On July 25, in Sorriso, Mato Grosso, IDH and Aprosoja – the state’s soybean and corn association – signed a partnership to align responsible production with increasing European market for responsible soy. The farmers associated with Aprosoja have committed to a 10% improvement per year, with the ultimate goal of creating a verified sourcing area for soy.
The project, named “Continuous Improvement for a Sustainable Supply Area” will strengthen the environmental performance of Soja Plus, benchmarking it against the FEFAC sourcing guidelines in Europe.
Soja Plus is a socio-environmental and economic management program for rural land-owners, designed and implemented by Aprosoja.
“This will help foreign markets and large off-takers with zero net deforestation commitments to increasingly recognize the efforts of farmers to produce responsible soy, which in return will incentivize more farmers to join Soja Plus”, explains Daniela Mariuzzo, IDH Landscape Program Lead in Brazil.
With an initial co-investment of over two million euros, the project is operational in an 80-kilometer radius around the municipality of Sorriso in central Mato Grosso. This area will turn into a verified sourcing area, with a dashboard monitoring public and aggregated farmer data, which will inform buyers are informed of the sustainability of their sourcing.
The project is part of the actions set forth in the Brazil-Europe Memorandum of Understanding signed at the beginning of the year to support and expand sustainable soybean production in Brazil and to promote it in the European market. The agreement includes the following entities: Aprosoja, IDH, ABIOVE, the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (Fefac) and the EU Vegetable Oil and Protein Industry Association (Fediol).
Leading grain producer in Brazil, the State of Mato Grosso’s production increased to 31.2 million tons in 2016/2017, more than three million tons increase from the previous year. The state production corresponds to 27% of Brazilian soybeans and 9% of world production.