Promoting sustainable land use and the potential to transform what happens in the fields spurred international support for the platform through the Partnerships for Forests (P4F) program.
Produzindo Certo had valuable support in its journey to become a company and to extend the model that connects companies interested in responsibly supplying producers committed to the appropriate standards. The proposal is one of 17 initiatives in Latin America to receive financial investments and technical support from Partnerships for Forests (P4F), land a program funded by the UK government to accelerate initiatives that promote sustainable use, reduce deforestation, and respect preserved forests.
In Latin America, P4F supports rural businesses that can have a positive impact on reforestation and reducing deforestation and that demonstrate the viability of their business models with shared gains for economic development and human wellness. Since 2019, the association between Partnerships for Forests and Produzindo Certo has been improving the company’s digital platform and business plan.
“Produzindo Certo works to resolve an important issue in Brazilian agribusiness, which is the lack of knowledge by rural producers about social and environmental regulations,” says Pedro Ferro, investment manager at P4F. Among the aspects that attracted the attention of the P4F program and led them to invest in Produzindo Certo are the scope of the platform (covering several regions in Brazil) and the specialized services offered by the company directly to producers in the fields. “Connecting producers who adopt sustainable practices to the market creates the incentive they need. And for companies, Produzindo Certo contributes to the achievement of their sustainability plans and goals in the supply chain,” explains Ferro.
In its final implementation phase, Produzindo Certo’s platform adds new features that simplify and automate part of the data collection process and the environmental, social, and production assessment of the farms monitored by the platform. Digitization and connectivity streamline the process and expand monitoring capacity while reducing costs, a fundamental step toward expanding the number of properties verified. Today, Produzindo Certo monitors 5 million hectares in 1,500 rural properties across Brazil.
The result is a digital database that gathers the farms’ social and environmental diagnostics, generates updated performance reports, tracks improvements made by the owner, connects to systems for monitoring illegal deforestation and embargoes, and more. Produzindo Certo also offers free technical assistance to rural producers so they can recognize points of improvement and gradually advance their social and environmental performance. Click here to learn more about the platform.
International assistance for rural producers
Barbara Ferreira, Project Manager at P4F, highlights the benefit offered to producers thanks to the model of operating in partnership with trading and retail companies to finance technical assistance and monitoring in the fields. She also stresses the potential impact of these actions when engaging different players in the market. “Partnerships with different companies within the same chain that benefit from this service, and that can share costs, are very interesting arrangements from a business standpoint. Banks, for example, find it difficult to perform this due diligence, and Produzindo Certo caters to this increasingly important need,” she points out.
The association with Partnerships for Forests will extend to the end of the year. Until then, efforts are being made to enhance the digital platform, the business plan, and the marketing and sales strategy, as well as to attract new investors.
Concerning the future of Produzindo Certo, P4F representatives point out the opportunities to increase positive results. “Populating a database directly from the field generates a great deal of agility. Looking a few years ahead, there is a lot of potential for gains in scale and efficiency. In addition, investments in technology must be ongoing in order to keep the platform robust and ahead of competitors,” adds Bárbara.
“The client portfolio is quite diversified and ranges from large cattle ranches and soy farms in Mato Grosso to small tobacco producers in the south of the country. This shows that the platform is useful for the different types of rural producers in Brazil,” says Pedro Ferro.
In South America, Partnerships for Forests operates in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru with resources from the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It also has operations in Central, East, and West Africa and Southeast Asia and is implemented by Palladium and Systemiq.
Click here to learn about the portfolios of projects supported by P4F.
