Rethink summits are created by experts in the agri-food, water, and waste tech industries to address the issues most crucial to investors and developers in these sectors. Through our global network of industry advisors, we produce highly-focused, topical summits which gather all the right people together in one room to share ideas, find solutions and identify new business opportunities. We are committed to providing the world-leading platforms for knowledge-sharing, debate and networking for business leaders, featuring the leading experts and gamechangers from across the global ecosystem. Our goal is to promote diversity and inclusion, with particular effort to phase out all-male speaker panels to ensure balanced representation and promotion of women in technology and business.
Real-time translation / Tradução em tempo real / Traducción en tiempo real
Delegates will access real-time translation for panel discussions into their choice of Portuguese or Spanish, with both text and audio translation options.
All times below stated as BRT.
Tuesday June 20
9:00am
Climate-Smart Production: Building Environmental and Economic Resilience in Farming
What climate, quality, and productivity challenges do South American farmers face? Which solutions show the greatest potential for improving their economic and environmental sustainability?
How are animal producers rising to face changing regulatory requirements? What innovations are helping to make animal production more sustainable?
Where, and how, do corporate sustainability commitments meet farm operators? How are agribusinesses working with growers to boost yields and revenues, while protecting soil health and reducing inputs use?
How are growers balancing climate resilience and economic growth? What are the challenges of these more environmentally friendly methods?
Session Chair: Rodrigo Rodrigues, Head of Agriculture, FALCONI
Speakers: Celso Moretti, Researcher on Plant Sciences and Former President,EMBRAPA Mauricio Rodrigues, President – Latin America, BAYER CROP SCIENCE Aysu Bilgin,Head of Global Strategy, Insights & New Ventures,BRF Rossano de Angelis Jr, Agribusiness Vice President for South America, BUNGE
9:45am
Presentation // Agriculture: Creating a Meaningful Legacy for the World
A presentation about carbon farming, the opportunities it offers South America, and how to choose a suitable program. Learn more about how it can generate value in terms of both finance and sustainability, and how BASF partners with farmers to realize these benefits.
Regenerative Agriculture & Carbon Farming: Working with the Land to Future-Proof Agriculture
What level of traction are regenerative agriculture approaches gaining across Latin America? What factors are driving this trend? Where are the biggest innovations coming from?
How are low- and no-till farming using the soil itself as a tool to reduce carbon emissions?
Are there certain factors that make for a high-quality ag carbon credit? Are they a successful incentive for growers to contribute to a planet-positive future?
What are the greatest barriers to adoption of regenerative agriculture and carbon farming? How can we overcome these challenges?
Delegates attending the event in São Paulo will take a brief networking coffee break.
Hosted by:
11:10am
Biologicals: Harnessing Nature to Create More Resilient and Profitable Products
Which innovative biologicals solutions are making waves in South America, and has the adoption rate of biologicals accelerated over the past year?
What are the challenges in scaling these solutions? How can products be optimized for different regions or systems? What is the impact of product shelf life?
With what methods is the efficacy of products evaluated and compared in South America? With some growers encouraged to produce their own on-site biologicals, are regulatory quality control measures needed?
Are regulators impacting biologicals development? Do biologicals provide an easier or faster route to market than new synthetic chemicals?
How are smart technologies supporting decision-making at the farm level? What were the enabling factors that allowed the shift to biologicals?
Session Chair: Tomas Romero, Partner,AQUA CAPITAL
Speakers: Sebastian Calvo, CEO, SURCOS Natalia Verza Ferreira, Managing Director, Brazil, OXITEC Grey Frandsen, CEO, OXITEC Marcelo Magurno,Brazil Business Director, FMC Cristiane Delic, Brazil & Paraguay Leader for Biologicals Portfolio, CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE
11:50am
Presentation // The Unique Challenges and Opportunities of Beneficial Live Biologicals
With biologicals becoming more advanced, this presentation will elaborate on the unique aspects of live biologicals. While there are many benefits, there are also still key challenges around efficient delivery, which this presentation will address.
Future Crops: Overcoming Barriers to Gene Editing and New Breeding Technologies
In which areas are advances in genomics allowing growers in Brazil to do more with less? Where are the biggest innovations coming from?
What is the roadmap to scaling these new crop varieties? Will this create new opportunities for exports to Europe and the rest of the world?
How can solutions such as CRISPR be used for more sustainable farming systems and supply chains in Latin America? Can this be applied to smaller growers as well?
Are there barriers to innovation in gene editing and crop breeding that are unique to Latin America? How can we overcome those challenges?
What is the current regulatory landscape like for new plant breeds and genomics in Latin America? Is this expected to change?
Session Chair: Alejandro Hernández, BiotechnologyDirector, CROPLIFE LATIN AMERICA
Speakers: Carlos Perez, Co-Founder & Director of Strategy, BIOHEURIS Alexandre Garcia, Global Head of Seeds, BIOCERES CROPS
12:30pm
Innovator Spotlight Session: Agrostart by BASF
Agrostart join us with their partners to discuss their collaboration strategy and how they are working with innovators and growers to commercialize new technologies.
Speaker: Mirella Lisboa, Open Innovation Agrostart Manager LATAM, BASF
1:00pm
Networking Lunch Break
Delegates attending the event in Sao Paulo will take a networking lunch break.
2:00pm
Farmer Spotlight: Accelerating Innovation Through Field Trials and Collaboration
What is the farmer’s perspective of the future of agriculture in South America? What challenges do South American farmers face, and are they being addressed by the innovation ecosystem?
Which technologies have been truly disruptive and delivering the most value? What are the main drivers for on-farm adoption of new technology?
What new technologies are today’s farmers looking for? What is currently missing?
How can regulation and government better support the pace of innovation? What’s happening now and what needs to change?
Speakers: Nicolás Ridley, Technology & Digital Transformation Lead, MSU Pedro Hales, AgTech Consultant, RIA José Massad, CIO, RAIZEN Carlos Visconti, Head of Innovation,CNH INDUSTRIAL/ITAU
2:40pm
Presentation // Planet on Partnership Spotlight
How do we use satellite data for rapid agricultural assessments for food security, sustainability, and climate change, and what is the value of public-private partnerships?
Speaker: Ricardo Guerra, Sales Director Latin America, PLANET
2:50pm
Start-Up Showcase
This session showcases start-ups from across the region and around the world who have innovative solutions to the core challenges faced by South America’s agri-food system. Companies will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges – followed by Q&A to delve deeper into their products, strategies and vision for the future.
Sharks: Hadar Sutovsky, VP External Innovation, ICL GROUP & General Manager, ICL PLANET Francisco Salvatelli, Brazil Manager, GRIDX
Delegates attending the event in São Paulo will take a brief networking coffee break.
3:50pm
Distribution: Accessing New Channels to Drive Technologies and Services to Farmers
What is driving the current verticalization trend? What opportunities does a more consolidated market present?
What does digitization and online purchasing mean for traditional, brick-and-mortar retailers? What benefits does online retail provide for growers?
How are digital platforms integrating into existing distribution models? Is this consolidation trend a regional phenomenon?
In what ways can product consolidation support greater data integration across the whole production system? How can a suite of solutions bridge food companies and their suppliers?
Will these new one-stop-shop solutions facilitate collaboration between growers and agribusinesses, or silo knowledge?
Session Chair: José Tomé, CEO, AGTECH GARAGE
Speakers: Fernando Degobbi, Director President, COOPERCITRUS Matheus Ganem, Co-Founder and CEO, SEEDZ Ruy Cunha, CEO, LAVORO AGRO Andre Savino, Commercial Distribution Platform General Director LATAM, SYNGENTA
4:30pm
Innovator Spotlight Session: The Yield Lab LATAM
Join The Yield Lab LATAM and a selection of companies to find out how they are supporting homegrown talent and demonstrating the ample opportunities for global investment in the region.
Speaker: Santiago Murtagh, Managing Director, The Yield Lab LATAM
5:00pm
Investor Debate: Capitalizing on Opportunities in the Downturn
Where can start-ups look for funding in 2023 and what local and international investment landscape is emerging?
Who are the new investors entering the playing field and the ones to watch? What will it take to attract more risk capital to unleash the sector’s vast potential?
How are investors working with entrepreneurs to get the value proposition right, engage farmers, and scale their technologies? What challenges have been encountered, and how are they being addressed?
What are investors doing to weather higher interest rates and inflation, combined with lower valuations?
Brazil and Argentina recently announced plans to roll out a regional currency for Latin American countries. This proposed euro-like currency would hope to reduce reliance on the American dollar. How will this factor into future investing? What opportunities does this present?
Session Chair: Olga Maslikhova, Founder, THE J CURVE
Speakers: Francisco Jardim, Founding Partner, SP VENTURES Mariano Mayer, General Partner and Co-Founder, NEWTOPIA VC Bernardo Milesy,Founder & Managing Partner, GLOCAL Magdalena Coronel, Chief Investment Officer, IDB LAB
5:40pm
Closing Remarks
5:45-7.30pm
Drinks Reception and 1-1 Networking
The final two hours of the summit will be devoted for dedicated networking time, allowing our physical audience to connect with future partners without the worry of missing out on any of the action on stage.
Hosted by:
Wednesday June 21
9:00am
Building a Sustainable Innovation Superpower
How are new technologies disrupting South America’s agri-food market? What is the impact on efficiency, productivity, and sustainability?
With new guidelines around sustainability and carbon reporting, what climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies can we expect to see across the region? What is being done to reduce deforestation, how is the agri-food innovation ecosystem developing in line with ESG targets?
What is the position of South American agriculture on the international stage? Do perception and reality match?
Has regulatory activity impacted the development of South American agriculture in the past 12 months? How will it do so over the coming 12 months?
Session Chair: Juliana Lopes, Director of Nature and Society,BRAZILIAN BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (CEBDS)
Speakers: Kieran Gartlan, Managing Director,THE YIELD LAB LATAM Murilo Parada, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head, North Latin America, LOUIS DREYFUS COMPANY Gabriel Santamaria, Head of Sustainability, BANCO DO BRASIL
9:45am
Agri-Fintech: De-Risking Finance for Farmers and The Value-Chain Via Digital Platforms
Could Brazil spearhead the next fintech revolution in agriculture finance? What innovations are we seeing in this sector?
Should growers look to the government, traditional banks and VCs, or AgFinTech solutions to improve their buying power?
Why are AgFinTech companies the first point of contact for embedded lending instead of banks? Are they offering models that better meet farmers’ requirements?
How is data changing the way farmers engage with finance and insurance providers? How is AgFinTech creating a more connected, streamlined, and transparent value chain?
Session Chair: Marina Mansur, Partner,MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Speaker: Fabricio Pezente,Founder & CEO, TRAIVE Nadege Saad, Head of Agribusiness,BRADESCO Renato Girotto, Product Director, Agribusiness Unit, SERASA EXPERIAN
10:20am
Networking Coffee Break
Delegates attending the event in São Paulo will take a brief networking coffee break.
Hosted by:
10:50am
The Digitized Farm: Increasing the Scale and Adoption of Smart Farming Solutions
What are the biggest barriers to technology adoption and experimentation with growers? Can we reduce risk and provide safety nets?
Will breaking down silos and foster strategic partnerships between growers, investors, start-ups, corporates, policymakers, and the academia to improve collaboration, education, and integration become easier or more difficult in the future? Where does the responsibility lie for driving partnerships, and which new business models are best suited to support the innovation scale-up? How can we bridge the gaps in infrastructure?
Which governing standards are needed to build trust in these new technologies? How can we create a secure yet open culture for knowledge?
How can the latest technologies in sensing, IoT and AI be utilized for a more predictive, precise connected approach to agriculture? What is the scale needed for technologies to be financially viable? What ROI can growers expect?
Session Chair: Carlos Hirsch, Chief Revenue Officer, EIWA
Speakers: Almir Araujo,Director of Digital,BASF AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS Gregory Riordan,Director Digital South America, CNH INDUSTRIAL Frederico Logemann, Head of Innovation & Strategy,SLC AGRICOLA Tomás Dandrea Balistiero, COO, CITROSUCO
11:35am
Presentation // Collaborative Partnerships to Unlock Crop Nutrition Knowledge
This presentation focuses on the benefits around using data and knowledge bases to offer growers better-informed recommendations. AgTechs can leverage APIs to support their digital platforms and deliver better results for their end users.
Speaker: Marcus Birke, Head of Product, AgTech APIs, YARA INTERNATIONAL
11:45am
Innovator Spotlight Session: Cubo Agro
Cubo Agro and some of its portfolio companies will be presenting the fruits of their collaborations, showing how start-ups and investors are working together to position Brazil as a global hub for agricultural innovation.
12:15pm
Networking Roundtables
One of the most interactive sessions of the program, each roundtable discussion group is hosted by an industry expert on a specific theme offering you a valuable opportunity to network, brainstorm solutions and discuss ideas with your peers on shared areas of interest.
With around 10 participants per table, it’s an informal setting where you’re encouraged to speak freely, ask questions and swap contact details.
The Future of The Ag-Input Chain Hosted by:Gabriel Vidal, CEO,AGRIACORDO
Harnessing the Power of Data in Agriculture Hosted by:Davide Ceper, CEO, VARDA
Strategic Connections: How can Founders Position Themselves to find the Right Investors Hosted by:Tomás Peña, Managing Partner,THEYIELD LAB LATAM
Functional Agriculture: Nutritional Density from Farm to Fork Hosted by: : Ithamar Prada, VP Marketing and Innovation | South America, ICL PLANET
Innovation in Biological Control Hosted by: Felipe Itihara, Innovation Manager, KOPPERTBIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Unlocking the Soil Microbiome for Data-Driven and Regenerative Food Production Hosted by:Irving Rivera, CEO, SOLENA
Earth Observation: Supply Chain Tracking & Sustainability for EU Compliance Hosted by: Flávia de Souza Mendes, Program Manager of Forest and Land Use, PLANET
Commercial Adoption of Biologicals: How do we Make Biologicals more Beneficial to Farmers? Hosted by: Elisa Bertini, Co-Founder & CSO, PUNA BIO
AgTech Allies: Addressing Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities in the Field Hosted by:Juan Martin Maisterrena, AgTech Advisory Board Lead, AAPRESID
Navigating Traceability: Working with New Sustainability Frameworks in Agriculture Hosted by:Leonardo Gava, Senior Brazil Agriculture Transition Manager, CLIMATE BONDS INITIATIVE
Agile Agriculture: Applying Lean Management Concepts Hosted by: Celso Moretti, Researcher in Plant Sciences and Former President, EMBRAPA
1:00pm
Networking Lunch Break
Delegates attending the physical event in Sao Paulo will take a networking lunch break.
2:00pm
ESG Finance: Unlocking New Sources of Investment for The Growing Agtech Ecosystem
What new ESG-driven finance models promise to disrupt how innovation is funded, implemented, and scaled?
To what extent are the international pressures on sustainable practices like reforestation influencing investors? How can ESG and other investments focus on adopting climate-smart technologies and innovation?
The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board released new global standards for sustainability and climate-related reporting this month. Will this help to provide a regulatory framework for ESG initiatives in South America?
How will the UNEP’s new Nature Risk Profile methodology help investors ensure that their portfolios really are supporting sustainability and biodiversity?
With such a difficult menu of options for companies, could a more consolidated landscape make ESG more approachable in the future?
Speakers: José Pugas, Partner & Head of ESG and Agribusiness,JGP CRÉDITO Marcelo Lima, Co-Founder, 10B Flavio Zaclis, Founder, BARN INVESTMENTS
2:30pm
Smart Commodities: Enabling Supply Chain Traceability from Farm to Fork
With pressure from consumers and regulators increasing, how is the conversation about supply chain traceability evolving?
How are farmers monitoring and reporting on their production methods? To what extent are they developing their own technologies vs working with suppliers?
What are the key barriers to greater tracking across the value chain? What is needed to increase adoption in agriculture operations?
How do farmers identify and implement solutions, and monitor their impact? How can farmers vet potential suppliers to ensure they comply with regulations?
Is this increased transparency being integrated into the risk management strategies of food companies and commodity traders? Are insurance companies using this data?
Session Chair: Roberta Paffaro, International Market Development Director,CME GROUP
Speakers: Yuri Feres,Country Director, Brazil,RAINFOREST ALLIANCE Melissa Brito,Global Director for Zero Conversion Agriculture, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY Diego Hoter, Co-Founder & CEO, UCROP.IT
3:00pm
Agricultural Data: Optimizing Accessibility, Uptake and Value
How are growers in South America using agricultural data generated on their farms to make better decisions more quickly?
In what ways can we enhance farmers’ access to and benefits from their own data?
Are there currently good case studies of farms, agribusinesses, or universities collaborating to streamline innovation cycles with data sharing?
How is this wealth of new data informing climate or inputs modeling?
What standards and training are needed to help farmers and their workforce collect the most relevant and useable datasets?
Speakers: Carolina Sevciuc, Senior Director of Strategy & Transformation, PEPSICO Vitor Mondo, Head of Technology Transfer, EMBRAPA Leandro Carrion, Regional Innovation Lead, JOHN DEERE Pedro Ronzani, LATAM Business Lead, EARTHDAILY AGRO
3:45pm
Agricultural Education: Upskilling Growers to Meet the Demands of a Digitized World
With technology advancing at a rapid rate all along the supply chain, and growers that in many cases have lived the better part of their lives without laptops and smartphones, there’s a huge risk of getting left behind. How are educational institutions and businesses stepping up to meet that challenge?
Who are the biggest players in this sector? How are they staying at the forefront of agricultural education?
What barriers to entry do growers face? How can these be overcome?
Export markets are constant in their demands for South American products, and also constantly introducing new regulations and standards. How can agribusinesses anticipate these ever-evolving challenges?
Political turmoil and the climate are changing where the world gets its food. Will this region become the world’s pantry?
Some of the biggest game changers in agriculture currently are coming from South America. What can be done to ensure the region remains at the cutting edge of innovation?
Plant-based alternatives: consumer tastes are growing more tolerant of new sources of protein and shifting away from meat. In what ways can producers adjust to meet these changing trends?
Session Chair: Fabio Cardo, Founder, FOOD FORUM
Speakers: Gus Guadagnini, Managing Director,THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE Mariana Vasconcelos, Founder, AGROSMART Roberto Viton, Managing Director, VALORAL ADVISORS José Gobbée, Principal,THE CONTEXT NETWORK