The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), which represents soy crushers in the country, announced the expansion of its technical assistance program for growers of wheat, corn and sugarcane. The “Soy Plus” program renamed “Agro Plus” offers farmers guidance on best practices, including waste management on properties, environmental compliance and employee safety, according to Abiove, which includes major grains traders ADM, LDC, Bunge, Cargill, Amaggi and Cofco. Bernardo Pires, Abiove’s sustainability manager, said that the expanded training to more producers, including cattle ranchers, was a response to the demand from Brazil’s booming farm belt. In its original format, the program helped producers to increase profits and improve social and environmental indicators, by improving farm management, Pires said. “Due to these good results, it was natural to expand to other supply chains” Pires said.
Sources: Reuters/Nova Cana (*Translated by Ia Niani)