Thirty-five years publishing, training, and giving voice to the people who make agriculture happen — now also with artificial intelligence.
Aastera Publishing is the technical media brand of the Aastera group. Founded as Aldeia Norte Editora in 1990, in Passo Fundo, Brazil, it built three decades of authority in Brazilian agriculture through Revista Plantio Direto — a reference in sustainable agriculture and no-till farming.
Today, it operates in an open digital format: free-access magazine, full historical archive available to readers, and selective new editorial projects funded through crowdfunding or sponsorship. Our mission remains the one set in 1990 — to deliver technical content that serves the people who work the land.
Aldeia Norte Editora was founded in September 1990, in Passo Fundo, Brazil, by Gilberto de Oliveira Borges — known to all as Gigi. It specialized in technical content for agriculture and built, over three decades, one of the sector's most respected publications — Revista Plantio Direto.
After Gigi's passing in 2002, the publishing house continued under the direction of Juliane Borges, his wife, who had been at his side from the start. In 2016, João Manoel Borges, their son, joined the leadership.
Its integration into Aastera, beginning in 2020, opens a new chapter: the publishing house becomes the technical media brand of the group, expanding from print to digital, from static content to AI-supported tools — without abandoning what it has always been: a trusted technical voice for those who decide in the field.
Launched in 1990, Revista Plantio Direto is Aastera Publishing's most recognized editorial project — an established reference in sustainable agriculture and no-till farming. In 2021 it migrated to an exclusively digital format, with its archive open to all readers. Today it reaches more than 30,000 monthly readers across Brazil and neighboring countries.
AgroSábio is Aastera Publishing's AI assistant, built specifically for Brazilian agriculture. Trained on decades of technical content, contextualized to the reality of the producer and the field technician, and operated by Aastera Technology's infrastructure.
It is not a generic chatbot with an agriculture layer on top. It is a tool built from the ground up around the vocabulary, practices, and real problems of those working the land in Brazil.
After decades as a technical book publisher, we now lead new editorial projects selectively — always through crowdfunding or directed sponsorship, and only when the subject justifies the investment of time and paper. Our last physical book sold out in 2024. It remains available as a free PDF on the magazine's website.
Revista Plantio Direto and the channels of Aastera Publishing reach a specific and engaged audience: producers, agronomists, consultants, researchers, and decision-makers in agriculture. For brands speaking to agriculture, it is one of the most well-segmented audiences in the sector.
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