Abiec debates the transition of livestock farming towards sustainability and traceability in Oslo
The conference is organized by Norad, the Norwegian Development Cooperation Agency, on behalf of the Norwegian International Climate and Forests Initiative (NICFI). At the invitation of the Tropical Forest Alliance and the World Economic Forum, Abiec participated in a panel at the event, addressing the sustainability and traceability of livestock farming in the protection of tropical forests in Brazil, and the sector's transition in this regard.
In addition to Abiec's Sustainability director, Fernando Sampaio, the panel included José Octavio Passos, from the NGO The Nature Conservancy, Raoni Rajão, director of Deforestation and Burning Control Policies at the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, Leila Harfuch, managing partner of Agroicone, Mauro O'de Almeida, state secretary of Environment and Sustainability of the Government of the State of Pará, Jack Hurd, executive director TFA, of WEF, Toby Gardner, director of SEI and Trase, Maggie Charnley, head of the International Unit of Forests, UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Alice Gargano, Global Forests and Lands Manager, Mars Global Petcare.
For Abiec, global demand will continue to increase, driven by the increase in population and income in emerging countries. The challenge is to reconcile the country's contribution to global food security with actions to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crisis. Brazilian livestock, among the various groups of commodities produced in tropical regions, is the one most correlated with deforestation, according to the data presented. Next, palm oil from Indonesia.
"Talking about a transition in the Brazilian meat chain means continuing to produce, but reducing impact. To achieve this, we need to act, mainly, to end illegality and promote the implementation of the Forest Code, and have traceability as a tool to add environmental guarantees to sanitary guarantees in Brazilian meat”, says Fernando Sampaio. On the other hand, according to the director, "it is necessary to promote greater efficiency in production, and we understand the market as a driver of production efficiency. It is because we are part of a global market that our productivity has increased by 183% in the last three decades", he ponders.
Accelerating this transition is the issue. Abiec and Agroicone have led a sector consultation and engagement effort to identify priority actions for the transition. These include technical assistance, environmental regularization and financing and inclusion of producers. “Attracting investments for this transition is crucial to ensure increased productivity and reduced emissions in the chain. Today the financial sector is averse to the risk represented by Brazilian livestock farming. We need to undo this image”, argues Sampaio. Still according to him, countries and organizations that are capable of mobilizing public and private finances to protect forests should also help to facilitate the transition in livestock production, placing the producer and his needs at the center of discussions.
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