The partnership between Embrapa Instrumentation and FIT - Fine Instrument Technology, both located in São Carlos, São Paulo state, brought important results in the application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) in agribusiness, in 2019 - when the research center turned 35 (in December). After the signature - during the largest Brazilian agribusiness fair, Agrishow (Ribeirão Preto, SP) - of a contract to license the “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Equipment for not-destructive analysis of food quality”, the SpecFit was sold in Brazil and to South America, Europe and Asia. The technology can analyze samples in seconds without destroying them or leaving chemical traces as opposed to traditional methods, which use solvents and whose assessment time takes over four hours. Another advantage of the technique is the possibility of integration with other systems, machinery and Internet of things (IoT). Combined expertise The three devices exported, one per country - Colombia, Netherlands and Malaysia - at 45,000 dollars each, plus installation, are examples of the successful combination of skills between the public sector, represented by agricultural research, and the private initiative. On one side, the knowledge of a team of highly qualified scientists, headed by the researcher Luiz Alberto Colnago, with more than three decades of studies in the development of NMR methodology and instrumentation for agriculture. The boldness in breaking paradigms led to the 2019 Capes Award for Theses in the area of Chemistry, which he received in Brasilia, DF, in December, with Flávio Vinícius Crizóstomo Kock, his PhD advisee at the University of São Paulo's São Carlos Institute of Chemistry. On the other, the technical and marketing expert from the private company FIT in the building of the equipment. The union gave rise to SpecFIT, the trade name of the robust and portable low-field NMR device, adjectives than were once considered the biggest challenges for research. Daniel Consalter, director of Technology, says that the acceptance is due to the expeditiousness of the analysis, and to the quality of the results and of the service offered. “We deliver reports that are used to monitor the process and that can used as reports. Our support is a great differential that has been not only praised but also a decision point between us and the competition”, he asserts. In addition to countries like Malaysia, in the Asian Southwest, the second largest producer of oil palm behind Indonesia, the technological innovation reached the Brazilian industries that produce the oil first. Impact on the Brazilian market Brazil takes the fifth place in the world ranking, and production is concentrated in the state of Pará, according to the Brazilian Association of Oil Palm Producers (Abrapalma). Four NMR devices currently serve the North of the country. “Given that Brazil produces 300,000 tons of palm oil and that SpecFit provides a 2% increase in yield, we estimate a potential impact of R$ 12 million per year. Moreover, better revenue in industries can also improve farmers' remuneration”, explains the head of Embrapa Instrumentation, João Naime. To supply the domestic and foreign markets, FIT has been increasing their staff, doubling their physical area, and projecting new applications and businesses. With funding from the NTAgro incubator and from the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp) program Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE), the company intends to develop new devices dedicated to analyses of fresh food, like fruits, and industrialized foods, including oil and wine. “The name Embrapa carries the weight of technological credibility, and opens doors to beyond. Dissemination, attracting investment and partnerships are values that Embrapa brings to the table, which do not come by in any cooperation”, Consalter states. Translation: Mariana Medeiros