Convened by IDH, APROSOJA, ABIOVE, FEDIOL and FEFAC signed a MoU to match visions and align actions to mainstream Brazilian responsible soy production and European market demand.
It is the first time Brazilian soy producers and key European purchasers share a common roadmap. “This opens the door for a market that rewards Brazilian efforts to reduce deforestation”. With the agreement the parties support the Brazilian Forest Code’s objectives and promote responsible soy production, whilst safeguarding community rights.
IDH Soy Program Director Lucian Peppelenbos: “This agreement is an important step for soy producers and industry to make a direct and verifiable contribution to the ambitious targets of the Mato Grosso government to stop illegal deforestation and reduce deforestation by 90% in the Amazon and 95% in the Cerrado by 2030. It will also be a significant contribution to the national targets of Brazil as part of the Paris Climate Agreement.”
All parties recognise existing sectoral responsible soy initiatives in both Europe and Brazil. By maching visions and aligning actions the believe ythey can accelerate mainstream responsible soy production in Brazil and soy trade in Europe. In 2015, the EU imported 5.8 million tons of soybeans and 8.4 million tons of soybean meal from Brazil (source: Oil World).
Henri Rieux, President of FEDIOL: “The strength of this agreement is that key players are committing in a chain approach to tackle issues regarding production and trade of respsonsible soy. We are confident that our dialogue will have positive impact and will allow us to better meet the requests of our stakeholders in Europe”.
Ruud Tijssens, President of FEFAC: “With this agreement we can proactively support the sustainable agricultural developments at soy farm level in Brazil and move ever closer to a mainstream market transition of physical responsible soy supply to Europe”.
Endrigo Dalcin, President of Aprosoja: “With the signing of the memorandum, the Soja Plus Program will enter the benchmarking process to be recognized as a responsible production program, serving as a Brazilian soybean passport for the European market.”
Carlo Lovatelli, President of ABIOVE: “Europeans recognize the work of Soja Plus, an economic, social and environmental management program for rural properties, to improve, in a practical and objective way, sustainability in soy farming. The program aims to guide the producer to comply with Brazilian environmental legislation and thus, contributes to the supply of soy and soybean meal that deliver environmental services. Producers and processors have an interest in strengthening the image of Brazilian soybeans in Europe, the largest importer of protein meal for the animal feed industry.”