Transform landscapes – June 2022

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

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

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...

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.

What’s next

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Implementation

Application of the finance model into priority municipalities in the Cerrado.

Co-funding for the Farmer First Clusters Initiative

Resource mobilization to support and scale the interventions, working with soy value chain partners, financial institutions and investors that are committed to participating in joint landscape solutions in the Cerrado.

Progress tracking

As investment scales up, measure progress against a set of metrics that will serve to demonstrate impact and offer a pathway to other organizations wishing to leverage investment to transform land use in commodity production countries.