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Ongoing
Cerrado Sustentável (Sustainable Cerrado)
Strengthens sustainable agro-extractive activities in northeastern Goiás by training over 360 farmers to increase income and productivity through agroecological practices and the management of native species.
Vídeo do projeto
Community
The Cerrado territory is marked by a mosaic of large production farms, with land parcels larger than 500 hectares where high-tech agricultural production takes place. Alongside this landscape exists another profile of farmer: the so-called agroextractivists — families who pursue extractivism as an alternative to conventional livestock farming for income and subsistence.
With properties averaging 1 to 2 hectares, these families from traditional communities face numerous challenges to growing and formalizing their activities. Isolated within the mosaic of large farms, their decentralized operations make it difficult to access markets, standardize production, qualify their workforce, and obtain technologies that could add value to products and increase productivity. As a result, they often operate in the informal market and depend on intermediaries for sales, who have historically dictated market terms and prices.
These families currently survive on agricultural production and extractivism, some also raising small-scale livestock for personal consumption, with an average annual income of BRL 6,000 to BRL 20,000. Although they are engaged in agricultural production, there is still scope to optimize their use of the land’s potential. Frequently due to lack of guidance or pressing need, they end up overexploiting species to meet market demand and secure minimal financial returns.
The project will address two realities: one concerns families already participating in the Solidarity Marketing Network who still require technical guidance — whether to improve management practices, expand the range of products, or complete the organic certification process. The other concerns the inclusion of new families into sustainable management practices and cooperative work, thereby expanding the network of agroextractivists engaged in sustainable and organic management of the Cerrado.
Location
Species
Faveira (Dimorphandra mollis)
A pioneering, highly resilient species that can thrive under adverse environmental conditions. It is rich in rutin, a compound widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Baru (Dipteryx alata)
A food high in iron and protein, more nutritious and less expensive than grated coconut — in fact, baru has been used to replace grated coconut in school meals in Goiás.
Jatobá (Hymenaea courbaril)
A hardy, calcium-rich species with a variety of potential uses. It is an excellent option as a substitute for flours containing gluten.
Activities
Improve family livelihoods through the development of sustainable value chains for native species
Mobilization, organization, socio-productive planning and project impact assessment meetings are being held with representatives from all communities, promoting community participation and giving special attention to minority groups such as women and youth. The aim is to build a joint process of social, economic and environmental transformation. Of the 653 agroextractivists, female participation has reached 50% of the total.
Transition to agroecological production through skills and practice improvement, including organic certification
Workshops on sustainable handling and pre-processing and participatory organic certification are being conducted, alongside farmer-to-farmer agroecology exchanges to spread more resilient propagation practices and build technical capacity. Family management is being monitored and production is being organized for processing and marketing in partnership with Coopcerrado. So far, 360 people have been trained, which has led to a 10% increase in productivity and a 25% increase in soil fertility.
Conservation of Cerrado biodiversity
Technical visits are being made to participating families’ properties to map areas with potential for enrichment, to supply and supervise the planting of baru (Dipteryx alata) seedlings, and to provide guidance on agroecological practices and soil analysis for implementation of the sequeiro (rainfed/dryland) technique. To date, 360 properties have been visited and 260 have already implemented the banana cultivation cycle.
Impact
653
agroextractivists mobilized and integrated into the Solidarity Marketing Network.
50%
female representation among participating agroextractivists.
70
community centers created.
10%
increase in productivity and income in Year 1 and 20% in Year 2.
95%
participant satisfaction.
600kg
per family per year of production.
50
new organic certification processes initiated.
25%
increase in soil fertility.
20
new trees introduced per property, increasing species diversity.
77,200
seedlings were planted, including baru and other species.
70
trained monitors.
Instituto Louis Dreyfus
The Louis Dreyfus Institute represents the Louis Dreyfus Foundation in Brazil, the philanthropic arm of Louis Dreyfus Company, a business in the agricultural commodities sector. The Institute follows an investment policy focused on supporting projects that help smallholder farmers and rural communities become self-sufficient, contributing to food security and poverty alleviation.
CEDAC
Founded in 2022 with the purpose of advising rural communities in the Cerrado to overcome poverty and social injustice by valuing these communities’ traditional knowledge and practices related to the Territory — the Cerrado biome. The Solidarity Marketing Network mobilized by CEDAC, whose principles originate at the National Center for Agroecology, enables the development of sustainable practices across the Cerrado and adds value to products intended for food, medicines, cosmetics, and other uses.
VBIO.eco
A bioeconomy platform that enables projects to add value to Brazilian biodiversity. It has a multidisciplinary team with more than 12 years of experience in project management and corporate communication. Its work has enabled the implementation of 23 biodiversity valorization projects and created a network of over 500 organizations and companies active in socio-environmental causes.