Protected Soil Project is announced by SindiTabaco

The Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) together with Embrapa Clima Temperado, will launch the Protected Soil Project this Tuesday, March 25, during the Expoagro Afubra program. The signing of the cooperation agreement will take place in auditorium 2, at 13:30 pm, with the presence of authorities, representatives of the production chain and Embrapa.

“This is yet another major action by the tobacco sector that will enable, in addition to the diagnosis of properties, the promotion of soil quality and sustainability in tobacco production units in the South of Brazil. The vast majority of tobacco producers already adopt conservationist practices. But we have five years of joint learning ahead of us that will certainly yield good results in the future,” says the president of SindiTabaco, Valmor Thesing.

Various specialists from Embrapa will work on collecting samples to diagnose the physical, chemical, biological and mesofauna quality, as well as to evaluate the carbon stocks present in 33 properties in 11 tobacco-producing micro-regions. With a duration of 60 months, the project will follow four stages: diagnosis of soil quality, recommendation of intervention plans, intervention and monitoring.

“Nothing in the soil area is built overnight. It is a huge challenge, but we are taking it in stride. This is a sector that has already been working towards improvement and deserves Embrapa’s attention,” says project coordinator Adilson Bamberg.

During the project, there are also training opportunities planned for the dissemination of knowledge and technologies, both for producers and advisors, on reference properties, where the results can be demonstrated on field days, creating an important educational effect for cultural change.

Another planned action is the construction of a database of chemical, physical and biological soil attributes based on information collected by associated companies that can assist in decision-making in areas that require soil corrections.