Course enables producers for canola production

Expectation is to increase the area grown in the state of Paraná

On 13 and 14 of February, Cascavel (PR) hosted the III State Course of Technical Training for Canola Crop. The event, promoted by the industry of biodiesel BSBIOS, aimed at gathering rural producers, students, rural technicians, business partners of improvement, researchers and agronomists to disseminate Canola growth.

During the two days, participants could check and update on planting, handling, harvesting and market of the crop. The Operations director of BSBIOS Marialva (PR), Carlos Antônio Borsolan Gaspar, emphasized the economic advantages in producing canola. "Canola is a profitable crop for the farmer, as it is the third greater vegetable oil crop produced in the world, BSBIOS improve its growth, provides technical assistance and guarantees grains purchase," he stated. Canola has the same quotation soybean does.

The coordinator of the Improvement Sector of BSBIOS Marialva, Josiene Roberta Carraro, emphasized that the state of Paraná has a large idle area in the winter that could be used with canola. "In 2011, BSBIOS improved 10 thousand hectares in the state, the objective is to advance with quality of implementation in growth areas", he said.

The researcher of Embrapa-Trigo, Dr. Gilberto Omar Tomm, reminded that crops should have a plan in order to succeed. "Canola is a great alternative for crop rotation, bringing in, including, benefits for subsequent crops, which present larger productivity and subsequent profit to producers after the implantation of the vegetable oil crop", said Tomm. According to the agro-climatic zoning, the crop in Paraná starts to be sown in the beginning of March. Tomm still said that technologies used are the same which are used for other crops, so cost for optimizing machinery and implements is lower than for other winter crops.

BSBIOS, through the National Program of Production and Use of Biodiesel (PNPB) owns the Social Fuel Stamp, identification which is provided by the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) to renewable energy industries that acquire at minimum 30% of raw material of family agriculture. "The company guarantees the inclusion of approximately 5 thousand small producers in Paraná, offering to them benefits and bonuses in their grain commercialization", emphasized Josiene.

Canola is a vegetable oil crop that began to be researched and grown in Rio Grande do Sul in 1974, and in the 1980s in Paraná. It is a winter crop that contains 37% of oil in grains and 27% of protein, being the ideal quality for production of biodiesel and meeting the specifications required by the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP).

BSBIOS

BSBIOS is a biodiesel industry founded in 2005. It produces approximately 300 million liters of biodiesel/year. It owns two units, one in Passo Fundo (RS) and another one in Marialva (PR). It is the only company associated to Petrobras Biofuel for production of biofuel. It employs, directly, 500 collaborators in its units and generates thousands of indirect jobs. Soybean is its main raw material for production of renewable energy, but it improves canola as an alternative crop. It also works in Paraná with tallow and whole cottonseed oil for the production of biodiesel.