World Agri-Tech South America Summit: Climate, Biotech, and Digital Tools Lead the Agenda
#13 BAR Raiser
Next month’s World Agri-Tech South America Summit in São Paulo comes at a pivotal moment for the region. With Brazil preparing to host COP30 in Belém later this year, sustainable and smart agriculture is firmly in the global spotlight, and this forum is set to elevate the conversation.
The summit will bring together a powerful mix of voices from across the agri-food ecosystem, and the dialogue promises to be dynamic, spanning climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and food security, as participants explore what will drive the region’s sustainable agriculture forward.
Below, I highlight a few of the most compelling themes and discussions that will take place.
Climate Front and Center
As global attention turns toward COP30, climate resilience inevitably tops the summit's agenda. A centerpiece of the event will be the Opening Plenary, Building Climate Resilience through Sustainable Agriculture. This session will bring together leaders from government, agribusiness, and global food companies, featuring Silvia Davila (Danone), Caio Carvalho (ABAG), Pedro Alves Corrêa Neto (Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture), and Francila Calica (Bayer), to explore how South American agriculture can become a driving force for climate stability.
Discussions will highlight where sustainable practices are already making measurable progress, which technologies deserve prioritization, and how R&D strategies and public-private collaborations can create the incentives and frameworks needed to scale impact.
The region's unique role as both a biodiversity powerhouse and a global agricultural leader underscores the urgency of developing profitable yet climate-conscious solutions. Expect a strong focus on how financial frameworks and international investments can accelerate this transition, balancing ecological stewardship with economic returns.
Accelerating Biological Adoption
The agricultural world, especially in Brazil, is increasingly turning to biological solutions as viable alternatives to traditional chemical inputs.
At this year’s summit, the panel Accelerating Biological Adoption: Supporting Year-Round Productivity with Biological Solutions will dive deep into the barriers and opportunities driving this shift. Moderated by Tomas Romero of Aqua Capital and featuring voices like Marcelo Lima (10B Gestora), Ameer Shakeel (AgroSpheres), and Rose Monnerat (Solubio), the discussion will focus on how biologicals, including biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biopesticides, can sustainably boost productivity and crop resilience across South America’s diverse landscapes.
Expect insights into how the private sector is collaborating with public research institutions and leveraging AI to accelerate development and scale. The panel will also examine how Brazil’s evolving regulatory framework is enabling standardized production and building investor confidence, positioning the country as a global leader in this fast-growing space.
Data, MRV, and AI: Agriculture's Digital Revolution
Data-driven agriculture stands as the summit's technological cornerstone.
A Fireside Chat on Leveraging MRV to Unlock the Financial and Ecological Benefits of Tropical Agriculture will examine how traditional MRV models fall short in tropical regions and how local stakeholders are designing more tailored approaches. Expect insights into how emissions-reducing practices, especially in tropical soils, are being translated into revenue streams such as carbon credits and sustainability-linked finance, while equipping smallholders to participate in emerging ecosystem markets.
In parallel, the session AI in Agribusiness: Automating Decision-Making to Maximize Profitability and Productivity will spotlight cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence across the agri-food chain, from weeding and pest control to financial forecasting and farm optimization. The panel will feature experts such as Anderson Rocha (University of Campinas), Almir Araujo Silva (BASF), and Laís Braido (Solinftec), and will be moderated by José Gobbée (Kearney), offering insights on how AI is being embedded into digital platforms and precision hardware to boost performance and profitability across farms of all sizes.
Innovation in Action: Startups Leading the Charge
Startups are turning ideas into impact across Latin America, and the summit will spotlight some of the most promising, like Courageous Land, a Yield Lab Latam portfolio company focused on making nature investable through agroforestry-based carbon projects, and TRAG, a recent winner at the Rural Summit Agrimatching Challenge, focused on the vastly underserved ag insurance sector.
One critical enabler of this transition is AgFintech. By expanding access to credit, insurance, and payment tools, digital finance is helping farmers adopt new technologies and transition to climate-smart production. I’ll be moderating a Fireside Chat on this topic with Amit Pradhan from Farmers Edge, a Canadian agri-digital platform known for its data-driven solutions and active operations in Brazil, and Fabio Damasceno from MAPFRE, a global insurance giant actively expanding its footprint in agricultural risk management across Latin America.
With climate resilience, biological innovation, and digital transformation at the forefront, the summit promises robust dialogue, strategic insights, and actionable outcomes that will shape the future of agriculture in South America and beyond.
Thanks for reading.
KFG 🚀
P.S. Get a 20% discount for the event using the code: BAR
Kieran Finbar Gartlan is an Irish native with over 30 years experience living and working in Brazil. He is Managing Partner at The Yield Lab Latam, a leading venture capital firm investing in Agrifood and Climate Tech startups in Latin America.
All views, opinions, and commentary expressed are strictly his own.