Sumitomo Chemical launches project for Payments for Environmental Services

Sumitomo Chemical begins in 2021, in partnership with the Alliance for the Tropical Forest (TFA, in its acronym in English), the PSA (Environmental Services Program) Soja Brasil. The objective of the pilot project is to test a pricing methodology for Payment for Environmental Services in oilseed cultivation areas. The Tropical Forest Alliance is a World Economic Forum platform focused on environmental preservation initiatives. 

In addition to promoting the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, maintaining environmental services also differentiates farmers' property, adds value to their product and increases the area's productivity. “Conserving water, biodiversity and climate can be an act rewarded for those who work hard to maintain them, and many rural producers already do this. We want to show that Brazilian agribusiness, in addition to being competitive, is also sustainable”, explains Marcelo Habe, Marketing Director at Sumitomo in Brazil. “Although many soybean farmers already promote these actions, to date they have not been remunerated”, he concludes. 

"The PSA Soja Brasil was designed to support the soybean sector to improve its environmental performance, reducing its carbon footprint and the pressure for deforestation, through the valuation of standing forest areas through the sale of environmental services", comments Fabíola Zerbini, director of TFA for Latin America. “In Maranhão, we have the opportunity to develop this more integrated solution for the producer and buyer, coupled with state command, monitoring and control systems. The focus of the project is on how it will help us formulate public policy recommendations at the jurisdictional and national levels. And its main goal is to subsidize the construction of a very solid PPP (Public-Private Partnership), effective for the entire country."

To start the pilot project, producers from the south of Maranhão were selected. On properties, the biodiversity index, soil carbon stock and water quality will be evaluated. “The state has two biomes: the Cerrado and the Amazon. As the agricultural frontiers of Maranhão are still expanding, we have the opportunity to contribute to the planning of this expansion in a legal way”, explains Marco Fujihara, director of New Business at TechSocial, a Business Management consultancy that is also part of the project. 

The selected farmers were visited by program technicians to collect property data during the month of January. This month, Law 14.119/21 was also sanctioned, which regulates payment for environmental services, a form of incentive for the conservation of natural areas and sustainable development.