Created in 2002, initially involving 50 families, Agropalma’s Family Farming and Integrated Producers Program now includes 439 family farmers (properties up to 12 hectares) and 66 integrated producers (areas above that). This is a pioneering initiative in the palm segment to assist small producers who until then had been living off subsistence farming and extractivism, contributing to improving their quality of life and strengthening the local economy – more than R$ 500 million has already been paid to producers over the last 10 years (2015 to 2024) and currently creating 1,120 jobs.

Here’s how it works: the company submits a proposal to potential partners to grow palm oil, with a guarantee to purchase 100% of their production over the 25-year contract period, irrespective of market fluctuations.  This fair pricing policy allows farmers to sustain the partnership in the long term.  In the most recent harvest, the partners’ production amounted to 135,500 tons, equivalent to 23.3% of the total fruit processed by Agropalma’s plants.

The program led to an average increase of 528% in the partners’ income.  “It is very rewarding to see so many lives being transformed, especially in such a poor region.  It is rewarding for the company and for each one of us involved in this mission,” says André Nogueira Borba, Agricultural Officer at Agropalma.  The average income of family farmers participating in the project is currently around R$ 15,000 per month – many of them earned less than 10% of that amount when they began their partnership with Agropalma.

Expansion Plans

The key to the program’s success lies largely in the assertiveness of its actions, based on the actual needs of farmers.  “We start with the basics, which is to help with land legalization.  Often, producers have been in the same place for decades without ever having formalized their ownership of the area,” says Antonio Jorge Brandão Correa, manager of the Integration and Family Farming Program.  One of the criteria adopted in this process is to ensure, through retrospective satellite imagery, that there has been no deforestation since 2008.

The support offered by the program includes technical assistance and ongoing training on sustainability practices and legal requirements, as well as the supply of high-quality inputs at cost price, discounted upon delivery of production. All of this contributes to the assurance of stable income, a fundamental pillar of a dignified life.  Achieving this stage is not easy for small Brazilian farmers, due to price volatility, difficulty in accessing inputs, and the lack of purchase guarantees for their crops.  Agropalma program addresses all these issues.

The project’s expansion plans include increasing the number of associated producers from the current 505 to 700 by 2028, with an increase in the total area from 16,200 hectares to 22,000 hectares.  As this is a perishable fruit that needs to be on the production line within 24 hours of harvesting, the search for partners is limited to eight municipalities within the r… (missing text)

An additional incentive has recently been added to the program: encouragement for the associated cultivation of cassava, a traditional crop in the region, where production is sent to a starch plant or cassava flour mill.  This allows associated producers to earn extra income until the first palm harvest, which takes place two years after planting.

Technology has also led to improvements in the project.  All records of agricultural and plant health visits to properties are made using an app loaded onto the field supervisor’s cell phone, and access to this app will soon be extended to producers.  “This process facilitates monitoring the progress of each recommendation, with very specific details,” Borba explains.  “For example, we can treat a plant and know, based on its exact coordinates, whether that plant has recovered as expected.”

Women participation

Among the families who became business owners during the project, 26.2% are led by women, reflecting the growing participation of women in Brazilian agribusiness.  This percentage is higher than the national average reported by the Agricultural Census, which recorded that 19% of rural establishments are run by women.

These are stories like that of Iracema Pinto, who joined the project in 2005 and, in addition to achieving her dream of owning her own home, is helping her children achieve their personal goals.  Iracema leads the whole family in planting palm trees on eight hectares of land.  “My children handle the manual labor.  I take on other tasks, but when necessary, I go with them to the fields,” she says.

Another producer who leads the palm farming culture is Ângela Maria Santos, who has also built her own house and bought a car.  “To grow with palm oil, you just can’t be afraid of hard work.  I remember when I started, I worked from Sunday to Sunday.  Now, I even take weekends off, because I can hire people to help my family,” says Ângela.

With operations beginning in 1982, Agropalma operates across the entire production chain, from the production of seedlings and refined oil and special fats to high value-added solutions.  Currently employing 5,000 people, it has six crude oil extraction plants, two refineries, and a custom-bonded export terminal.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper (11/04/2025)