Why we do it
The SCF is at the forefront of mobilizing partnerships that identify, invest in, and scale solutions for more sustainable land use in Brazil and beyond. Together, these solutions make up a landscape strategy that places producers and local communities at the heart of decision-making about their futures and about how land should be managed, farmed, and conserved, for the benefit of those who live on the land.
As new legislation in consumer countries establishes parameters for commodity imports and their links to deforestation, and as investments in sustainable land use grow, traders are in a unique position to link direct resources from all actors involved in the supply chain who are engaged in the Cerrado. SCF members will work collaboratively with them to strengthen landscape-level solutions that address the drivers of deforestation, provide incentives for restoration, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Where we are
Farmer First Clusters Initiative
To administer and direct funds most strategically, the SCF has created the Farmer First Clusters Initiative. The Initiative involves a smart-mix of solutions to address deforestation that is linked to soy in four key Cerrado landscapes, namely Western Mato Grosso, Southern Maranhão, Western Bahia, and Tocantins.
The Farmer First Clusters Initiative involves mapping and understanding a given landscape, engaging local stakeholders, then identifying which mix of solutions will have the most positive impact on leveraging a shift toward a more sustainable land use. The Initiative involves implementing and scaling these solutions, while continually measuring impact, learning, and adapting the model.
The solutions include compensation for surplus legal reserve, green finance, restoration, expansion over pastureland, integrated farming, and farm extension programs to promote forest code compliance and sustainable practices. By September 2022, the SCF will have identified the initial list of farmers and producers to receive assistance and established partnerships with both technical and funding partners to mobilize and manage the investments.
The map below shows the focus municipalities where the solutions of the Farmer First Clusters will be first deployed
Stories from the field
Maranhão: Sustainable soy to curb deforestation
The state's southern region is one of the key points in the Cerrado's conversion. Conscious producers and agencies use technology tools and sustainable practices to grow with environmental responsibility. The state of Maranhão is the “Ma” in the acronym...
Mato Grosso: reducing deforestation to grow more
The leadership of Mato Grosso in Brazilian soybeans is recent. Historically, the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná were the main producers of the grain. During the 1980s, crops began to multiply in the Brazilian Midwest, the result of a diaspora of...
Bahia: At the helm of sustainable soy production in the Matopiba region
As a 12 year old, Celito Breda already picked soybeans with his own hands in the region of Jacutinga, countryside of Rio Grande do Sul. He took a liking for soy and continued to grow food, spending more than a decade working with agriculture in southern Brazil. In...
What’s next
These solutions will require the entire value chain to engage, first and foremost by quantifying and mobilizing the necessary investment and enabling factors that will bring value to the producers.