Agriculture Day - Grupo BBF boosts sustainable agriculture and creates thousands of jobs in the Amazon region

On Agriculture Day, celebrated on October 17, it is important to reflect on the importance of the agricultural sector for the economic, social and environmental development of the various regions of Brazil, especially the Amazon. The date honors one of humanity's oldest activities, which provides essential food for subsistence and for the world economy.

Among the most consumed foods in the world are vegetable oils, which are essential for our diet, providing essential fatty acids for the absorption of vitamins. The most consumed vegetable oil in the world is palm oil, popularly known as dendê, which is essential for food development and fundamental for the production of dozens of foods.

And it is in this context, from the sustainable cultivation of palm and the development of responsible agribusiness in the Amazon, that the work carried out by Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), which since 2008 has been a pioneer in promoting sustainable agriculture, palm oil extraction, biofuel production and renewable energy generation, serves more than 110,000 residents of isolated locations in the northern region.

The sustainable cultivation of oil palm is an example that combines the recovery of the biome and degraded soil, accelerates carbon capture and fosters the generation of jobs and income for the local population. Its cultivation is perennial and cannot be mechanized, keeping the workforce in the field and promoting socio-economic development in the regions where it is grown.

For the CEO of Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), Milton Steagall, the date reinforces reflection on the importance of sustainable development in the region, as a way of keeping the forest standing and bringing quality of life to the more than 29 million Amazonians.

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in the lives of Amazonian communities, offering opportunities to generate employment and income, especially in areas that need sustainable alternatives for economic development. In this sense, it is essential to promote agricultural practices that respect and preserve the region's ecosystems, guaranteeing the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological balance.

The key to this, according to Steagall, is the recovery of degraded areas of the Amazon rainforest and the creation of jobs. In addition, agriculture in the northern region of Brazil, which already stands out for the diversity of products grown, such as manioc, beans, Brazil nuts, passion fruit, cupuaçu and guaraná, can also count on other crops to strengthen its bioeconomy and the maintenance of the standing forest.

"With palm oil, it's also possible to talk about bioeconomy in agribusiness. Our country has the potential to be a global leader in palm oil production, without cutting down a single native forest tree. The sustainable development of the northern region is urgent. We need to find ways to keep the forest standing, but also provide jobs, income and wealth for the population," says the executive.

Currently, Grupo BBF has more than 75,000 hectares under oil palm cultivation in the states of Pará and Roraima, which are responsible for capturing around 800,000 tons of carbon every year. In addition, the company encourages the Family Agriculture Program, benefiting and stimulating around 400 families in the state of Pará with sustainable palm cultivation.

Brazil is a global benchmark in the sustainable cultivation of this oilseed and has some of the strictest legislation in the world. The plant can only be grown in degraded areas until 2007, in compliance with the Agroecological Zoning of Oil Palm, decree 7.172 of the Federal Government of May 2010. In addition, more than 31 million hectares in the Amazon region have been identified as suitable for growing the plant by Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation). The country currently ranks 10th among the world's largest palm oil producers, with around 300,000 hectares under cultivation and 85% of production concentrated in the state of Pará.

Sustainable agribusiness in the Amazon generating jobs and income

At Grupo BBF, combining forest recovery and job creation is the key to developing sustainable agribusiness. Today, the company generates around 5,000 direct jobs and approximately 80% of its workforce is made up of workers who work in the field, planting seeds, doing pre-sowing and nursery work, maintaining the final planting and harvesting the fresh fruit bunches. In this context, the company contributes significantly to job creation around its operations, as well as encouraging people from all over the world to come to Brazil in search of opportunities.

In São João da Baliza, the municipality in the state of Roraima where the company was founded, Grupo BBF employs 201 Venezuelans - around 30% of the company's total workforce of 681. Gerardine Garcia is one of the Venezuelan women employed by the company. She arrived in Brazil in 2020 and worked as a cleaner and nanny for two years. In March 2022, she began her career at Grupo BBF as an assistant, carrying out general services related to oil palm cultivation and currently leads a team of 32 people in the company's agricultural area. "It was Grupo BBF that opened its doors to me and my cousin. It was an opportunity for knowledge and a change of life. I joined as part of the farming team and today I'm one of the company's leaders in the field," she says.

Collaborator of Grupo BBF: Gerardine Garcia

The virtuous cycle from seed to megawatt

Brazilian agribusiness provides food for more than 1 billion people in the world and is also a major producer of raw materials for generating renewable energy. Oil palm is the crop with the highest yield of vegetable oil per ton, producing 5 to 10 times more than other crops, such as soybeans.

Grupo BBF is active throughout the palm production chain, both in the extraction of oil for food consumption and in the production of biofuels to generate renewable energy.

From the moment the palm seed is planted, the entire life cycle of the palm trees begins. They begin to bear fruit from the 4th year onwards - their production is continuous and perennial. After harvesting the bunches of fresh fruit, palm oil is extracted in the palm oil mills. The extracted oil is sold to various food production industries and is also used as the main raw material for biofuel production on Grupo BBF. Both palm oil biodiesel and the biomass resulting from the production process are used as biofuels to generate renewable energy in isolated locations in the Amazon.

The company has 25 thermoelectric plants in operation in the North, generating energy for more than 110,000 residents served by the Isolated Systems. One of the highlights is the Baliza TPP, the first hybrid plant to combine vegetable oil and biomass, which has been operating since 2023 serving the state of Roraima - the only state in the federation not part of the National Interconnected System.

"On this Agriculture Day, we are reinforcing the fact that sustainable palm cultivation can boost the development of the Amazon region and accelerate the decarbonization of various sectors of the economy. The palm is a very interesting alternative both environmentally and economically: it acts directly to recover the forest and is a fundamental raw material for decarbonizing various sectors, including advanced biofuels such as SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and Green Diesel (RD)," Steagall concludes.