Enviro News Asia, Rio de Janeiro — Biological fertilizers and crop protection products account for the majority of Brazil’s green agricultural innovations, according to a report released last week by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). The findings highlight a strong national focus on developing sustainable agricultural inputs to replace conventional chemical-based products.
The report shows that 70 percent of Brazilian patent applications related to green agricultural technologies filed between 2012 and 2025 concern biofertilizers and biodefensives. These technologies rely on biological principles considered less environmentally damaging than chemical formulations that have dominated agriculture for decades.
Out of 1,205 patent applications of Brazilian origin identified in the period, a significant share was submitted by companies involving at least one Brazilian inventor, totaling 465 applications. Individual inventors accounted for 435 applications, while public research institutions submitted 389. Civil society organizations without profit orientation contributed 41 patent applications.
Among public institutions, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) recorded the highest number of patent filings, with 34 registered projects. Overall, public research bodies and universities dominate the group of Brazilian organizations with at least ten patent applications each, with only one private entity included among the 17 most active applicants.
When including foreign-origin patent applications, technologies related to biofertilizers and biodefensives remain predominant, representing 73 percent of all green agricultural technology filings at INPI. Sustainable crop protection products accounted for 3,282 patent applications, while biofertilizers totaled 2,597, resulting in a combined 5,879 filings. These figures exceed those for digital agriculture technologies, which recorded 2,132 applications over the same period.
In the global ranking of patent origins within green agricultural technologies filed in Brazil, domestic applications ranked second with 1,205 filings. The United States led with 2,515 applications, followed by Germany with 509.
The INPI report underscores Brazil’s growing role in the development of environmentally sustainable agricultural technologies, particularly through public research institutions and biologically based inputs aimed at reducing environmental impacts while supporting agricultural productivity. (*)
