WIA 28th Edition

WIA 28th Edition with Ana Paula, CEO, Croplife Brasil

An Interview with Ana Paula Repezza, CEO of CropLife Brasil

Compiled by Sue B, Media Manager and KRM, GBA and GBL | Interview with Ana Paula Repezza, CEO at CropLife Brasil

Ana Paula Repezza serves as the CEO of CropLife Brasil, making history as the first woman to lead the national association representing four core agricultural innovation pillars: biological inputs, biotechnology, germplasm (seeds), and crop protection. Bringing more than 25 years of leadership expertise in international trade, public policy, and institutional diplomacy, she applies an evidence-based approach to advancing the agribusiness sector. At the helm of CropLife Brasil, her mandate focuses on establishing the country as a global benchmark in tropical agricultural science and sustainable productivity, championing modern, science-driven regulatory frameworks that deliver legal certainty for researchers, investors, and growers. Under her leadership, the organization promotes an integrated technological model uniting biological inputs with modern crop protection solutions, while driving data-backed international dialogue on food security and actively fostering greater female leadership across the agribusiness value chain.

Q1: You built your career in international trade promotion and business development before assuming the presidency of CropLife Brasil. Looking back at this journey, what led you here, and how has your perspective on the bioinputs sector evolved along the way?

I stepped into the leadership of CropLife Brasil fully aware of the complex market dynamics and regulatory challenges facing our industry. Engaging directly with these demands and fostering constructive dialogue is what truly drives my work. Throughout my career, my mission has always been about building bridges connecting the public and private sectors, linking Brazil to global markets, and turning innovative concepts into tangible commercial opportunities.

Over the course of 25-plus years in trade promotion especially during my tenure at ApexBrasil, I participated closely in multilateral forums, bilateral negotiations, and diplomatic channels across global agribusiness. That experience gave me a front-row seat to Brazil’s extraordinary capacity to develop solutions for worldwide challenges. Today, as I delve deeper into the intricacies of tropical agriculture and the unique advantages that make Brazil an agricultural powerhouse, I appreciate even more how vital our homegrown technologies really are.

Biological inputs are a prime example. I view biological solutions not as an isolated category, but as an integral part of an innovation ecosystem that encompasses seeds, biotechnology, and crop protection. They all work in synergy to safeguard productivity and environmental sustainability. It is never about replacing one tool with another; it is about expanding the grower’s toolbox. Farmers need a versatile, dependable set of options so they can select the right tool for their specific crop, soil conditions, and harvest window.

Earlier in my career, I viewed bioinputs mainly as an exciting, high-growth sector with strong export potential. Today, leading CropLife Brasil, I have a much deeper, firsthand appreciation for the entire journey from the researchers in the laboratory to the final product delivered into the grower’s hands to protect yields and livelihoods.

Q2: Renera has just completed its first year. Having followed the initiative since its inception at ApexBrasil and now leading CropLife Brasil as a founding partner, where do you see the greatest opportunities for the project in its next phase?

The Renera Brazilian Bioinputs Hub was established with a transformative mission: to position Brazil not merely as a commodity exporter, but as a global powerhouse in agricultural technology exports. This initiative is particularly meaningful to me because I have witnessed its evolution from multiple vantage points.

At ApexBrasil, I approached Renera through the lens of internationalization and trade promotion showcasing Brazil’s ability to export pre-planting innovation. Now, representing the industry at CropLife Brasil, my focus is on creating the business and regulatory conditions required to convert scientific breakthroughs into scalable commercial solutions, resolve regulatory bottlenecks, and establish bilateral channels with international partners, particularly across tropical-climate nations.

Moving forward, Renera’s greatest opportunity lies in serving as the definitive gateway connecting Brazil’s bioinputs ecosystem with the rest of the world. This represents pioneering, sustainable technology. Brazil possesses world-class research, unmatched biodiversity, dynamic companies, a mature domestic market, and widespread on-farm adoption. Bioinputs are no longer an experimental trend here; they are a proven, everyday reality. Our priority now is to align these assets, broaden global partnerships, and demonstrate that Brazil is a leading developer and exporter of tropical agricultural solutions.

Q3: CropLife Brasil recently launched the campaign “What Is It That Only Brazil Has?”, highlighting tropical agriculture as a uniquely effective global model. Having spent years promoting Brazil abroad, what does this campaign convey that technical data and reports cannot?

The “What Is It That Only Brazil Has?” campaign highlights how a stable, predictable regulatory environment provides vital legal certainty for domestic and international stakeholders alike. Beyond celebrating our harvest records and commodity prowess, the campaign emphasizes a fundamental truth: agricultural policy must be grounded in science and tailored to the unique realities of tropical farming. There is a profound difference between presenting raw data and helping audiences understand the human, environmental, and scientific story behind those figures.

Brazilian tropical agriculture is the culmination of decades of dedicated research, scientific innovation, and technologies engineered specifically for our soil and climate. When global conversations focus solely on yield volumes, the extraordinary ingenuity and the people behind that success are often overlooked. This campaign translates that complexity into an authentic, accessible, and authoritative narrative.

It reminds the world that Brazil did not simply import an off-the-shelf farming model or replicate another nation’s agricultural system. We developed our own science, engineered our own technologies, and created solutions tailored to our environment. That is our most powerful message globally: Brazilian agricultural competitiveness is rooted in a home-grown, decades-long innovation ecosystem.

Q4: The BAW Congress was held in Brazil in 2023 with CropLife Brasil as a strategic partner, and has since traveled to the US, India, and Spain. As the congress prepares to return home to Campinas in 2027, what does this homecoming signify, and what outcomes do you anticipate?

The return of the BAW Congress to Brazil is, above all, a clear recognition of our country’s leadership in the biological inputs sector. Our market has expanded consistently at double-digit annual rates, driven by widespread adoption of integrated crop management and an exceptionally vibrant scientific community. According to data from CropData, CropLife Brasil’s market intelligence platform, the bioinputs sector reached a record market value of R$ 6.2 billion in 2025, with treated area expanding by more than 28% year-over-year to 194 million hectares.

The true value of hosting the BAW Congress lies in converting this visibility into actionable partnerships, forward-looking policy dialogues, and high-impact commercial ventures. We aim to deepen collaboration among industry leaders, academia, government authorities, and investors, connecting Brazil directly with the world’s leading agricultural innovation hubs.

Campinas is particularly symbolic for this return: it is home to UNICAMP, one of Latin America’s premier research institutions, and stands at the heart of Brazilian scientific and technological development. I expect the 2027 BAW Congress to catalyze strategic partnerships, attract investment, and establish new cooperation agendas, further solidifying Brazil’s standing as the global benchmark in biological technologies.

Q5: Brazil possesses market scale, scientific expertise, regulatory maturity, and a proven track record. Yet, the international narrative does not always reflect this reality. What is needed for Brazil to transition from being seen primarily as a major market to being recognized as a global agenda-setter?

We must engage in international forums with a much more coordinated, proactive, and unified strategy, an approach CropLife Brasil has been actively pursuing in close partnership with government entities. The global community already recognizes Brazil for its production scale; the next milestone is earning recognition for our ability to pioneer global solutions. That requires transforming our practical, on-the-ground field experience into exportable knowledge and policy insights.

We have substantial contributions to make across tropical agronomy, biological inputs, integrated pest management, agricultural biotechnology, reverse logistics, and sustainable land use. To lead, we must also advance regulatory harmonization and maintain transparent, ongoing dialogue with our primary trading partners. When stakeholders across the agricultural value chain unite around an evidence-based narrative and speak with one voice, Brazil transitions from merely reacting to foreign agendas to actively shaping the global conversation on food security and sustainability.

Q6: What advice would you give to women building careers at the intersection of agribusiness, public policy, and global trade-fields where women are still underrepresented in executive leadership?

I am deeply honored to be the first female president of CropLife Brasil, and I am especially proud that our organization’s technical and executive staff is predominantly female, with many women leading critical policy and government relations initiatives. Women are securing an expanding footprint across the Brazilian economy, particularly in agribusiness.

True executive leadership is not defined by gender, but by the ability to foster constructive dialogue, inspire collaboration, and deliver excellence.

My advice to women is to invest continuously in your professional development, master your technical craft, cultivate diverse perspectives, and never hesitate to step up to the decision-making table. My own career has spanned public administration, trade diplomacy, and business leadership and each phase provided indispensable lessons for the next.

I firmly believe in building bridges and listening generously to different points of view. In complex sectors, leadership is not about having all the answers; it is about connecting people, perspectives, and expertise to find the most effective path forward. The more women participate in these leadership arenas, the more innovative, inclusive, and well-rounded our decisions will become.

BioAg World Digest | Summer 2026