AMAGGI and reNature are partnering to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture in Brazil

reNature supported the development of AMAGGI REGENERA, the regenerative agriculture program for AMAGGI, to align and scale priorities for a low-carbon agricultural system that restores soil health and biodiversity, while encouraging an entire generation of producers to adopt a new way of producing.

Regenerative agriculture goes beyond the need to meet sustainability goals and provide environmental benefits. Consumers’ expectations of what is socio-environmental friendly are shifting, since achieving “net-zero” also needs to be aligned with an urge for ecosystem restoring strategies. Hence, consumers, notably Millennials and Gen Z, will be looking to purchase the “earth-friendly” products that regenerative agriculture is producing and companies need to keep up with this trend.

With expertise in regenerative agriculture, reNature supported AMAGGI in structuring a program that will help its business to achieve climate neutrality in agricultural production by 2050 through decarbonization strategies by 2035.

The project initiated in partnership with reNature will strengthen AMAGGI’s strategy to generate value for all stakeholders while contributing to reaching their main ESG goals in alignment with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and notably aiming to:

● Achieve NetZero emissions by 2050 through decarbonization strategies by 2035 and neutralize residual emissions, especially by promoting regenerative, low-carbon agriculture capable of protecting biodiversity;

● Maintain zero deforestation and conversion of native vegetation (Deforestation and Conversion Free – DCF) for agricultural production on AMAGGI-owned farms, ensuring its expansion only in already open areas and have a 100% grain supply chain DCF until 2025, considering all biomes, countries, and regions where AMAGGI is present.

To reach these challenging objectives, AMAGGI already has an action plan to achieve its ESG goals, which ranges from actions to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain and guarantee the expansion of its production only in areas already cleared to investments in measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its agricultural production.

Solutions for low-carbon commodities and resilient production systems are being tested, such as using bio-defensives that replace chemical inputs, cover crops, and the use of precision agriculture (PA). The next step will be to organize and systematize the indicators for measuring the impact and results, scaling them.

Partnerships with scientific institutions such as IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia) and EMBRAPA have also been essential to improve actions aimed to protect biodiversity and water resources, including quantifying and optimizing the use of nutrients and the carbon balance in systems of grain and cotton production.

The main objective of this first collaboration was to evaluate the current work on regenerative agriculture, share introductory knowledge on the topic internally, and provide strategic recommendations encapsulated into an overall regenerative program.

Starting from AMAGGI-owned farms, the project aims to scale up the regenerative agriculture program for AMAGGI´s supply chain and family farmers.

To co-create this program, a participatory approach was used with the following key activities:

● DIAGNOSIS: Internal & external interviews to assess current practices and a literature review of existing research programs and ESG commitments;

● ONBOARDING: Workshop with the main stakeholders responsible for regenerative agricultural implementation at AMAGGI, aimed to understand and be prepared to overcome the main challenges in the process;

● INSPIRATION: Consultations and external visits to specialists on regenerative practices or to Model Farms implemented by reNature with regenerative grain and cotton production, ensuring that the guidelines and foundation of the AMAGGI program are in line with the leading scientific demands and expectations of customers and stakeholders.

To achieve its goals in the regenerative transition, AMAGGI's Regenerative Program is based on three pillars (Soil, Biodiversity, and People).

● Soil Health (that will positively impact sub-pillars of water & carbon)

● Biodiversity (regenerating both the production system and the protected areas)

● People (scaling regenerative agriculture to other producers)

These priorities aim to contribute to climate and economic resilience by ensuring that the best regenerative outcome is achieved and scaled.

Furthermore, reNature focuses on outcomes rather than a practice-based approach, which means that a thorough impact monitoring plan should support claims. To align this in the project, reNature developed a large-scale monitoring set of KPIs applicable to the context of AMAGGI’s farms. Recommendations on prioritizing practices were also developed as a toolbox that will support the project end goal.

Looking at the following steps, AMAGGI will focus on the following:

● Testing new regenerative practices and scaling the ones that show the best results in all its owned farms, according to the implementation plan defined by AMAGGI;

● Deploying one central model farm that gathers the learnings and implementation successes of regenerative practices, which can serve as a demonstration field and help disseminate the knowledge to AMAGGI's supply chain and external stakeholders;

● Scaling the regenerative practices that show the best results across all external producers in the supply chain;

● Measuring and reporting the practices defined as priorities, according to the implementation and monitoring plan, including the results achieved with the implemented practices;

● Supporting projects that strengthen family farming, recommending regenerative practices that strengthen economic resilience.

Cotton and soy are two of the primary commodities in Brazil. Climate change is a reality, threatening the production of both crops. Extreme weather events, such as prolonged droughts and heavy rains, reduce production. Notably, heavy rainfall leads to flooding and water stagnation, making plants more vulnerable to pests and diseases. Deforestation also impacts the climate and biodiversity.

The program implemented by reNature and AMAGGI aims to prove that regenerative agriculture applied to large-scale production can replace conventional methods and restore lands while being an essential solution for large-scale commodities farmers' environmental and economic resilience and avoiding deforestation.

About reNature

reNature, founded by Marco de Boer (NL) and Felipe Villela (BR), assists farmers, agribusiness, and corporates in transitioning to regenerative agriculture from design & implementation to scale. It accelerates this through access to finance & off-takers, premiums for quality, and payment for impact. By doing so, reNature improves economic resilience, soil health, biodiversity, and food security in farming communities.

About AMAGGI

Founded in 1977, AMAGGI is the largest Brazilian grain and fiber company. With a presence in several stages of the agribusiness chain, the company operates in the agricultural production of grains, fibers, and seeds, sourcing, processing, and trading grains and inputs. In addition, it operates grain transport by river and road, ports, and electricity generation and trading.

With its headquarters in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, AMAGGI is present in all regions of Brazil, with farms, warehouses, offices, factories, river and road fleets, port terminals, and hydroelectric power stations. There are 74 units located in 42 municipalities in nine states. The company has units and offices in Argentina, China, Holland, Norway, Paraguay, and Switzerland.

AMAGGI annually produces about 1.2 million tons of grains and fibers, including soy, corn, and cotton. The Company has a commercial relationship base of approximately six thousand producers and, in 2022, sold approximately 18.6 million tons of grains and fibers worldwide.

Contact details

AMAGGI-  ESG, Compliance, and Communications Board

sustentabilidade@amaggi.com.br

reNature - Marco de Boer

Founder & CEO reNature

marco.deboer@renature.co

If you want to read this press release in Portuguese, please click here.