With a 100% automated fertilizer factory, BP Bunge projects productivity gains and cost reductions

one of the Brazilian leaders in the ethanol, sugar and bioelectricity markets, has just opened a fertilizer factory at the Moema plant, located in the municipality of Orindiúva, in the interior of São Paulo. The plant, in which BRL 22 million was invested, stands out for its 100% automated structure, distinguishes it from similar operations in the sector.

With a model focused on the production of liquid fertilizers, the unit focuses on the manufacture of two specific types of products. The first is foliar fertilizers, which are used as a nutritional supplement containing macro and micronutrients and which, together with biostimulants and biological inputs, form a technology with the potential to generate an increase in average productivity of 8 to 10 tons per hectare. On this front, the volume produced at the new plant will be able to meet the demand of seven of the company’s 11 plants installed in the country, covering a total of 300 thousand hectares.

Another priority for the new plant will be the enrichment of localized vinasse, a by-product of sugarcane processing that is a relevant source of potassium, one of the nutrients necessary for the good development of sugarcane and which, in addition to increasing the longevity and productivity of the sugarcane field, also protects soil quality. Regarding this operation, the fertilizer factory will have the capacity to cover 45 thousand hectares, comprising the Moema and Guariroba (SP) units.

It is worth emphasizing that these strategies are linked to the company’s regenerative management project, which is currently a reference in the sector.

“The 100% automated operation is what will make possible this significant production that we are designing for the new fertilizer factory, whose structure is completely technological, without any type of manual process, guaranteeing precision throughout the entire production system. With this, the initiative aligns with one of our main institutional pillars, which is to make technology a key piece to advance operational efficiency and productivity”, comments Rogério Bremm, agricultural director at BP Bunge Bioenergia.

The forecast is that the in-house manufacture of fertilizers will also bring positive impacts in terms of cost reduction for the company, since, with this new operation, expenses with the process of dilution and transportation of inputs of this nature purchased from to external suppliers for distribution at the company’s 11 plants located in five Brazilian states. The estimated savings in this regard reach 40%.

“By reducing these costs, we intend, for example, to direct investments to further enhance the process of biostimulation of sugarcane fields through the use of foliar fertilizers that we are producing ourselves. Currently, we are even seen as a reference in the sector in the application of this technology, which is still little explored in our market, but which brings very relevant productivity gains, according to the results we have experienced in our plants”, explains Bremm.

Another innovation generated by the new BP Bunge fertilizer factory, which should become a reality in a second phase of the project, refers to the possibility of customizing the formulas of these inputs according to the specific needs of each of the plants, thus guaranteeing an assertiveness and even greater efficiency in the company’s agricultural processes.