The oil palm may be just another tree in the midst of so much greenery in the Amazon - but it stands out for its immense productive potential and multiple uses. From its fruit, palm oil is extracted, which can be used in cooking, in recipes - it is popularly known as palm oil - or even in the formulation of products in various segments, such as hygiene, cleaning and cosmetics. But beyond that, oil palm can also be used to generate electricity and even produce sustainable aviation fuel. These are some of the businesses in the portfolio of BBF - Brasil BioFuels, which is the largest palm oil producer in Latin America. BBF produces biofuels used to generate renewable energy in the Amazon Region and, because of its integrated business model, generates thousands of jobs, income and socio-economic development; it helps local farming communities and contributes directly to the recovery and preservation of the forest.
Founded in 2008 with the aim of changing the energy matrix in the North of the country and decarbonizing the Amazon Region, BBF operates end-to-end in this production chain: this is the way the company found to ensure that the whole process happens correctly, focusing on the efficiency of operations and environmental preservation of the Amazon. The first episode of the Webseries "Bruno In Loco" production that will be aired every two weeks with the episodes released on the YouTube channel of Jovem Pan News, shows precisely this step by step, from the planting of oil palm to the production of oil, which has countless possibilities, all done by BBF. The reporter Bruno Meyer went to São João da Baliza, in the state of Roraima, to see the work up close.
There, he personally met Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF. Steagall told the presenter: "I really wanted to transform this region. Through the sustainable cultivation of oil palm, we are recovering land that was degraded in the past. When this palm grows, we will see a huge green complex. The animals that avoid this area for protection reasons will start to come here. The birds will have somewhere to land. All the biodiversity will be integrated again."
Francisco Maciel, the hub manager, explained: "We work with planting, producing seedlings - which undergo care, management and fertilization so that they are productive plants - harvesting and sending the bunches to the industry, where we extract palm oil." Today, there are 75,000 hectares cultivated by BBF in degraded areas in the northern region of Brazil, of which 15,200 are in São João da Baliza (RR) and 60,400 in the state of Pará. Annual production exceeds 200,000 tons of palm oil - the main raw material for BBF's biofuel production - used to power 25 thermoelectric plants in operation, which generate electricity for more than 140,000 residents of isolated locations in the Amazon region.
The work begins with the choice of seeds, which are carefully planted by hand by BBF employees, and goes through the continuous monitoring of the seedlings in the pre-sowing stage. There are nine months in the nursery for the plants to grow strong. With the plants formed, seedlings are planted in BBF's own land, recovering areas that were previously degraded in the forest. All this is done without the use of machines, in a 100% manual process. It is no wonder that the company generates, through its different stages of operation, more than 6 thousand direct jobs and another 18 thousand indirect jobs, developing places that were previously lacking in services, infrastructure, and jobs.
Then comes the harvest of ripe bunches, which takes place throughout the year. "Palm oil, because it is a crop that is harvested all year round and manually, generates a lot of jobs in the region where it is located," says Bruno Barcelos, BBF's agricultural manager. "This fruit is directed to our sterilizer, where it is cooked. After sterilization, this fruit goes to the thresher, which will separate the fruit and the bunch. After pressing this mass, we have the oil", details Luan Rocha, BBF's industrial manager. It is a fully integrated and completely sustainable process. In the coming weeks, the web series will show how this palm oil is used in the generation of renewable electricity and in the production of biofuels.
