Syngenta Biologicals sponsored the 2023 Biostimulants World Congress and the 2nd edition of the Farmer's Award
Panel discussion for Farmers’ Award (left to right):
Ivan Furlanetto Managing Director of Agricola Sant'Ilario and Operation Manager, INGAM srl.
Riccardo Vanelli Biologicals Head, Europe Africa & the Middle East, Syngenta Biologicals
Emilio PirragliaGlobal Product Manager yield and quality enhancement,Syngenta Biologicals
Syngenta Biologicals sponsored the 2023 Biostimulants World Congress and the 2nd edition of the Farmers’ Award. The contest is open to early adopters of plant biostistimulants and farmers who have embraced innovative agricultural practices. Selection is by a judging panel adhering to a scoring system based on the submission from the farmer.
The Farmer’s Award aims to celebrate and acknowledge sustainability leaders who are implementing biostimulants to increase their crop yield and health through sustainable farming methods.
Riccardo Vanelli, Biologicals Head, Europe Africa & the Middle East, Syngenta Biologicals said when opening up competition for entries: “We are glad to participate actively in the World Congress of Biostimulants: initiatives such as the Farmer’s Award want to be a concrete demonstration of our commitment to shape tomorrow’s agriculture. This is where biologicals and their innovation can unleash their value for farmers".
During the panel discussion in Milan, Vanelli said: “We feel the Farmers’ Award can give another perspective, sharing the experience of the farmer.”
Joining Vanelli on stage was Ivan Furlanetto Managing Director of Agricola Sant'Ilario and Operation Manager at INGAM srl who shared his experiences of using biostimulants. His company manages a farm enterprise of around 4,000 hectares in the eastern
part of Italy near Venice. The farms produce corn, winter wheat, triticale, and sugarbeet, as well as managing a vineyard for the production of prosecco. With regards to the vineyard, Furlanetto said he noticed an increase in yield and quality in the grapes when using a seaweed-based product during spring time. He added that in spring there can be stress from cold temperatures at night, and that biostimulants can help to mitigate the impact of that stress.
Regarding corn production, Furlanetto said they were using a biostimulant with a crop protection product to increase the quality and yield of silage, around an increase of 10-15% per hectare as well as improving the quality of crop: “2-3% of starch this is a good result for our company,” said Furlanetto.
A panel discussion featuring Ivan Furlanetto (left) –Managing Director of Agricola Sant'Ilario and Operation Manager at INGAM srl set the scene before the announcement of the Farmer's Award.
Survey summary Emilio Pirraglia – Global Product Manager yield and quality enhancement, Syngenta Biologicals – gave a summary of a survey that the company had commissioned. The survey included 700 growers from around the globe, including Brazil, USA, India and UK.
“What we discovered about soil health is that we don’t have single answer from a grower perspective, and that a farmer’s view of soil health will be highly linked to quality and yield,” explained Pirraglia.
When asking growers if soil health is important, Pirraglia said that 80% agreed, and in 5 years that soil health would be more important .
Winner’s award The 2023 Farmer's Award went to Paulo Roberto Dzierwa from Brazil. One reason for him scoring highly with the judges, according to Vanelli, was his use of drone application and soil analysis.
In Dzierwa’s acceptance video, he said he had been a farmer in the state of Parana for 40 years, harvesting soybeans, corn and oats, and incorporating a crop and livestock rotation. His enterprise produces biological products on-farm, and he mentioned the importance of soil microbes and worms to the soil. He said it was great satisfaction to be chosen as the winner of the Farmers’ Award.
Marco Rosso (opposite) – Global Head Biostimulant Regulatory and Sustainability – discusses the importance of the Farmers’ Award at the Biostimuilant World Congress. ●
The four runners up of the Farmers Award were:
Giuseppe Oranges (Azienda Agricola Oranges)
Salvatore Pirro (Azienda Agricola Pirro)
Lawrence Fiene (Planet Earth Agronomy)
Nathan Potter (Ketchum Island Cranberry)
