Fienile Brings Innovation To Gulf Agriculture
(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) (MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) São Paulo – It was by chance that Gustavo Alexandre Grossi, founder of the Fienile group, discovered a way to boost crop productivity about ten years ago. That discovery led to projects, the creation of the Fienile company, and various international deals, as well as awards and recognition in Arab Gulf countries such as Qatar and Bahrain.
While walking through his family's farm in Monte Carmelo, Minas Gerais, one night, he noticed that the plants in one section of the field were significantly larger than the others-and they were illuminated by a light pole throughout the night.“The soybean plants that received the light were the biggest. Their size decreased as they got less light,” he recalled in an interview with ANBA at the (ABCC ) headquarters in São Paulo.
Grossi (4th from L) at an event in Qatar: Arabs are interested in the company's projects
He called seed suppliers and specialists he already worked with to the farm to understand the difference between the plants. Those that received more light were between 1.90 and 2 meters tall and had an estimated yield of 290 sixty-kilogram sacks per hectare, whereas an average soybean plant is about one meter tall with an average yield of 60 sixty-kilogram sacks per hectare. This productivity can vary depending on soil conditions, rainfall, lighting, and geographic location.
It's not uncommon for plants to grow larger when they receive more light, including artificial light, on farms. But based on this observation, he began researching ways to provide more light to crops. Back in 2015, he founded the Fienile group, which operated on his own farm for four years and developed the world's first irrigation pivot system with supplemental lighting for outdoor areas, now patented by the company. In indoor settings, including vertical farms in the Arab world, such systems are now common and widely used.
While irrigating the plants, the machines also illuminate the crops with LED artificial light, thereby extending the amount of light the plants receive. This surplus light added to natural sunlight stimulates photosynthesis and leads to higher productivity. The technology, which falls under the Irriluce brand, can be used, Grossi says, for any type of crop.
Between 2018 and 2019, the entrepreneur began promoting the results of this innovation, then in 2020, he was invited to join a project in western Paraná supported by the Itaipu Technological Park (Parquetec). Since then, Grossi has been taking part in presentations and meetings. He made contact with the ABCC during a project with the C.Vale cooperative, also in Paraná state. Fienile became a member of the institution in 2022 and, the following year, took part in a business mission to Gulf countries through the ABCC Lab project, the chamber's innovation hub.
Grossi has attended events and business meetings in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar, among other Gulf countries. He has received honors for the company's innovative projects and is engaged in advanced negotiations with businesspeople from these nations. According to Grossi, the Arabs have also shown interest in another venture Fienile is developing in partnership with company Nano Agro-a technology that improves water quality.“It increases oxygenation and injects ozone particles to make the water free of bacteria, fungi, and viruses-a high-quality water for plants,” he explains.
“Our nanotechnology has a unique advantage. The largest companies in the world can reach one billion nanoparticles, or bubbles, per milliliter of water. Fienile, together with Nano [Agro], produces 15 billion,” he says.“Food security is essential for Arab countries. We showed them they can invest in technology and production within their own territory, their own country, so they don't have to rely so heavily on imports or investments in other nations,” Grossi says about the discussions in the Gulf.
Around the world, Fienile is also developing projects in Coimbra, Portugal, and may soon close a deal with a company in Málaga, Spain, which needs to increase its avocado and mango production. This client, Grossi explains, needs to enhance the lighting of the fruit trees due to the region's lack of natural light.
His products, Grossi explains, ultimately offer clients greater efficiency in water and energy use, while also reducing pesticide consumption.“Cooperatives and companies are facing water scarcity issues, just like individuals. We can't beat Mother Nature, but we can reduce her impacts,” he says.
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Marcos Carrieri/ANBASupplied
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