Planting forests increases producer income

The planting of commercial forests is an activity encouraged by Mapa to promote increased farmer income and sustainability. By choosing to grow pine or eucalyptus, the producer has the opportunity to meet the growing demand from the timber, furniture, energy and cellulose sectors, contributing to the sustainable development of agriculture.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture supports commercial forest producers by granting credit. The main line of financing that serves the sector is the Commercial Planting and Forest Recovery Program (Propflora), with resources of R$150 million this harvest. “The farmer will be able to produce commercial forests directly or integrated with other sustainable production systems. This way, you will be able to use the credit lines from the Low Carbon Agriculture Program (ABC)”, highlights the coordinator of Sustainable Management of Production Systems at the Ministry of Agriculture, Elvison Ramos.

 

The ABC Program, which has R$2 billion, is one of the main actions adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The government offers financing to rural producers and promotes studies through Embrapa. Furthermore, it trains professionals to facilitate the dissemination of practices such as direct planting in straw, biological nitrogen fixation, recovery of degraded pastures and Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF). All of these techniques contribute to the conservation of production areas.

 

The government's intention with the program is to increase the forest area, by 2020, from six million hectares to nine million hectares. This will allow the reduction of emissions from eight million tons to 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent over a period of ten years.

 

Producers in the commercial forestry sector can also count on the Sustainable Agricultural Production Stimulation Program (Produsa). This harvest, Produsa has R$1 billion available and finances the implementation of the Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration. The technique is one of the aspects of the so-called “green agriculture”, which combines increased productivity on the farm and environmental conservation. The system combines agricultural activities carried out based on direct planting in straw, promoting the recovery of degraded pastures.

 

Business

 

Forestry (an activity linked to the implementation and regeneration of forests) in Brazil has developed technological bases in the last 50 years, with quality genetic material and guaranteed productivity. The investments made made the activity one of the most productive in the country, with emphasis on the agribusiness trade balance. Forest products were responsible, last year, for 12% of the sector's exports, with US$9,3 billion, which represents growth of 20% compared to 2009.

 

Biomass

 

In 2010, the use of wood for firewood and charcoal was almost 30 million tons, equivalent to 12% of the energy supply from forest biomass. The annual consumption of charcoal in the steel and other metal alloy industries, with low production and processing costs, is estimated at six million tons per year. The preference for coal is due to its ease of transport and combustion.

 

The general manager of Embrapa Florestas, Helton Damin da Silva, reinforces that agricultural production and environmental preservation are reconcilable, considering the planting of trees. Therefore, the research center develops technologies and varieties for use in degraded areas or areas without forest tradition. “The country has close to 65 million underutilized areas and the implementation of forest-based agriculture is a viable alternative”, he considers. He assesses that the challenge involves transforming cellulose into clean energy, as the costs of producing biomass are still very high.

 

Sophia Gebrim

Map

(61) 3218-2203

press@agricultura.gov.br