00:00These seemingly ordinary fields of crops could well represent the agriculture of tomorrow.
00:05Brazil is the world's leading exporter of soya beans and also one of the biggest users of pesticides.
00:10But the state of Rio Grande do Sul has set itself a challenge to farm without chemicals while improving yields.
00:19This is the oldest experimental field in Brazil, where we're working on the issue of greenhouse gases and global warming.
00:25We're studying the relationship between the gases emitted by animals and their absorption by plants.
00:30The idea is to absorb more gases than are emitted.
00:35These researchers are studying a seemingly simple method, how to reorganize agricultural spaces.
00:41The idea is to combine crops and livestock to make production sustainable.
00:47It's based on a set of techniques and field management practices such as direct seeding, moderate grazing and fertilization systems.
00:56Yes, and soya bean cultivation is used as a nitrogen sink, trapping it in the soil to be reused by
01:02pastures during winter.
01:04The most important issue is capture.
01:06Large-scale permaculture on one side and invisible science on the other, like this naturally occurring bacterium directly introduced into
01:15the soya bean seed.
01:18The bacteria capture nitrogen from the atmosphere through the plant and then allow the plant to absorb it.
01:25And thanks to this symbiosis, it is the plant that allows the bacteria to thrive in the soil, thanks to
01:31the sun's rays through photosynthesis.
01:34Since the 1970s, Rio Grande do Sul has been a global pioneer in sustainable agricultural research.
01:41In this state laboratory, bacteria are isolated and then implanted before being used in the field.
01:50These are bacteria found in nature. We collect them, isolate them and test them to see if they are effective
01:56or not.
01:57We cut the nodule and if it turns red, it means that the nodule is able to fix nitrogen and
02:03that the bacteria are beneficial to the plant.
02:06And all this without using pesticides. So we are significantly reducing greenhouse gases.
02:14All they need to do now is to convince rice farmers who grow the region's main crop.
02:19In just a year, certified sustainable production has jumped by 62% and for good reason.
02:26It's a bullock against climate change.
02:28In 2024, Jair Leandro lost half of his rice fields to flooding.
02:32Since then, he's drastically changed his practices.
02:37Prices collapsed and we couldn't produce anymore because diseases had spread rapidly.
02:42All because we were working with only one crop.
02:46The initial results are promising.
02:49Methane emissions have dropped by up to a third thanks to better pasture management.
02:53Last November at COP30, Brazil announced an ambitious goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2035.
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