The use of biological control for crop protection is expected to reach 50% of the market by 2050 in Brazil. This assessment was made by researcher Wagner Bettiol from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Environment, at the BioSummit event held last week in Campinas (SP). The researcher's analysis is based on market growth figures and was presented during the lecture "Biological control: sustainability in climate change scenarios". In 2025, for example, the use of biological control reached 12% market growth in the country. “Five years ago, we were registering around 3% annual growth. The growth curve of the global chemical pesticide market, until 2030, will be 5% for chemical control. There are also countries where chemical control is decreasing in the market. By 2030, the forecast is that of the $106 billion in crop protection overall, approximately $18 billion will be for biological control. In other words, the market will be 20% biological control,” he explains. Among the factors already driving this growth, Bettiol lists consumer pressure for “cleaner” products, registration and product development problems, and the emergence of new biological technologies. According to the researcher, today practically all large Brazilian producers already use biological control on their properties, and in ten years the same could happen with medium and small producers, if the ideal conditions are given. “To achieve this totality, we first need to bring knowledge to these farmers, who still do not have access to information about biological control. We need to expand technical science, training, and bring this knowledge to these farmers. Technology companies are already emerging that are working with smaller market niches and bringing this knowledge to these small producers,” he points out.
Climate change
Bettiol also addressed the importance of biological control for sustainability and climate change. “To produce one kilogram of pesticide, we emit at least five times more carbon dioxide than to produce the same amount of biological control. That alone shows the beneficial effect of this control on the environment,” he emphasizes. Furthermore, the researcher points out that applying a biological control agent, whether to the aerial parts of the plant or the soil, improves soil quality. “This increases the microbial population in the soil and improves root system growth, and carbon is retained in the soil. The biological control agent increases productivity because it improves the plant's physiology as a whole, which will experience less stress and produce more. Consequently, less energy will be used to produce more. In other words, this plant will produce more food with lower carbon emissions. Less carbon in the atmosphere will reduce the problems of climate change.”
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.