December 1, 2020
Nuseed is working closely with carinata contract growers in Argentina, helping them become ‘carbon stewards’, maximizing the financial, agronomic and sustainability benefits of the crop for their farm.
Carinata is a unique cover crop that provides an additional revenue opportunity on existing farmland between primary crops. It delivers many agronomic benefits by increasing crop rotation diversity, providing protection from soil erosion and dramatically improving soil health through carbon soil sequestration (the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide in the soil).
Nuseed acquired specific carinata assets from the crop developer a year ago and has already been able to increase commercial hectares in South America as well as develop a successful program that supports its growers.
The program ensures success for farmers, and makes sure regulatory requirements and certification standards are met.
As part of the program, growers provide farm GPS locations, which allow Nuseed to analyse satellite images, certifying land use and compliance with market regulations, including verification that water sources are not impacted.
The growers must also sign a production agreement to follow Nuseed’s sustainability and business model. Nuseed works closely with them during the entire process to ensure Nuseed production guidelines, based on experience and local R&D, are followed. These production protocols include approval and certification of:
- Insecticides, crop protection and fungicides
- Amount and type of fertilizer
- Approved desiccant use
- Biomass remaining in the field after harvest
Nuseed also provides contract growers with direct assistance during harvest to help manage any key issues that may arise during the process.
Sebastian Bravo is Nuseed’s Regulatory Manager for Nuseed Carinata. Based in Argentina, Sebastian oversees the production process for the crop in South America as well as the program’s development and certification requirements. He coordinates inspections, contract facilities, and develops procedures to ensure grower, industry partner and logistic regulatory and certification compliance.
Sebastian says: “My top priority is to develop Nuseed Carinata in Argentina. I also have overview of every part of the supply chain and my responsibility is to add value to the Nuseed Carinata Value Chain, from R&D to the grain export and business development.
“I was excited about the chance to develop the supply chain for a new crop, and as it happens Nuseed Carinata aligns with my passion for green agriculture. I found it a fascinating opportunity and obviously one I could not pass up.”
Sebastian has a wealth of experience from very large farming operations, to seed production, specialty trait development, and winter seeds production. He also has experience with new business start-ups, quality control, quality assurance, stewardship, multipliers management, seed industrial management, ISO 9001 Certification and regulatory affairs – making him the perfect team member to lead Nuseed’s Carinata production in South America.
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