FAO Pushes Bioinputs to Strengthen Agricultural Resilience

FAO is expanding efforts across Latin America and the Caribbean to promote bioinputs as a tool to improve agricultural resilience, reduce dependence on imported agrochemicals and strengthen sustainable food systems. The initiative comes as producers face rising input costs, international market volatility and growing climate-related pressures on agricultural production.

According to FAO, the use of chemical fertilizers in the Americas increased by more than 200% between 1990 and 2023. Recent disruptions in global energy and fertilizer markets have exposed the region’s dependence on imported inputs, increasing vulnerability to external shocks and price volatility.

Bioinputs, including biofertilizers, biopesticides and biostimulants, are increasingly being viewed as an alternative that can improve resource efficiency, reduce reliance on conventional agricultural inputs and support compliance with environmental requirements in export markets. FAO defines agricultural bioinputs as "any product of plant, animal or microbial origin capable of improving the productivity, quality or health of crops."

To accelerate adoption, FAO and the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) at the University of São Paulo launched the virtual course, Bioinputs: The Natural Ally for Sustainable Agriculture, available in Spanish and Portuguese through FAO Campus. The course forms part of FAO’s regional training program, which has provided capacity-building opportunities to more than 500,000 participants across Latin America and the Caribbean over the past decade.

“The collaboration between FAO, the Universidade de São Paulo and the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture reflects this shared commitment. The development of innovative solutions and their adoption at scale depend on institutions capable of generating knowledge, training professionals and transferring technology to those who need it,” said Rene Orellana, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO.

Mexico Advances Regulatory and Adoption Efforts

Oaxaca has emerged as a key example of bioinput adoption. Through the Mesoamerica Hunger-Free Program, implemented by FAO, the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and the Oaxaca Ministry of Agri-Food Development and Rural Development (SEFADER), the state developed Mexico’s first State Bioinputs Strategy.

The initiative seeks to reduce dependence on agrochemicals while promoting the use of local biodiversity, community-based knowledge and agroecological practices. The program also delivered a State Plan for the Recognition and Strengthening of Family Farming and educational materials for community-level bioinput use.

“In Oaxaca we have carried out remarkable work, led by SEFADER, with concrete steps toward an agroecological transformation. Many producers told us something powerful: soil health is our health. That is why we jointly developed the country’s first state bioinputs strategy as a pathway to move away from agrochemicals and toward agriculture that protects both land and life,” said Lina Pohl, Representative in Mexico, FAO.

Juan Manuel Gutiérrez Ramírez of AMEXCID said the Oaxaca experience could serve as a model for other states and countries across Mesoamerica through South-South cooperation.

Moreover, in the northern region of Mexico, field demonstrations conducted by Mexico’s National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP) in Tamaulipas have highlighted the economic and agronomic potential of bioinputs.

At the Río Bravo Experimental Field, researchers evaluated the use of organic residues and bioinputs in corn production. The project demonstrated that organic inputs can reduce chemical fertilizer requirements by up to 50% while maintaining similar yields at lower cost.

Researchers tested composted poultry manure, cattle manure, crop residues and rock powders to produce organic leachates, as well as bioles produced through anaerobic fermentation using yeast, molasses, whey and fresh cattle manure. The project also explored the extraction of humic and fulvic acids from leonardite to improve soils with low organic matter content.

The field trials formed part of broader efforts to expand regenerative agriculture practices and provide producers with alternatives to rising input costs while improving soil health and productivity.

As climate pressures, input costs and sustainability requirements continue to reshape global agriculture, FAO and its partners see bioinputs as a growing component of agricultural competitiveness, food security and resilience strategies across Latin America and Mexico.