weeds, specific rules, mainly color-based ones, were given to the system. That is how targeted applications on fallow lands were conducted, explained Coleman. Now, when introducing a vast number of digital images, and by marking weeds manually on a first stage, the algorithm searches and analyzes every layer information composing that image. Through "Deep Learning", a subset of artificial intelligence, it is easy to "predict" which plants are weeds, even in complicated places within crops. This algorithm relies on an artificial multi-layered

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neural network and the process can recognize increasingly complex patterns. It looks like magic, but actually training this algorithm requires thousands of images. Mammarella expounded that the computer performs brain-like procedures, meaning that it analyzes processes for decision-making based on previous collected experiences after examining thousands of images, allowing it to recognize which is the crop and where to find weeds. This ability to imitate a person's cognitive thinking process is known precisely as Artificial Intelligence.

Therefore, it is necessary to cover the largest quantity of weeds possible, those adapted to the environment where crops are grown. Moreover, every growing stage should be identified, as within the same date there could be several growth rates and weeds could look considerably different. Hence, regional data collection is essential for solving these differences easily.

Applications "green upon green" "We have been working with targeted applications for several years now and, although equipment seems initially expensive, with the savings on phytosanitary they could be paid from 2 to 4 years," said Bilbao. This novelty is led by producers all around the world and can be adapted to be used in numerous crops. Mammarella emphasized selective application benefits, which are related to the lower use of phytosanitary, the reduction of water usage and lesser drums employment, providing

major sustainability to the system. However, this "green upon green" application revolution can be implemented throughout the year–not only in fallow lands–and enables to attenuate phytotoxicity that can occur within crops. Similarly, sparing in the usage of herbicides grants access to more expensive active ingredients never used before, diversifying action mechanisms and delaying resistance progress.

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Where do we go in the following years? According to Mammarella, this application possibilities are infinite and does not finish only by training this artificial intelligence to recognize a certain weed. For instance, by establishing post-emergent residual, we could calculate plant stands as a technician would do going around the plot, but in this case from our offices, best Street View style. Through the passing of the pulverizer machine we could determine most damaged spots. Additionally, it would allow us not only

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to identify weeds, but also see planting gaps, defoliation or any other non-uniformity in crops in order to, for example, apply foliar fertilizer in a selective way, etc. Regarding weed management, Colleman highlighted that the next challenge will be differential control, based on weed identification and size by taking into account crop conditions, such as differentiate grasses in grain crops.

It is also being considered the development of a multi-modal approach, allowing to work with large amounts of information at the same time, such as plot history, crop biomass and yield effect to decide if the application on a certain weed is required or not.

Opportunities and strategies for South American meat Ferenando Mattos, from the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay (MGAP in Spanish), Jorge Meza Robayo, from FAO, and Carlos Cherniak highlighted the strengths of meat production and presented innovative ideas to boost the industry.

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Fernando Mattos, current Minister of MGAP, initiated the panel by mentioning that the agricultural sector is mostly referred to from unawareness, downplaying it for being a primary sector, when actually it generates many process technologies to provide more added value and intends to be more competitive to forthcoming new scenarios. Society is influenced and sensitized by the major difficulties it is undergoing as a result of climate change. In the past few years, the meat industry has been unfairly marked due to its contribution to environmental impacts, leaving it under suspicion. In this regard, Mattos said that every

member taking part should redeem the industry image by exhibiting that it is a sector based on responsible and sustainable usage of natural resources. “Undoubtedly, agriculture is making numerous contributions, and we are committed to the proposed environmental objectives. Performance regarding emission sources can be improved, and we must not forget that it is the only sector emitting greenhouse gasses capable of capturing them as well, a great virtue and advantage," he said.

What issues is the industry facing? Increasing average environmental temperature owing to climate change puts agrifood business’ contributions in the eyes of society; similarly, different productive models and the way they are conducted are also being challenged. Mattos explained that our region has an incredible opportunity in terms of sustainable production. He claimed that it is necessary to prove to the world that productive processes are generating measures regarding resources sustainability,

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waterways and biomass and soil protection. Meat production industry can also conduct herd management, soil and pasture degradation control, and provide more productive genetic materials so as to generate productive processes with more short and efficient cycles. Productive systems have proven that the environmental factor can be implemented in Uruguay through the conjoint project with FAO, which assists producers with methods such as

plot division, unproductive categories removal, load adjustments, pasture rotation and improved materials integration. These essential methods allowed the improvement of productive efficiency, in addition to succeeding in reducing emissions for over 14% and increasing productivity.

efficiency and the creation of a measurable emissions balance are crucial, and that those producers employing practices that include the environmental factor should be awarded the same as other countries promoting them.

Toward the end of the lecture, Mattos stated that the Mercosur must be united, confronting the negative attitude intended to be spread in the sector. On the other hand, he said that productive

These essential methods allowed the improvement of productive efficiency, in addition to succeeding in reducing emissions for over 14% and increasing productivity.

Strength and opportunities of the industry within this context Corresponding to Matto's speech, Jorge Alberto Meza Robayo, from FAO, added the important contribution of animal-source foods relating to nutrients in healthy diets. Although he claimed that not every product is the same, which proves meat heterogeneity. Productive systems can be developed in a wide range of places. That is why livestock farming can be combined with forest systems in natural or artificial pastures. Thus, Robayo reflected on these models explaining that South American meat is not a globally homogeneous product, mainly due to differences in production methods within worldwide and environmental contexts along with carbon mitigation and reduction. The product obtained from natural pastures is not the

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same as that obtained from a prior deforested area. Therefore, he noted that the industry should conceive the employment of an activity mindful of carbon management as a market strategy and opportunity. On a global level, South American meat is not a homogeneous product from an environmental and carbon cycle perspective. "We own a system supported by natural pastures and another one by new pastures in deforested areas. Carbon balance among the two is different, so in a global and environmental context of carbon mitigation and reduction they are two different products. This difference is an important basis," the specialist said.

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The role of the consumer is crucial. When purchasing meat, a large part of the population is based solely on organoleptic taste features or just prices, but there are also consumers interested in knowing the origin of the products in order to make more sensible purchases relating to quality and guarantee friendly environmental processes, along with animal welfare. Consequently, Robayo reaffirmed consumers are the catalyst for change, as they consolidate the product and stimulate the beginning of said change according to their preferences. Carlos Cherniak (FAO) was in charge of the closure of this panel, who left a convincing message for the entire sector about agenda items addressed internationally. Firstly, he mentioned the basic axes of FAO. "On the one side, FAO is making technical contributions; on the other side, there is regulatory work giving rise to numerous debates and discussions related to international commerce, becoming the prelude of discussions occurring at the World Trade Organization. That is why it is vital the conjoint work between both the private and public sector of the numerous Latin American countries to defend the interests of our productive systems," he said.

According to Cherniak, these discussions often confront ideology against science, and many countries are trying to establish that there is only one model and one answer for problem solution, unaware of the variety of models and solutions existing in other countries where transformation processes are being developed under several contexts and realities. The speaker also emphasized that the industry is taking action committed in targeting sustainability, underlining features such as animal welfare, antimicrobial resistance, alternative breeding policies, animal nutrition and the animal and forest production integration to enhance animal production. In the last few years, negative vision in certain sectors regarding livestock helped promote and strengthen synthetic protein consumption, casting doubts on nutritional quality

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of animal-based products. Hence, Cherniak shared with the audience studies ensuring nutritional contributions to food of animal origin; and that a balanced consumption is also required for children's healthy cognitive development, stating that this is science and not ideology. The Latin American group of countries intend to achieve animal production by guaranteeing

local, regional and global food security, being sustainable in its three dimensions without one excluding the other. The objective is to build more resilient family farming with an integrated management of livestock, agriculture and forest, and also that technology innovation be available for developing economies to generate employment and rural roots by consolidating the sector perspectives.

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THANKSPOR FORACOMPAÑARNOS! JOINING US! ¡GRACIAS

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