Prospera Program completes six years and presents results on corn productivity in the Northeast

Created in 2017 to promote the sustainable development of agriculture with the empowerment of communities and rural producers, Prospera has been transforming the socioeconomic reality of farmers in the northeast region. With six years of operation, the Program has impacted more than 15 thousand people from 258 municipalities, through training and access to high-yield corn production techniques. The numbers were presented today during the opening event of the corn harvest in Pernambuco, at the Associação Atlética do Banco do Brasil, in Garanhuns-PE.

Prospera is a program that offers producers with small properties in the Northeast access to the best technologies and practices for producing corn with high productivity. The program is supported by traditional agribusiness companies - Corteva Agriscience and Yara Brasil - and also has the support of Massey Ferguson, and Abramilho - Brazilian Association of Corn Producers. Since 2022, the NGO Global Communities has been responsible for implementing the program.

For 2023, the program expands to two more states: Alagoas and Paraíba, in addition to investing in the development of a digital platform that will host the Program's entire production ecosystem. With this, the forecast is to reach over 13 thousand producers in the region.

The initiative began in the state of Pernambuco and, in 2022, expanded to the producing regions of Ceará, providing access to technologies and training for producers with small properties and local cooperatives. During the period, more than 10 thousand producers were impacted through training and practical knowledge in demonstration crops. The results are already seen in increased productivity. In Porteiras/CE, one of the regions served by Prospera, corn productivity reached 120 bags/ha in the last harvest, reaching a record of 191,73 bags/ha. Before the Program, production was, on average, 15 bags/ha.

In addition to the results with corn for grains, producers have also been reaping positive results with silage production. Before Prospera, the average was 20 tons. With quality seeds, technical assistance, nutrition, planting standardization, crop protection with correct dosage and application, at the correct time, it was possible to produce 54 tons of silage per hectare in Quipapá/PE.

“The partners involved in Prospera are fundamental to the success of the program. The support and advice that farmers in the Northeast receive are fundamental for the development of rural communities in the region. This is a program that we are very proud of because it is directly connected with our purpose of enriching lives”, highlights Alexsandro Mastropaulo, Agriculture Development Manager at Corteva Agriscience.

The Prospera team counts on the help of local multipliers who work to identify rural producers who can benefit from the initiative, such as community leaders, members of cooperatives, universities, among others. The farmers involved learn about technologies with the potential to increase productivity, about corn seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and agricultural machinery, and receive theoretical and practical training from supporting companies, face-to-face meetings, field days and virtual events.

“Yara’s ambition is to cultivate a positive food future for nature. In this sense, being part of Prospera is an opportunity to add value to the entire production chain through knowledge and quality inputs that will contribute not only to the high yield of corn, but also to the preservation of soil health and, consequently, , for the sustainability of cultivation", says Marcelo Gobitta, Food Chain Manager at Yara Brasil.

Prospera aims to contribute to self-sufficiency between corn production and consumption in the Northeast and transform the region into a hub for corn production and, to this end, it has a multidisciplinary team made up of agronomists and technicians, as well as a Management Committee , made up of leaders in charge of the program in the supporting companies and who are responsible for the program’s strategic guidelines.