Casa Bugre

Casa Bugre was established 42 years ago as a vegetable seed dealer. In 1992, the company forged a pivotal partnership with the renowned Seminis brand, now a part of Bayer. Since then, the company has maintained a robust relationship with Seminis and grown into a top technology dissemination platform for agribusiness.

Geographically, its initial focus was limited to the countryside of São Paulo state. It has now expanded to cover all of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with its high-quality vegetable seed varieties, Seminis. Last year, the company also joined forces with East-West Seeds, which breeds and produces high-quality vegetable seeds for tropical conditions. This extended Casa Bugre’s presence in Goiás, Tocantins, Maranhão Mato Grosso do Sul e Pará.

“From our humble beginnings with just two field professionals, we closed 2023 with a team of over 50, spanning sales, technical, market development, and other areas,” says Flavio Maia, the CEO of Casa Bugre.

Casa Bugre attributes its success and sustainable growth to differentiated service, provided by highly skilled technicians, as well as to the proximity and genuine interest in the rural producer. Instead of focusing on the seeds’ genetics, the company considers other factors that affect productivity. The main challenge is helping producers realize the full genetic potential of the seeds to cultivate better, more effective, profitable, and sustainable crops.

Its portfolio extends beyond seeds as Casa Bugre provides specialized fertilizers, biostimulants, adjuvants, biologicals, and nanotechnology. Recognizing the challenges posed by climate change, soil degradation due to intensive use, and the emergence of new diseases, Casa Bugre also assists producers with the best practices to harness the potential of genetics fully. The company shares new technologies and best practices, aiming for a more sustainable and profitable mode of production.

In one instance, Casa Bugre helped a long-standing client, a lettuce producer of Japanese descent who was consistently cultivating. Over the years, the soil became impoverished due to constant use without crop rotation. This led to a decline in the quality and price of his produce. The situation became so dire that the producer considered halting production and returning to Japan. However, with Casa Bugre’s assistance, the soil was restored to a highly productive standard using soil regeneration techniques and solutions. This included the application of biological agents to balance beneficial microorganisms and reduce harmful ones. As a result, the producer reestablished himself in the market.

Casa Bugre has recently launched an open innovation platform named Agriforlife. Led by AgriLife, Casa Bugre, and Krilltech, it connects scientific knowledge with the needs of rural producers. The project is founded on strategic pillars that foster the development of agriculture, whose vital component is to sustain human life. The pillars align with six of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to boost initiatives related to the need for increased food production in the face of growing population challenges and climatic and environmental risks. It will also encourage initiatives that improve nutritional quality and post-harvest processes and promote the development of renewable energy production technologies.

As Casa Bugre forges ahead with these initiatives, AgriforLife stands at the forefront of agricultural innovation. Its commitment extends beyond mere production efficiency; the company is dedicated to shaping a future where agriculture is not only a source of sustenance but also a catalyst for sustainable development and positive societal change. By integrating cutting-edge technology, research, and collaborative efforts, Casa Bugre envisions and actively builds a new era of agriculture.