Stewardship concept takes the field to score a goal for the planet

In times of appreciation for ESG practices, the English term "stewardship" is gaining more and more relevance, used in the corporate environment to address topics related to ethics and responsibility in resource management. 

Empowered by the economic crisis that affected the world just over a decade ago, this concept is closely linked to agribusiness, environmental sustainability and governance. After all, through stewardship codes, companies take care of the entire life cycle of products that will be applied to crops. From acquisition and transportation. Concern with the process also includes storage, correct application, worker safety, disposal of empty packaging, awareness and good practices in the field. 

Each topic is essential to UPL's goal of reinventing agriculture and thus reimagining sustainability. Present in more than 130 countries, the company is one of the five largest in the world in agricultural solutions, being a pioneer in raising the flag for the correct and safe use of plant defense products, which require special care and are essential for the production of food for meet growing global demand. 

A living example of this commitment is the Aplique Bem program, created in 2007 and carried out in partnership with the Agronomic Institute (IAC). The work consists of providing free courses on the correct and safe use of agricultural pesticides for rural producers across the country. To date, 76 thousand people have participated in the practice. 

Aplique Bem has five traveling laboratories, the "Tech Móveis". Four of them cover the national territory, while one is destined for the fruit circuit in the interior of São Paulo. In each training, around 20 producers and rural workers are brought together, who receive detailed information about the process of safe and correct use of agricultural inputs, including explanation and awareness about personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Instead of transporting farmers and farm employees to the classroom, we take knowledge to the field, where they are and work. The information is passed on by agronomists, trained by the IAC, under the coordination of researcher and doctor in agronomy Hamilton Ramos. The effectiveness of these trainings is proven in each course. 

In total, Aplique Bem has already held more than 4 thousand courses in more than 1 thousand municipalities in 22 Brazilian states, in addition to the Federal District. The results of the program caught the attention of seven countries, which imported the idea: Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mexico, the Republic of Mali and Vietnam. Our goal is to continue expanding this fantastic project, in favor of increasingly sustainable agriculture. 

In fact, this careful work is recognized, including by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), which recognized the Aplique Bem Program as one of the three best Good Practices in the Social Responsibility category. More than that, the project helps Brazilian producers – such as the Hasegawa and Rochetto groups – to achieve international certifications of good agricultural practices, with direct benefits to consumers. 

Environmental protection and the concept of stewardship are so important to UPL that the company created Stewardship Day globally, celebrated every year with World Environment Day, on June 5th. Through this time frame, we reaffirm our commitment to sustainable agriculture, a concept that we take to the field with UPL to score a goal for our planet.