In January, representatives of &Green Investment Fund visited Mato Grosso, to get to know all the phases of the sustainable livestock productive chain, from the calf breeding to the industry.
The group visited the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema-MT) to understand how monitoring and inspection process are carried out to fight illegal deforestation.
“We work to fine 100% of the infractions and to stop ongoing deforestation. Our focus is to take actions aimed at keeping the forest standing”, explained Luciane Bertinatto, Deputy Secretary for Environmental Management, on the occasion. The representatives of the Investment Fund also met with the executive director of the PCI Institute, Fernando Sampaio, to understand how the State PCI Strategy connects with investments and reach the different regions of the state.
Later, the investors went to Juruena, in the northwest region of Mato Grosso, to learn about the Vale do Juruena PCI Regional Compact and the Sustainable Production of Calves Program, carried out since 2019 by IDH, in partnership with the Carrefour Foundation, Fazenda São Marcelo and Acrimat. The Program, aimed at intensifying livestock farming, has goals that directly contribute to the local PCI Compact and to the State PCI Strategy.
At end, this whole journey in Mato Grosso was considered extremely positive. “We were positively impressed with the level of commitment and organization that we saw in Mato Grosso and also how important it is to establish connections between different players in order to guarantee a deforestation-free production process”, said Elea Papaemmanuel, from & Green.
In addition to the IDH Brazil team, Paulo Pianez, Marfrig Group’s sustainability director, also took part and provided support to the visit.
The Fund
&Green Fund was developed by IDH, in close collaboration with its main investor, NICFI, Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative. &Green aims to prove that financing inclusive, sustainable and deforestation-free commodity production can be commercially viable and replicable, thus strengthening the case for a rural development composed of high-productivity agriculture with forest protection.
The Sustainable Production of Calves Program has been implemented since February 2019 in the Mato Grosso regions of the Juruena Valley and Araguaia Valley. The program aims to benefit 457 properties by 2021 by providing technical assistance in production, finance, environment and land tenure regularization, resulting in improved income for the farmers. To this end, IDH initiative relies on the partnership with the Carrefour Foundation, Carrefour Brazil, Acrimat, Natcap and São Marcelo Farm.