Rota para a pecuária sustentável (Pathway towards sustainable livestock)
Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso - Brasil
Sustainability assurance by data management and verification audits
Funders
Partnerships for Forests - Brazil
Partners
IMAFLORA
Livestock (beef production)
Crops or productive systems
Implementation dates
April 2019 to July 2020
Beneficiaries
6 cattle ranching farms associated to Pecuária Sustentável da Amazônia (PECSA), with a total grazing area of 9.000 ha.
About the project
The agricultural sector has historically been one of the main bases of the Brazilian economy, with livestock being one its most relevant activities. Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world, currently supplying about a quarter of the world meat market.
However, the production of beef cattle is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country, as well as being considered a major responsible for the advancement of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon biome and, consequently, as the main vector of illegal deforestation in the region.
In this context, the project "Rota para a pecuária sustentável" is a pilot initiative aiming to support cattle ranchers in Brazil to make their current production systems a more efficient and sustainable model through three main components:
A unified good practices-benchmark combining the "GIPS - Sustainable Livestock Indicators Guide", developed by the Working Group on Sustainable Livestock (GTPS) and the Embrapa Good Agricultural Practices for Cattle; then linked with SAN-SAF, the outcome-based SAN approach.
Annual verification activities, which also include quantification of GHG emissions and technical recommendations for continuous improvement; and
A data management platform for continuous monitoring of the performance of participating farms.
These pilot project will be conducted during the 2019 and 2020 with six cattle farms associated to Pecuária Sustentável da Amazonia (PECSA), a company that operates in the northern region of the state of Mato Grosso implementing sustainable livestock practices, innovation and technology.
SAN will be responsible for the development of the entire assessment and monitoring system, while IMAFLORA (SAN member in Brazil) will be responsible for carrying out all field activities related to the project, including verification and results interpretation for the participating farms.
Outcomes
This project allows the development of a sound sustainability assurance system, that is practical and in close connection with the reality of the field activities. In this way, it represents an opportunity to encourage and support producers in the transition towards better production and socio-environmental management practices.
Additionally, the project will enable producers to better communicate with their supply chains as efficient data management will allow them to make data-driven claims and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, while at the same time being able to concentrate in those production practices that need more attention.
The project also offers the possibility of later replication in other parts of the world, for a wider impact on livestock production and sustainability in general.
What is Partnerships for Forests?
Partnerships for Forests (P4F) is a UK government program that aims to catalyze businesses that have a positive impact on sustainable land use, the preservation or restoration of forests. It is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It currently operates in Central, East and West Africa, South East Asia and Latin America. P4F is implemented by Palladium and McKinsey & Company.