About the Biome
Biodiversity in the Amazon
The grandeur of the Amazon biome is vast and humbling. With a total area of 844 million hectares, the Amazon covers 47% of South America. The Amazon River contains 20% of the Earth’s flowing fresh water.
There are more trees here than stars in
our galaxy—390 billion trees from 16,000
species, creating a critical carbon sink.
With 10% of the known species on Earth, the Amazon is home to 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 fish species, more than 400 species of mammals, 400 amphibians, and nearly 1,400 reptiles.
A new species is discovered every three days.
Challenges in the Amazon
The Amazon rainforest plays a critical role in regulating regional and global climate. It acts as one of the world's most important global carbon sinks, providing a vital buffer against climate change.
Around 17% of the Amazon biome has been deforested. If left unchecked, deforestation in the Amazon could cause major climatic shifts, causing forested areas to transition to savannas or even deserts.
There are many drivers of deforestation in the Amazon. To tackle the problem, it's important to understand the complexities around where it occurs and why. TerraBrasillis breaks down the facts on locations, rates, and drivers of deforestation.
Since 2006, Cargill has firmly upheld the Brazilian Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM). The ASM prohibits sourcing from all deforested areas, regardless of legality. We do not and will not source soy from farmers who deforest in the Amazon biome.
Cargill's own Policy on Forests, Policy on Sustainable Soy and Supplier Code of Conduct are additional commitments Cargill has in place to support this critical biome.
Agriculture
Forest and farm can work together
In a multi-stakeholder effort to protect the native vegetation and biodiversity of the Amazon, Cargill has joined NGOs and other companies in the sector in establishing the Amazon Soy Moratorium
Members of the moratorium, including Cargill, do not source soy from Amazonian land that was cleared for farming after July 2008. This discourages farmers from clearing additional land
If land is cleared for soy, the farmer is
found noncompliant and automatically
blocked by Cargill and other participating
companies.
Though soy has been rapidly expanding in the Amazon biome, The Amazon Soy Moratorium has directed this expansion to areas that were already deforested prior to the Moratorium, encouraging sustainable agriculture and contributing to a decline in deforestation in the biome in the past decade. Today soy covers only 1.5% of the entire biome territory.
The Amazon at a glance:
More than 80% of the Amazon's native vegetation remains intact
Around 15% of the land in the Amazon is used for agriculture and cattle production.
Agricultural products from the Amazon include grains, fibers, cocoa, cattle, fruit, and rubber
Approximately 60% of the Amazon biome is in Brazil
Less than 3% of soy planted today in the Amazon is on land that was native vegetation in 2008
In the 2007/8 crop year, soy covered 1.64 million hectares of land in the Amazon biome. In the 2022/23 crop year, it covered 7 million hectares. It represents around 15% of the national soy planted area.
Embracing the Forest Code across Brazil
First passed in 1965, but modified in 2012, the Forest Code is a Brazilian law that requires farmers and other private landowners to maintain a percentage of native vegetation on the land they own.
One third of all the native vegetation in Brazil is protected under this law, including 88.5 million hectares in the Amazon biome and 45.7 million hectares in the Cerrado. Going forward there are opportunities to protect even larger areas, especially on the 44 million hectares in the Cerrado where farmers are protecting more land than what is required by law.
Some of the steps Cargill is taking to partner with farmers to protect and restore the land include:
- Creating financial incentives for restoration and conservation
- Enhancing the cost-effectiveness of restoration efforts by improving technology, knowledge, and infrastructure
- Demonstrating the feasibility of this approach to organizations across Brazil
With the right incentive structures and technical assistance, farmers can increase production while also protecting the native forest.
In addition, farmers can receive a premium for their sustainably grown, deforestation- and conversion-free crop. Together we can unlock the full potential of the land. Sustainably feeding the world doesn’t have to come at the expense of the forest.
“ “Farming and forests can and must coexist. Through farmer engagement, the right incentives, and policy drivers, we believe that is possible in Brazil and other places that deliver the food the world needs to thrive.”Cargill in the Amazon
Cargill's Agriculture Supply Chain Footprint
Cargill’s presence in the Amazon biome is foundational to our approach to sustainable land use. We strategically invest in programs that restore degraded land and protect the Amazon's biodiversity. Our vision is for a forest-positive future that supports farmers and provides transparency for customers.
*All map locations are approximate
**Facilities represent crush facilities and refineries
***A single program implemented in multiple biomes will be represented with one point in each biome.
Partnerships build progress
From soy to cocoa, we’re partnering with farmers, local communities, governments, NGOs, and our customers. Our goal is to reimagine the food supply, restore degraded land, and reward farmers for farming sustainably.
Through this strategy we’re advocating for approaches tailored to meet the needs of producers while preserving the Amazon.
- Cargill sources products including soy and cocoa from the Brazilian Amazon
- In 2022, 94% of our soy suppliers in Brazil are deforestation-and-conversion free
- Every day, Cargill's automated system consults lists managed by various government agencies and sectoral organizations. When a farming operation appears on one of these lists for a violation or noncompliance, it is immediately blocked and ineligible to sell soy to Cargill.
- 95% of our cocoa suppliers in Brazil have been mapped, which enables us to monitor deforestation risks in our cocoa supply chain
Reimagine: Certified products benefit stakeholders
In the Amazon, Cargill is delivering sustainable soy solutions that focus on the farmers.
Our Triple S™ sustainability certification program promotes the monitoring and traceability of the certified product through the whole value chain. This provides more transparency for customers. Also, by engaging with the program, farmers use better agricultural practices that improve production and yield.
Restore: Agroforestry recovers degraded land
Through a long-term partnership with Belterra, a Brazilian sustainable cocoa company, Cargill is supporting cocoa agroforestry.
Under this program, cocoa is planted along with other native species to promote biodiversity in crop lands. The five-year project is projected to recover around 1,000 hectares of degraded land in addition to expanding the market for sustainable cocoa.
Reward: Incentive structures support the Forest Code
The Forest Compensation Program, funded by Cargill through the Land Innovation Fund, leverages the Forest Code’s financial compensation instrument to promote sustainable development. Cargill is providing long-term financing for the project through credit instruments used by rural producers to enable production and commercialization. The aim is to create ecological corridors and restore priority conservation areas.
Sources
- The Amazon biome is also home to 30 million people, including almost 2 million indigenous people from approximately 300 different communities.
- With a total area of 844 million hectares, the Amazon covers 47% of South America.
- The Amazon River contains 20% of the Earth’s flowing fresh water
- There are more trees here than stars in our galaxy—390 billion trees from 16,000 species, creating a critical carbon sink.
- With 10% of the known species on Earth, the Amazon is home to 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 fish species, more than 400 species of mammals, 400 amphibians, and nearly 1,400 reptiles.
- Source: Da Silva et al. 2005. The Fate of the Amazonian Areas of Endemism. Conservation Biology, 19 (3), 689-694
- A new species is discovered every two days.
- 10,000 of these species are endangered, including the Golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia), jaguar (Panthera onca), and pink Amazon dolphin (Inia geoffrensis).
- Source: Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
- There are nearly 300 hundred indigenous groups living in the Amazon.
- The Amazon rainforest plays a critical role in regulating regional and global climate. It acts as one of the world's most important global carbon sinks, providing a vital buffer against climate change.
- Around 17% of the Amazon biome has been deforested. If left unchecked, deforestation in the Amazon could cause major climatic shifts, causing forested areas to transition to savannas or even deserts.
- There are many drivers of deforestation in the Amazon. To tackle the problem, it's important to understand the complexities around where it occurs and why. TerraBrasillis breaks down the facts on locations, rates, and drivers of deforestation.
- Source: TerraBrasillis
- Approximately 60% of the Amazon biome is in Brazil
- 83% of the Amazon's native vegetation remains intact
- Around 15% of the land in the Amazon is used for agriculture and cattle production
- Less than 3% of soy planted today in the Amazon is on land that was native vegetation in 2008
- In the 2007/8 crop year, soy covered 1.64 million hectares of land in the Amazon biome. In the 2022/23 crop year, it covered 7 million hectares. It represents around 15% of the national soy planted area.
- Though soy has been rapidly expanding in the Amazon biome, The Amazon Soy Moratorium has directed this expansion to areas that were already deforested prior to the Moratorium, encouraging sustainable agriculture and contributing to a decline in deforestation in the biome in the past decade. Today soy covers only 1.5% of the entire biome territory.
- First passed in 1965, but modified in 2012, the Forest Code is a Brazilian law that requires farmers and other private landowners to maintain a percentage of native vegetation on the land they own. One third of all the native vegetation in Brazil is protected under this law, including 88.5 million hectares in the Amazon biome and 45.7 million hectares in the Cerrado. Going forward there are opportunities to protect even larger areas, especially on the 44 million hectares in the Cerrado where farmers are protecting more land than what is required by law.
- Cargill sources products including soy and cocoa from the Brazilian Amazon; 96% of our direct soy suppliers in Brazil are deforestation-and-conversion free; Every day, Cargill's automated system consults lists managed by various government agencies and sectoral organizations. When a farming operation appears on one of these lists for a violation or noncompliance, it is immediately blocked and ineligible to sell soy to Cargill.; 95% of our cocoa suppliers in Brazil have been mapped, which enables us to monitor deforestation risks in our cocoa supply chain