Cana IAC Program develops Investment Indicator in Actions to Prevent and Fight Fires in Sugarcane Fields

The Cana IAC Program developed the unprecedented Investment Indicator in Actions to Prevent and Fight Fires in Sugarcane Fields. The objective was to measure the estimated investment in fire prevention and control and the number of employees involved in sugarcane areas, using a sample from 2020. The research by the Agronomic Institute, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of São Paulo, collected information from 93 sugar, ethanol and energy producing units in the Center-South region of Brazil. In total, 3,3 million hectares of cultivated area were sampled, that is, one third of the total sugarcane area in the country. For the researched area, R$228 million was invested in preventing and fighting fires. The sector was heard in the period between September 28, 2020 and October 05th.

"Extrapolating to the whole of Brazil, we would have an investment of R$690 million and the use of 16.000 employees in this activity; the information collected demonstrates the enormous effort made by the production units in preventing and controlling fires in their sugarcane fields", assesses the Program consultant Cana IAC, Rubens Braga Junior.

These numbers vary depending on the sugarcane growing region. In the Center-South region, the average investment was R$69,42 per hectare, and the use of labor was 1,55 employees per thousand hectares. For the research, the Center-South was subdivided into the North and South regions. The study showed a clear difference in investment between these two poles. In the North region, the average investment was R$86,42, per hectare, and the use of labor was 1,57 employees, per thousand hectares. In the South Region, where there is a greater incidence of rain, the smallest investments are made, totaling an average value of R$44,38 per hectare, and the use of 1,53 employees per thousand hectares.

The North region includes the states of Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Tocantins and the state of São Paulo, Araçatuba, Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto, where the climate can be considered more arid, with a regime of less intense rainfall. The South region involves the states of Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and in the state of São Paulo, the regions of Assis, Piracicaba and Jaú. "It is interesting to observe how the investment is totally associated with the climate of the region studied. In the South region, where the climate is milder, the average investment is R$44,38 per hectare, while in the North region, which is much drier , the investment practically doubles to R$86,42 per hectare", comments Braga Junior.

In the state of São Paulo, forest fires, which occur in any form of vegetation, are more frequent from June to October. August and September bring together the highest number of occurrences. In the Ribeirão Preto region there were several fires during this dry period in 2020. There, on a single day in August, three large fires were recorded.

Among the conclusions of this research, it was evident that the fire in the sugarcane field harms the sugar-energy sector, according to Marcos Guimarães de Andrade Landell, leader of the Cana IAC Program. That's why investments are made precisely to eliminate the risk of fires, since this practice was restricted more than a decade ago. Since then, when fires occur in sugarcane areas, great losses have been suffered by sugarcane growers. "Among the losses are the reduction in the sprouting of the future sugarcane field and the loss of its longevity, in addition to the change in the entire harvest schedule and the losses of cultivation operations already carried out, such as fertilization and weed control", adds Landell . Furthermore, fires harm the soil, fauna and flora. Thus, the creation of the index was due to a significant number of fires, especially in a year as dry as 2020.

The idea of ​​developing this indicator was developed together with the sugar-energy sector. To carry out the research, Landell established contacts with several agro-industrial units, with sugarcane growers' associations and with the Brazilian Agribusiness Association of the Ribeirão Preto Region (ABAG-RP), which has adopted educational actions about fires, especially those considered criminal. . "These contacts aimed to understand and measure the size of this effort made by the sugar-energy sector to prevent and combat fires; therefore, trying to quantify this effort, we suggested a survey within the sector and reached a significant sample of 3,3 million of hectares", explains Landell.

To gather the information, plants in the states of Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Tocantins and São Paulo were interviewed. "As in all research carried out by the Cana IAC Program, we count on the trust of companies in the sector due to the fact that we maintain the confidentiality of their individual information and our competence in carrying out the analyses", says Braga Junior. The indicator can be used by the sector itself to present to society the effort made to produce with environmental sustainability.