Feeding the world's increasing appetite for soy and at the same time reducing deforestation in the Amazon – this is the reality that Cargill is helping to achieve in Brazil. Since the Soy Moratorium was signed in 2006, Cargill and other Brazilian soy processors and exporters have committed that we will not purchase soybeans from lands that have been deforested in the Amazon biome after that date.
The moratorium has been an important contributor to reducing deforestation by independently monitoring soy production and sanctioning farmers who cut down local forests. In the area around Cargill's soybean terminal in Santarém, satellite imagery verifies that no deforestation in the region has occurred since 2008.
On-the-Ground Support
By balancing economic activities with conservation, Cargill's Sustainable Soy partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) provides on-the-ground support to farmers working toward compliance with the Brazilian Forest Code. The training helps farmers meet the code's strict requirement that 80 percent of their land must remain forested. The Sustainable Soy project has grown to more than 380 soy properties totaling more than 1,200 square kilometers – land that is being mapped and portions set aside for protection.
Cargill's Sustainable Soy partnership with TNC not only has halted deforestation in the Santarém area, it is also providing a model for the Brazilian government's conservation efforts across the Amazon.
Rainforest – "The world is watching us, and we cannot sell our crop unless we respect the environment. If export markets believe we are destroying the rainforest, they will not buy our crop. These are our customers."
– Pio Stefanelo, soy farmer in the Santarém area
