This week, in New York, Banco do Brasil and Natura formalized an agreement to fund R $ 50 million in impact projects in the northern region of the country, focusing on agroforestry systems (SAF), with the objective of recovering 12,000 hectares of forest, with potential $ 2 billion in financing.
The BB and Natura partnership proposes to enhance the positive climate and social impacts generated by bringing innovation to the production of palm oil, used in food, personal hygiene products, cosmetics and biofuels.
The initiative aims at sustainable soil use, focusing on the conservation of natural resources, and the generation, maintenance and diversification of income for family farmers, by bringing scale to SAF projects in the Legal Amazon region, more precisely in the region of Tomé Açu. There, Natura, Embrapa and the Mixed Cooperative of Tomé Açu (Camta) have been developing the SAF Dendê project since 2008, which implemented in an area of 650 hectares a agroforestry system composed of palm palm (palm of which is extracted palm oil) next to other crops such as cocoa, acai, cassava and pepper.
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This planting consortium with other species generates social, economic and environmental benefits, such as reforestation of degraded areas, increased productivity, climate resilience and improvement of soil quality, according to Embrapa studies, which also indicate agroecological management as fundamental for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the palm production chain.
For Banco do Brasil’s vice president of business and business sustainability, José Ricardo Sasseron, the agroforestry system enables family farmer to obtain and diversify their income during the year to depend on cultivated species, and may increase income by about 40% compared to the monoculture. “It is a way of work that raises food safety of farmers’ families, as well as the appreciation of the work of young people and women. In addition, it is a system that can contribute to carbon sequestration, and that agroecological management is fundamental for reducing greenhouse gases emissions,” he says. “These agroforestry models are highly replicable and are part of BB’s strategy for financing sociobioeconomics. This year we reached a balance of R $ 2 billion in credit focused on sociobioeconomics in the Amazon region,” he adds.
According to Natura Sustainability Director Angela Pinhati, the concern with the environmental impact of palm oil, which is historically associated with deforestation practices in various regions of the world, has driven Natura to look for alternatives that align responsible production with environmental conservation. “Our long -term goal is to have 100% palm oil blend from regenerative practices. We are focused on strengthening partnerships, involving new farmers and capturing investment in order to benefit not only Natura but the entire palm chain.”
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In practice, the agreement has the potential of assisting access to credit, which arrives in producers, will assist in costing the activities of the production cycle, as well as promoting investments for increased productivity, with area recovery and equipment acquisition. The provision of technical assistance, linked to the structure, also guarantees specialized advice to assist in the making of investment decision by the producer.
The project has the potential to benefit the 46 producing communities operating in Natura’s jail, impacting more than 10,000 families.
