Agrifood Patent Landscape in Brazil

In September 2024, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched the Agrifood Patent Landscape Report, which provides a comprehensive overview of global patenting trends in the agrifood sector. This global study, developed in collaboration with experts from Brazil and Asia, maps more than 3.5 million patent families published over the last two decades and identifies key technological trends in agricultural production (AgriTech) and food consumption (FoodTech). 

Brazil was a key partner in in the development of this WIPO patent landscape report, and this article aims to deliver a deeper, country-specific analysis. It highlights Brazil’s technological strengths, key innovation players, and areas with high internationalization potential, while also identifying critical gaps. This tailored study is the result of a joint initiative between WIPO and the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (MDIC), with technical input from the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). 

The article investigates strategic subdomains such as smart farming, precision agriculture, automation, and robotics. However, to provide a more holistic picture of Brazil’s position within the agrifood innovation ecosystem, the analysis also highlights relevant findings from other technological areas across the broader agrifood sector.

Overview of Agrifood patents in Brazil: a key player on the global stage

As of March 2025, a total of 89,925 Agrifood-related patent applications have been published in Brazil, accounting for 2.3% of all global Agrifood patents. Of these, 20,111 patents were filed by Brazilian innovators, representing 0.5% of global agrifood patent applications.
Although the percentage is relatively low, Brazil still holds a notable position in the global Agrifood patent landscape in terms of absolute numbers. Brazil ranks 11th globally when looking at Agrifood-related filed domestically, and it ranks 9th globally in terms of Agrifood related patents invented domestically. 

Technological focus: strong performance in Planting/harvesting/storage, Automation, and Soil and fertilizer management

Among the 23 technical sub-domains in the Agrifood sector, Brazil demonstrates notable innovation activity in several areas. the area of Planting, harvesting, and storage, the country ranks 4th globally with a total of 3,762 patents. It also shows notable progress in Automation, securing the 6th position worldwide with 659 patents. Additionally, Brazil ranks 7th globally in  Soil and fertilizer management (2,573 patents), Food technology (2,465 patents), and Waste management (472 patents).

Relative Specialization Index (RSI) is an indicator used to assess the degree to which a country or region specializes in a particular technology field relative to its overall patenting activity. RSI compares the share of a country’s patents in a specific field to its share of patents across all fields globally, reflecting the concentration and comparative advantage in that field.
Based on RSI analysis, Brazil shows a clear comparative advantage in the following sub-domains:

• Livestock management
• Planting/harvesting/storage
• Soil and fertilizer management
• Automation
• Waste management

In contrast, Brazil demonstrates a lower level of specialization in digital agriculture-related sub-domains such as Mapping/imagery and Robotics and drones.

Domestic innovation: focused on foundational fields, with opportunities for growth in digital technologies

Brazilian domestic applicants account for 22% of Agrifood-related patents. Approximately one-third of the patents filed in Brazil originate from US applicants, while others mainly come from Germany (9%), Switzerland (7%), Japan (5%), and France (4%).

Domestic innovators are primarily active in three technical fields. Firstly, in Planting, harvesting and storage, 42% of patents were filed by local applicants. In Soil and fertilizer management, 38% of patents were filed by local applicants. Thirdly, in Livestock management, 33% ofpatents were filed by local applicants.

In contrast, the share of domestic patent applications is relatively low in four specific areas. In Crop adaptation and genetics, only 7% of patents were filed by local applicants. In Mapping and imagery, this drops to 6%. In both Precision agriculture and Robotics and drones, only 5% of patents were filed by local applicants.

These fields are largely dominated by US applicants, who account for 55%, 60%, and 49% of the patents in the respective areas.
 

International patent filings: extensive use of PCT, with the United States as a primary foreign market

International patent families indicate the applicant's intention to commercialize their invention in multiple markets. Across the entire Agrifood sector, 13.3% of Brazilian patent filings belong to international patent families. Specifically, in the AgriTech domain, this share is higher at 15.3%, compared to 9.4% in FoodTech.

Sub-domains with a higher degree of internationalization include:

• Robotics and drones (51%)
• Precision agriculture (45%)
• Mapping/imagery (41%)
• Carbon farming (41%)
• Connectivity/sensors/smart farming (36%)
• Crop adaptation and genetics (32%)
• Pest/disease management (26%)

In contrast, in more traditional agricultural sub-domains such as Planting/harvesting/storage, Soil and fertilizer management, and Livestock management, Brazilian applicants tend to focus more on domestic patent protection, with relatively low shares of international patent families, despite high patenting activity in these areas.

In terms of international market coverage, 10.4% of Brazil's Agrifood patent applications were filed via the PCT route , meaning that 82% of all international filings were submitted through the PCT system.1,241 patents were filed in the United States, accounting for nearly half of all Brazilian international applications. Other key target markets include China, India, Japan, Canada, and Argentina.

Key players in Agrifood innovation: dominated by multinational companies, with active participation from domestic university and research institutions

Patent filings in Brazil’s Agrifood sector are largely dominated by international companies. BASF (Germany) and Bayer (Germany) have 2,512 and 2,216 patent applications respectively, and are primarily focused on Pest/disease management and Crop adaptation and genetics. Nestlé (Switzerland) has 1,828 patent applications, mostly in Supply chain and Food chemistry. Deere (USA) and CNH Industrial (United Kingdom) have 1,655 and 1,399 patent applications respectively, which are concentrated in Planting/harvesting/storage and Connectivity/sensors/smart farming.

Domestically, Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) leads with 263 patents, ranking 43rd among all Agrifood patent applicants in Brazil. Amongst the top ten Brazilian applicants, only two are companies (Semeato and Tatu Marchesan), while the others are universities and research institutions. Domestic innovators are primarily focused on the Supply chain and Food chemistry domains.

Collaboration network: University-led with limited corporate participation

Collaborative patents serve as an important indicator of knowledge exchange and joint innovation. In Brazil’s Agrifood sector,  the Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG): Holds the highest number of collaborative patent filings, with most partners being Brazilian universities and research institutions. Additionally, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA): Has the widest network of collaborators. One notable example is its co-development with BASF of a herbicide-resistant genetically modified soybean variety, which has been granted patent protection in Brazil, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and South Africa (WO/2010/080829).

Petrobras, a highly active domestic enterprise in collaborative innovation, has been working with partners such as FAPEMIG, EMBRAPA, and the Belgian agricultural biotechnology company CropDesign.

Additionally, multinational corporations such as BASF, Bayer, Corteva, CNH Industrial, and DuPont maintain close collaborative relationships with various Brazilian institutions.

The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina also actively collaborates with Brazilian universities, reinforcing Brazil’s role as a regional hub for agricultural innovation in Latin America.