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Diversified Production
For Viluco, crop diversification is key, and through the interpretation of new trends, we capture opportunities in new markets.
In addition, we make crop rotation easier, care for the soil and streamline the planning of the summer and winter production seasons in our areas.
Our Pulses
In 2019, pulses represented 8% of our production area. Today, they represent 25%, with a total of 7,230 hectares.
Production growth is the result of our strategic agricultural plan: “Pulses are a niche business, and they give us the possibility to have access to specialized markets which we couldn’t reach with other products”, said Pablo Cianci, Agriculture and Livestock Farming CEO.
In 2022, we grew mung beans for the first time, and it was a positive experience. With high- quality seeds, we finished the season with 360 tons of harvest and a successful commercialization.
Our Production: 7,230 Hectares
- Black beans: 2,900 hectares
- Green beans: 2,000 hectares
- Cranberry beans: 1,050 hectares
- Dark and light beans: 800 hectares
- Mung beans: 260 hectares
- Chickpeas: 220 hectares
What are Mung Beans?
They taste like walnuts and are slightly sweet. They are typically used in sweet and salty Asian dishes. They are an excellent source of fiber, vegetable protein, iron and carbohydrates, and they also have vitamins and minerals.
The Importance of Pulses
Pulses have been an essential part of human nutrition for centuries. They play a key role in a healthy diet, in sustainable food production and, mainly, in food safety.
- They are essential crops since they are highly rich in proteins, an ideal source in regions where meat and dairy products are not physically accessible or affordable.
- They have a low content of fat and are rich in soluble fiber, which helps reduce cholesterol levels and control blood sugar levels.
- They are recommended for people suffering from diabetes and heart conditions.
A Market that Is Growing in Argentina
Most of the pulse harvest in Argentina is destined for exports since the consumption of pulses in our country is low when compared with their consumption in other countries.
The average consumption of pulses in the world is about 8 kilograms per capita (OCDE FAO, 2020) while in Argentina it barely reaches 800 grams per capita every year (CLERA, 2020, Chamber of Pulses of the Argentine Republic), and lentils represent 60% of that amount.
“As we can see, their incorporation into our diet is growing and this is due to a culture issue. There are signs that their consumption is spreading as a result of the new trends towards healthy and highly nutritional products”.
Ing. Ramiro Aznar, Gerente de Agricultura.
Peanuts: First Experiences
With 90 hectares in Las Marías Establishment, we have recently carried out our first experiences with peanut crops. For that purpose, we have implemented different actions in Northwestern Argentina which enable us to sow this pulse based on the weather conditions in the area.
Peanut production was analyzed taking into consideration the market price. Argentina managed to position itself as the second world exporter of edible peanut, after China and before the United States. Nowadays, our country is the first supplier in the European Union.
More about Our Portfolio
HB4 Wheat: Drought Tolerance
In the winter of 2022, we experienced with HB4 transgenic wheat, which has greater tolerance during drought periods and implies a greater yield, in 440 hectares of Rancho Grande Establishment.
Good Perspectives for Cotton
Viluco has produced cotton for 10 years. During the 2021-2022 season, with 326 hectares, we got 230 tons of fiber, and the perspectives for the new season are very favourable.
“We care for our water resources so that we can make the most of each water drop. The main challenge for the agricultural industry is to adopt a long-term perspective that considers the compatibility between production and the conservation of the environment and natural resources”
Ramiro Aznar, Agriculture Manager
Good Agricultural Practices
We work on the management of a long-term sustainable production system, promoting balance between productivity, profitability and environmental care.
Good Agricultural Practices are key since they ensure a healthy, safe and eco-friendly production.
Water and soil care is essential. By assessing the water offer and precipitation changes, we considered a change in our crop planning: choosing the right crop is crucial to use the adequate amount of water. This led us to adjust the crop proportion between soybeans and pulses.
A key process in sustainable agriculture is crop rotation and the incorporation of ecosystem service crops, such as rye and forage radish. This is performed in order to preserve the physical and chemical fertility of soil. In this process, pulses are valuable for their nitrogen-fixing properties. Plants can fix nitrogen from the air to the soil and provide it with nutrients; otherwise, a chemically synthesized and more expensive fertilizer would be needed. In this way, crop rotation favors the production of other plant varieties (gramineous and cereals).
2023 Challenges
Regarding the future perspectives of our agriculture, we face the following challenges:
- Doubling the production of mung beans from 260 to 600 hectares, a new product for us that accompanies the growth of pulses in the export market.
- Continuing making improvements in the use of water in all the agricultural system, observing our sustainability guidelines and committed to our rural communities.
- Advancing through the stages in the Pro Carbono Project together with Bayer in order to measure carbon sequestration in soils. We have already concluded the first year of development out of the 3 involved in this project. Through this initiative, we measured soil carbon fixation in our fields, and, as a result, we could generate new actions.
“Through concrete goals, in line with our excellence and commitment values, we get ready for new successful seasons with a team that challenges itself on a daily basis regarding sustainable agricultural production”
Pablo Cianci, CEO Agroganadería.
Open House Program
In 2022, Viluco, together with Grupo CREA and coordinated by Fundación Vicente Lucci, created spaces for dialogue and learning on the importance of Good Agricultural Practices in agricultural production for agro-technical schools in the area of influence of the agriculture and livestock farming industry.
In these meetings, different social and environmental aspects of the daily tasks were discussed, considering:
Innovation.
Teamwork.
Respect.
Over 100 young students from agro-technical schools visited our production centers and learnt about our company’s sustainable actions, thus, increasing their knowledge and experience for their future.
Each meeting had the people in charge of the main agricultural activities as protagonists. They showed Weed-it technology, the weighing scales, seed classification and curing, agrochemical handling, etc. This experience aims at integrating educational contents from the theoretical and practical perspectives, interacting with those who work in the agricultural industry, learning about potential local source of employment, and contributing to the personal development of those students who are about to complete their studies.
Schools Involved in the Program