To commemorate Amazon Day, held on September 5 past, the JBS Fund for the Amazon launched the documentary “Together we do better”, which tells the stories of smallholders who have benefitted from one of the six projects supported by the Fund, RestaurAmazônia (Restoring the Amazon).
One of the stories it tells is about José Antônio de Oliveira, one of the cocoa producers supported by RestaurAmazônia. In his interview the cocoa farmer reveals his desire to have his name associated with the side that is fighting to preserve the sustainable development of Amazon. “In 100- or 200-years’ time I want to be recognized as a member of the team that set about building, not destroying”, he pointed out.
Developed by the NGO Solidaridad since 2016, with the support of the IPAM (the Amazon Environmental Research Institute), the goal of RestaurAmazônia is to implement agroforestry systems that combine livestock farming, agriculture and forestry on 1.500 smallholdings in the Amazon biome with a five-year horizon.
The initiative is seeking to reconcile the productive restoration of degraded areas cocoa agroforests, intensify livestock farming in family agriculture and set up a technical assistance model within rural activities to accelerate the transition to more sustainable production.
Rural producer Naiara Silva points out that the adoption of sustainable practices in cocoa production has also brought benefits to the families of the region. In her statement for the documentary of the JBS Fund For The Amazon, Naiara asserts that she has practically tripled her cocoa production using techniques picked up in the project.
Watch the documentary “Juntos a gente faz melhor” (“Together We Do Better”) on the JBS YouTube channel at this link: Dia da Amazônia | Documentário Juntos a gente faz melhor – YouTube. Get to know all the initiatives supported by the Fund at www.fundojbspelaamazonia.org .