Bunge flags tighter monitoring of high-risk areas of deforestation in the Cerrado

13-Nov-2020 - Last updated on 13-Nov-2020 at 13:35 GMT

Agribusiness giant, Bunge, says its recently released 9th Non-Deforestation Progress Report highlights additional progress the group has made toward its goal of achieving deforestation-free value chains worldwide by 2025.

The St Louis, Missouri headquarter trader flagged its increased monitoring of the direct soybean volumes sourced from the high-risk areas in the Cerrado region of Brazil and its effective scrutiny programs in the Chaco region of Argentina and Paraguay.

“In addition to using cutting-edge satellite technology, we also have the most extensive monitoring in the sector, capable of identifying changes in land use and soy planting on each of the farms we monitor. The partnership with the producer was essential for us to get to this point, with 95% of monitored areas in Brazil including detailed CAR information [a 4 percentage point increase since October 2019]. In Argentina and Paraguay, however, Bunge has maintained its monitoring of direct purchases in high-risk areas at 100%.”

Soy volumes are classified as traceable when the company has information such as the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) number, GPS coordinates, or complete location details of the property where the soy was produced.

Blocking non-compliant farmers

Bunge said that it monitors the occurrence of deforestation on direct supply farms, and that it blocks farms that do not comply with environmental or labor legislation.

In its grain purchase process in Brazil, the company reported that it uses daily consultations of IBAMA's public list of embargoes as well as the list of the Labor Inspection Secretariat. Additionally, in the Amazon biome, Bunge is a signatory to the Soy Moratorium and the Green Protocol for Grains of Pará.

When deforestation is identified from monitoring, it then has a strategy in place to engage the producer. During this phase, Bunge said it tries to determine if the deforestation is related to soybean production, it carries out a re-evaluation of the producer in relation to its policies, and if there is no positive response from the producer, the property is blocked from selling to the company.

“Currently, 37 properties in the monitored regions of Brazil are blocked.”

The chart below presents the results of Bunge supplier screening in Brazil:

Digital tools

Bunge has also shared information about a new digital tool - AgroApp Bunge - that is designed to allow producers in Brazil to grant access to their properties' CAR data via cell phone.

In addition, that tool provides information on the socio-environmental data across the trader’s origination processes, information on environmental legislation, and access to sustainable production support tools.

The trader has also developed, in collaboration with other stakeholders, a free platform for territorial management, Agroideal, that is designed to identify areas with less socio-environmental risk for agricultural expansion. Bunge said it uses this platform in its origination planning.