CONTRACT FARMING: COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS, AMAZONIANS AND MODERN SUPPLY CHAINS
December 2nd, 2022 at 12:30pm ET
Contract farming, commercial agreements between companies and producer organizations, could play an important role in integrating community businesses, indigenous and traditional peoples, and small holder farmers into the evolving bioeconomic development strategy for the Amazon. This panel will discuss how these relationships foster trust, retain forested areas, strengthen supply chains, and improve community livelihoods, while providing companies with access to Amazon products as well as compelling stories to tell global audiences about forest-friendly commerce.
Joao Meirelles
Instituto Peabiru
Writer and socio-environmental activist from São Paulo. For 14 years, João has been living either in Belém or in the Amazon. He is the author of 17 books, of which 9 are about the Amazon and one is of short stories: O Abridor de Fetras (SESC literary award of 2017). For 33 years he has been working in the third sector, and 20 of those he spent as the CEO of Instituto Peabiru, an organization that works in the nine states where one can find the Brazilian Amazon.
Ronald Freitas
Union of Ethical Biotrade (UEBT)
With UEBT since 2018 and based in Brazil, Ronaldo previously worked for 11 years for Natura Cosmetics on the development of supply chain biodiversity, access and benefit sharing, traceability, and territorial development in the Brazilian Amazon. He was also responsible for developing the strategy of education on sustainability in Natura Mexico. Ronaldo has a degree in Agronomic Engineering and a post-graduate degree in cooperativism and environmental analysis.
Aline Sousa
Juruá Pescados
Fishing Engineer with experience in planning and execution of production in a fish refrigerating plant, Experience with Training and management of leaders and teams. Solid knowledge in quality control and food safety, with experience in implementing tools related to quality, I currently work as a manager at the company Juruá Pescados.
Fernando Allegretti
Amazon Investor Coalition
Fernando Allegretti is an impact entrepreneur and sustainability expert with more than 30 years of professional experience, much of it in the Brazilian Amazon region. He implements strategies that bridge climate change, community development and natural resources management. He was a senior member of the sustainability team at Natura & Co, which currently includes Natura Cosméticos, Aesop, The Body Shop and Avon. He has managed projects for the Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and Friends of the Earth, among others. He is co-founder and director of the Institute of Amazonian Studies, an nonprofit established in 1986 for the implementation of Extractive Reserves, natural conservation areas designed for sustainable use that protect 5% of the Brazilian Amazon Region and benefit about 400,000 people. He holds a BS in Agronomy and a Master’s degree in Forest Sciences from Yale University’s School of the Environment where he was a fellow of the World Bank and the Inter-American Foundation.
Wain Collen
Los Aliados / Ecuador
Wain is an entrepreneur and sustainability expert with over 15 years of experience supporting indigenous communities to engage effectively with markets. As co-founder and Executive Director at Aliados, Wain’s vision is to transform the way business is done in the Andes and Amazon ecosystems. Aliados achieves this by connecting smallholder farmers to global markets through regenerative agriculture, unlocking new value for the world’s most biodiverse landscapes.
Beto Bina
Veja
Beto Bina holds a degree in Business from PUC-RS, with a master’s degree in Business for Social Impact and Sustainability from GCNYC (Glasgow Caledonian New York College). He is responsible for managing the supply-chains of the french sneaker brand VEJA, which focuses on materials with a socio-environmental impact, such as native rubber from the Amazon and Agroecological cotton from the northeast of Brazil. He is also co-founder of FARFARM, a supply chain consultancy accelerated by Fashion For Good and specialized in working with smallholder farmers and agroforestry.
