Brazil reaches 2,700 agricultural aircraft in operation

Brazil has reached 2,722 agricultural aircraft in operation at the beginning of 2025, representing a 7.21% growth in the sector's fleet compared to the same period in 2024. The data was presented by Gabriel Colle, executive director of the National Union of Agricultural Aviation Companies (Sindag), during the 35th Official Opening of the Rice Harvest in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, with special coverage by AgroPages.

Of the total reported agricultural aircraft at the start of this year, 2,088 were planes, representing 77% of the fleet, and 634 helicopters made up the remaining 23%. Overall, Brazil maintains its position as having the world's second-largest agricultural aircraft fleet (planes and helicopters), behind only the United States (which has approximately 3,600 aircraft) and ahead of major powers such as Canada, Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand. The market survey was conducted by Sindag's operational director, Cláudio Júnior Oliveira.

According to the study, the ranking of Brazilian states continues to be led by Mato Grosso, with 749 agricultural planes. Following are Rio Grande do Sul with 385 aircraft, São Paulo with 320, Goiás with 307, Bahia recording 173 planes, and the remaining fleet distributed among 19 other states.

Of this total, 1,054 aircraft are operated by farmers or cooperatives (PPO) that own planes for treating their crops, while 1,648 aircraft are operated by agricultural aviation companies (SAE) that provide services to producers.

Furthermore, 51.65% of the aircraft are domestically manufactured, specifically the Ipanema model by Embraer. Though designed in the 1970s, it's now in its seventh generation and, since 2004, has been factory-built to run on ethanol. This makes the model largely responsible for about one-third of the national agricultural aviation fleet being biofuel-powered - a notable achievement.

Sindag's survey also confirms the growing trend toward turboprop agricultural aircraft (powered by aviation kerosene). These are larger, higher-performance planes manufactured in the United States.

DRONES AND AUTONOMOUS AIRCRAFT

Gabriel Colle also highlighted market advances regarding unmanned aircraft. Sindag plans to conduct a survey of the drone fleet operating in the country in the coming months - estimates suggest there are far more drones in operation than those registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC). The plan is to cross-reference registrations from both agencies with information from the Integrated Foreign Trade System (Siscomex) about aircraft entering the country.

Another development mentioned by the agricultural aviation leader is the entry of what the industry calls autonomous aircraft. U.S. manufacturer Pyka is set to introduce its autonomous plane with a 300-kilogram capacity in March.

The aircraft flies without a pilot and can operate at night - as already occurs in Central America. Its flight debut will be during the Show Safra 2025 fair, scheduled for March, which will also be covered by AgroPages. "This is an innovation we still need to examine closely, although it signals a trend of accelerated development in this technology," concluded Colle.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)