Yara supplies Cooxupé with Brazil's first batch of lower carbon fertilizer

Date:11-14-2024

With initiatives to decarbonize agriculture and other industries, Yara, the global leader in crop nutrition, is the first company to offer in the Brazilian market a nitrogen fertilizer produced from a renewable source, with a reduction of up to 90% in its carbon footprint compared to the same fertilizer produced from fossil-based natural gas. The first batch of this product has just been delivered to producers from Cooxupé, one of the world’s leading coffee cooperatives, headquartered in Guaxupé, Minas Gerais.

Decarbonizing coffee farming in Brazil

This first delivery marks an important milestone for the decarbonization of coffee farming in Brazil, with an expected impact of up to a 40% reduction in the carbon footprint of coffee beans. For this phase of the project, a group of producers was selected to represent the more than 20,000 cooperative families of Cooxupé, receiving fertilizers from the Porsgrunn plant in Norway, which arrived via the Port of Santos (SP) last October.

″The delivery of solutions towards climate neutrality is a global strategy for Yara and reinforces the potential of the fertilizer sector to contribute to a sustainable food future," says Marcelo Altieri, President of Yara Brazil. "Climate change is shaping the way we must produce food, and this new direction requires a coalition effort between producers, companies, and the industry. The partnership between Yara and Cooxupé is a milestone for Brazil and symbolizes this joint effort, which brings a significant positive impact to nature and society as a whole″.

According to the President of Cooxupé, Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo, the use of lower carbon fertilizers aligns with the ESG agenda and the global market and consumer demands regarding a commitment to society and the environment. "Our cooperative is committed to coffee production based on sustainability, quality, and traceability," he says.

″We export our coffee to 50 countries, and our strength comes from cooperativism and partnerships that bring innovation, technologies, and inputs to our members, enabling good agricultural practices within the farms, as well as food security for those who consume our coffee worldwide.″

Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo, President, Cooxupé

Yara Climate Choice™

The lower carbon fertilizer is part of the Yara Climate Choice™ portfolio, which includes the same effective, high-quality Yara crop nutrition that growers trust, produced with technologies that further reduce their product’s carbon footprint. Yara Climate Choice™ lower carbon fertilizers can be produced from different renewable sources, e.g. electrolysis of water using renewable electricity, or from renewable natural gas, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the fertilizer production and reduces the use of fossil sources such as natural gas. The level of emission reduction depends on the renewable source and fertilizer’s nitrogen content.

The batch received by Cooxupé was transported from the port of Santos to Alfenas, Minas Gerais, in trucks fueled by natural gas. The product was packaged in big bags made from recyclable plastic — another Yara pioneering initiative that cuts greenhouse gas emissions from the storage and transportation process by half.

Yara has long been committed to advancing sustainable food production. With investments in research and innovation, the company, which will celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2025, developed a technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production of nitrate-based fertilizers. This innovation led to a reduction of up to 60% in the carbon footprint of the current portfolio, compared to nitrate-based fertilizers available in the market. The company's goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.