Public school students in the hinterlands of Maranhão create a bioinsecticide with neem and castor to protect corn crops, transform rural waste into biogas and biofertilizer, and bring sustainable technology to producers at ExpoSertão.

Written by Ana Alice

Published on 20/06/2026 at 23:57

Be the first to react!

Project created by public school students in Maranhão was presented at ExpoSertão and brings together bioinsecticide, biogas, and biofertilizer in solutions aimed at challenges faced by rural producers.

Students from Sucupira do Norte, in the Maranhão hinterland, presented sustainable solutions focused on the countryside at the 25th ExpoSertão, with a focus on pest control in corn crops and energy generation from organic waste.

The projects were developed by students from the Basic Education Unit João Pereira dos Santos and gained visibility after the Biotech team participated in the Young League Challenge, an innovation and entrepreneurship competition promoted by Sebrae in partnership with the Future Ideas Institute.

Held from June 11 to 14, 2026, in São João dos Patos, the fair brought together rural producers, entrepreneurs, students, and institutions linked to the regional agribusiness.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Sustainable technology created in a public school in Maranhão

The Biotech team is formed by students Davi Lucas, Carmen Katherine, Isaac Lima, Nailton Tomaz, and Diana Costa, under the guidance of teacher Miriane Pereira Teixeira.

The group reached the final of the third edition of the Young League Challenge after presenting proposals associated with sustainability and the use of resources available in the rural environment.

At ExpoSertão, the students had direct contact with producers, entrepreneurs, and partner institutions.

This format allowed the projects to be presented to an audience linked to agricultural production, especially to people interested in solutions for productivity, production costs, and waste utilization.

Among the technologies exhibited is a bioinsecticide made from neem and castor bean, raw materials found in the region.

The proposal targets the fall armyworm, identified in the original text as one of the main pests of corn crops.

According to the student Nailton Tomaz, the intention is to offer producers a control alternative that is accessible and has less dependence on aggressive chemicals.

“We came to present a bioinsecticide developed from neem and castor bean, an efficient alternative for controlling the fall armyworm, one of the main pests of corn crops. The proposal is to offer producers an innovative, sustainable, and accessible solution to protect their plantations,” he stated.

Biotech team shared experiences with producers and visitors during ExpoSertão (Sebrae/Disclosure)

Bioinsecticide for corn crops targets fall armyworm

The fall armyworm is a pest associated with losses in corn plantations, especially when management is not done properly.

In the project presented by the students, the use of plant inputs appears as an alternative to support producers in controlling the pest, without replacing the need for technical validation and specialized guidance.

The original text does not inform whether the bioinsecticide has already undergone external technical tests, independent scientific validation, or regulatory authorization for commercial use.

Therefore, the solution is treated in this article as a student innovation initiative, presented at a fair and aimed at experimenting with sustainable alternatives for the field.

The team also brought to ExpoSertão the project “Gás do Campo”, aimed at transforming organic waste into biogas and biofertilizer.

The proposal had already been presented in 2025, when students from Sucupira do Norte advanced in stages of the Young League Challenge with an initiative aimed at utilizing rural area waste.

In a previous publication by the Sebrae News Agency, Professor Miriane Pereira Teixeira stated that the project arose from observing available waste on rural properties.

According to her, these materials could be used to produce biogas and biofertilizer, with the potential to contribute to sustainability and cost reduction in the field.

ExpoSertão brought together rural producers and innovation projects

The 25th ExpoSertão had a program focused on regional agribusiness, with lectures, exhibitions, technical assistance, and meetings on productivity and competitiveness of rural properties.

In addition to student projects, the event brought together guidance actions for small businesses and activities related to innovation in the sector.

Sebrae participated in the “Together for Agro” space, in partnership with Senar, offering services to entrepreneurs interested in management, market access, and technology.

During the Rural Producers Meeting, which gathered about 220 participants from different production chains, the institution presented Sebraetec, a service that connects small businesses to specialized consultancies.

The solution covers areas such as improvement of production processes, product development, packaging adaptation, and certifications.

According to Sebrae, the service is aimed at entrepreneurs seeking technical support to improve products, processes, and market strategies.

Rural producer Jeane Brito, from Passagem Franca, reported that participating in such activities contributes to access to information and the exchange of experiences in the sector.

“It’s always very good to participate in these lectures because we learn new things, receive important information, and exchange experiences that help a lot in our daily life on the farm and in production,” she stated.

Sebrae Business Fair 2026 was announced in São João dos Patos

The ExpoSertão program also included the official launch of the Sebrae Business Fair 2026.

The event is scheduled to take place from August 14 to 16, 2026, in São Luís, bringing together entrepreneurs, suppliers, investors, and partners from different segments.

The fair’s proposal is to offer activities aimed at those who are already entrepreneurs and people interested in starting a business.

The program is expected to include lectures, workshops, mentoring, specialized services, and an exhibition of products and services, according to information released by Sebrae.

For Allan Kennedy, manager of the Sebrae Business Unit in Presidente Dutra, the institution’s presence at ExpoSertão was linked to the promotion of solutions such as Sebraetec, the Business Fair, and other initiatives aimed at small businesses.

He also highlighted the presentation of Biotech, a finalist project of the Young League Challenge, as part of the innovation agenda brought to the event.

The participation of students in the fair shows, according to Sebrae, the relationship between entrepreneurial education, innovation, and the demands of the local productive sector.

By working with themes such as energy, organic waste, and pest control, the students presented proposals associated with common challenges in rural properties in the interior of Maranhão.

The solutions still depend on technical validation for potential commercial scale application.

Even so, the presentation at ExpoSertão put the projects in contact with producers and institutions that operate in the regional agribusiness.

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

Public school students in the hinterlands of Maranhão create a bioinsecticide with neem and castor to protect corn crops, transform rural waste into biogas and biofertilizer, and bring sustainable technology to producers at ExpoSertão.

Project created by public school students in Maranhão was presented at ExpoSertão and brings together bioinsecticide, biogas, and biofertilizer in solutions aimed at challenges faced by rural producers.

Sustainable technology created in a public school in Maranhão

Bioinsecticide for corn crops targets fall armyworm

ExpoSertão brought together rural producers and innovation projects

Sebrae Business Fair 2026 was announced in São João dos Patos

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

Scientists have created a material six times lighter than air, 75 times lighter than styrofoam, and that becomes stronger the more it is compressed: aerographite seems impossible, but it can reinforce structures, batteries, and satellites.

A city has planted 880,000 trees and 2.5 million smaller plants since 2016, reduced the temperature by up to 3°C in some areas, and won an international award for using vegetation to combat urban heat in Colombia.

More than half of the residents of this city live underground to escape the brutal heat of 50°C: in the world’s largest opal hub, houses, churches, and hotels are carved into the rock and maintain around 23°C year-round in the Australian desert.

Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Alps, reveals a still active microbiome, and the Iceman’s yeast points to an energy-saving fermentation.

SBT host, Otávio Mesquita had his R$ 7.5 million mansion in Morumbi destroyed by a storm in 2019, with damages exceeding R$ 1 million and no insurance.

At 86 years old, a farmer transforms fruits that could rot into free food on the streets, sets up a “Zero Cost” stand every day with oranges, vegetables, and juices, and says that seeing people happy also makes him happy in Santa Catarina.

Public school students in the hinterlands of Maranhão create a bioinsecticide with neem and castor to protect corn crops, transform rural waste into biogas and biofertilizer, and bring sustainable technology to producers at ExpoSertão.

Project created by public school students in Maranhão was presented at ExpoSertão and brings together bioinsecticide, biogas, and biofertilizer in solutions aimed at challenges faced by rural producers.

Sustainable technology created in a public school in Maranhão

Bioinsecticide for corn crops targets fall armyworm

ExpoSertão brought together rural producers and innovation projects

Sebrae Business Fair 2026 was announced in São João dos Patos

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

Scientists have created a material six times lighter than air, 75 times lighter than styrofoam, and that becomes stronger the more it is compressed: aerographite seems impossible, but it can reinforce structures, batteries, and satellites.

Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Alps, reveals a still active microbiome, and the Iceman’s yeast points to an energy-saving fermentation.

More than half of the Earth’s largest lakes are shrinking simultaneously: satellites reveal that 53% of the largest lakes and reservoirs have lost water over three decades, in a collapse equivalent to 17 times the largest reservoir in the United States.

Goodbye to the microwave: the appliance present in 96% of Brazilian kitchens is starting to lose space to a single device capable of heating, baking, broiling, and preparing recipes like a microwave, electric oven, and air fryer, occupying practically the same spot on the counter.

13-year-old Indian girl impresses the world by leading the planting of 200,000 trees in over 120 locations and gaining international recognition while still in childhood.

Coral reefs gain new hope after scientists identify 165,000 km² with potential to resist heat in 71 countries, serve as living recovery banks, and protect food, jobs, and coastlines of nearly 1 billion people under climate threat.

A city has planted 880,000 trees and 2.5 million smaller plants since 2016, reduced the temperature by up to 3°C in some areas, and won an international award for using vegetation to combat urban heat in Colombia.

More than half of the residents of this city live underground to escape the brutal heat of 50°C: in the world’s largest opal hub, houses, churches, and hotels are carved into the rock and maintain around 23°C year-round in the Australian desert.

Ötzi, the 5,300-year-old mummy found in the Alps, reveals a still active microbiome, and the Iceman’s yeast points to an energy-saving fermentation.

SBT host, Otávio Mesquita had his R$ 7.5 million mansion in Morumbi destroyed by a storm in 2019, with damages exceeding R$ 1 million and no insurance.

At 86 years old, a farmer transforms fruits that could rot into free food on the streets, sets up a “Zero Cost” stand every day with oranges, vegetables, and juices, and says that seeing people happy also makes him happy in Santa Catarina.