agriculture

A Step Toward Supply Chain Sustainability: The Round Table on Responsible Soy in Brazil, 2005 – 2017

Author
Blair Cameron
Focus Area(s)
Country of Reform
Abstract

In the early 2000s, deforestation accelerated in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and global environmental groups began to raise the alarm. Greenpeace, one of the most vocal groups, published a report that placed the blame partly on the soy industry, which had grown rapidly in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. In response, industry representatives joined with nongovernmental organizations, financial institutions, supermarkets, and others in the soy supply chain to form the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). Following the model of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which worked to transform the environmentally destructive palm oil industry in Southeast Asia, the RTRS wanted to implement a supply chain certification system to help identify whether harvests came from land deforested without regard for environmental impact and nudge soy farmers into a new era of sustainable production. The roundtable participants successfully developed a standard for responsible practices, and enrolled a number of large farm enterprises. But low demand for certified soy and the high cost of becoming certified slowed progress, especially among smaller producers. As of 2017, less than 1% of soy produced in Brazil was RTRS certified, and uncertified landholders continued to convert important natural ecosystems into soy farms. Although the RTRS succeeded in bringing together key players in the soy industry to talk about sustainability for the first time, it was clear that complementary efforts were necessary to shift the soy industry as a whole toward environmentally friendly production.

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in São Paulo, Cuiabá, and Brasilia, Brazil in March and April 2017. The British Academy-Department for International Development Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Program funded the development of this case study. Case published August 2017.

 

 

Henry Samacá Prieto

Ref Batch
J
Ref Batch Number
14
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Matthew Devlin
Name
Henry Samacá Prieto
Interviewee's Position
Coordinator for Economic Development
Interviewee's Organization
Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena
Language
Spanish with English Consecutive Translation
Nationality of Interviewee
Colombian
Town/City
Bogotá
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Henry Samacá Prieto, the coordinator for economic development for Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena (Plan for the Integrated Consolidation of the Macarena), discusses Colombian efforts to spur economic growth in Colombia’s six municipalities in Macarena. He begins by discussing the problems related to the growth of coca crops in Colombia, and efforts to redirect agricultural economic activity in ways that are conducive to economic growth. The first project aimed to provide in kind nutritional aid to rural families, along with assisting them in providing food through the farm. The second program aimed to assist farmers by providing them with capital in the form of equipment and agricultural raw materials. The last project provided guidance, technical assistance, microcredit, and governmental support for rural communities to economically reintegrate with the rest of Colombia. he also discusses the role of capital accumulation, livestock, credit, and training in encouraging economic development. Lastly, he discusses the role, and the shortcomings, of the Banco Agrario de Colombia (Agricultural Bank of Colombia) in allowing rural communities to achieve economic prosperity.
Profile

At the time of the interview, Henry Samacá Prieto was employed as the coordinator for economic development for Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena (Plan for the Integrated Consolidation of the Macarena), in Colombia. 

Full Audio File Size
93.5MB
Full Audio Title
Samaca Interview