Sustainable palm cultivation in the Amazon region is based on the work of women

They are responsible for the initial care of the plant that gives rise to the world's most consumed vegetable oil and work in all areas of the plant's life. Grupo BBF

São Paulo, March 8, 2024 - The cultivation of oil palm, also known as dendezeiro, in the Brazilian Amazon region has its origins in the hands of women. They are responsible for planting the palm seeds, caring for the nurseries and the agro-industrial activities of Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels). More than 800 women are employed by the company in all areas, from agriculture to industry, at the group's units, which have operations in Pará, Roraima, Rondônia, Amazonas, Acre and São Paulo.

The giant trees, which reach a height of around 15 meters and bear bunches of fresh fruit weighing approximately 12 kg, are born from small, fragile seeds that need to be planted in a shady area with constant irrigation. The seedlings generated by these seeds are kept in nurseries, in controlled environments, where they receive all the necessary cultural treatments to strengthen them before they go into the field.

One of the women working in this area is Venezuelan Gerardini Garcia, the agricultural leader who works at the Grupo BBF plant, located in São João da Baliza, in the interior of the state of Roraima. Gerardini is responsible for ensuring that the palm seedlings are fit to be planted in the field permanently, following their life cycle, generating fruit and recovering degraded areas of the Amazon rainforest. "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 team of female farmers and today I'm one of the company's leaders in the field," says Gerardini, who has 32 employees on her team.

X-ray

The majority of women employed at Grupo BBF are at the company's units in Pará (64%), followed by Roraima (26.32%). Women are mainly employed in the agricultural, people management, administrative and industrial areas.
Born in the northern states (80%), the majority of Grupo BBF 's female employees have completed high school or higher education, are aged between 24 and 41 and hold positions in all areas of the company. "I realize that here at Grupo BBF the company prioritizes the potential of the employee and not their gender, thus enabling both to grow. We women, for example, have the ability to perform and develop our work efficiently, with good quality, in line with our activities in the company, my studies and my role as a mother," says Kaline Oliveira, Salaries Analyst in the position of Maintenance Planning and Control Analyst (PCM) at Grupo BBF.
Currently, Grupo BBF stands out as one of the companies that employs the most people in the North of the country, with around 6,000 direct jobs and 18,000 indirect jobs. The company's sustainable palm cultivation is not mechanized, generating thousands of jobs in the North of Brazil, income and socio-economic development in the regions where it operates.

"The operations of Grupo BBF depend directly on humanized labor. That's why we highly value the local labor market, especially women who accept the challenge of working in our fields. We can say that it's through the hands of our female farmers that our business is born, which is why they have a special place within the company, occupying various positions in our business," concludes Milton Steagall, CEO of Grupo BBF.

About Grupo BBF

Grupo BBF (Brasil BioFuels), a Brazilian company founded in 2008, is the largest palm oil producer in Latin America, with a cultivated area of over 75,000 hectares and a production capacity of 200,000 tons of oil per year. The company is a pioneer in creating sustainable solutions for generating renewable energy in isolated systems, with thermoelectric plants powered by biofuels produced in the region. Its agricultural activity recovers areas that were degraded until 2007 in the Amazon, following the Oil Palm Agroecological Zoning (ZAE), approved by Decree 7.172 of the Federal Government, of May 7, 2010.

Grupo BBF has created an integrated business model in which it operates from the beginning to the end of the value chain - from sustainable oil palm cultivation, crude oil extraction, biofuel production, biotechnology and renewable energy generation - with assets totaling around R$2.2 billion and activities generating around 6,000 direct jobs in the northern region of Brazil. Grupo BBF 's operations are located in the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima and Pará, comprising 38 thermoelectric plants (25 in operation and 13 under implementation), 3 palm oil crushing units, a soybean extruder and a biodiesel industry.

The company is expanding its supply of biofuels and has signed partnerships to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Green Diesel (RD). The new sustainable fuels will be produced from 2026 at the country's first Biorefinery, which is currently under construction in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (AM).

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Fernanda Domiciano / Vagner Magalhães