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Improving açaí value chain towards better livelihoods

Micro-farming / Brazil

Marajó Island is one of Brazil’s poorest regions ranked among the least developed areas by the Human Development Index (HDI). The population, which mainly makes a living from açaí production and fishing, faces food insecurity and poverty. Productivity is low and although demand for açaí is high and increasing, inexistent distribution channels and a lack of control over selling prices mean income generation is limited.

our Impact

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41

families

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110

beneficiaries

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3

technical visits

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7

week technical assistance

Our work

Run in partnership with Instituto Louis Dreyfus and Instituto Peabiru, the program helps 41 farming families to increase their açaí production and regain control over its distribution in order to alleviate poverty and improve local livelihoods. The focus of this program is to provide sustainable production, management and administrative training, and to help farmers gain access to markets and a distribution network through cooperation. The active involvement of local farming communities is at the heart of the program, and crucial to create the right conditions for community empowerment.

A new phase of the program, validated in March 2019, will ensure a better access to market thanks to the creation of an “açai port”, with local communities regaining control over the commercialization of açai production. It also seeks to diversify sources of income for 41 benefiting families through direct support of local handicrafts and production of honey from native bees. 

Impact

41 families have already benefited from trainings on financial management and entrepreneurship as well as technical assistance at all levels of the supply chain from açaí cultivation to its distribution. This is expected to result in improved productivity of açaí and a better quality product, all allowing to charge higher prices for their production. Improved cooperation between families should help build a sense of belonging in the community, as a prerequisite for community empowerment.  

About our partners

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Created in 2018, Instituto Louis Dreyfus (ILD) is supporting the projects of the Louis Dreyfus Foundation in Brazil. Through the implementation of micro-farming and education projects, the ILD helps improve food security of vulnerable rural communities in Brazil using sustainable agricultural practices.

Peabiru Institute is a Brazilian NGO that is active in Eastern Amazon - Pará (Marajó, Salgado Paraense and Belém Ribeirinha), Amapá and Maranhão. Its primary objective is to facilitate processes to strengthen social organization and valorization of socio-biodiversity of the Amazon region.

Project Duration

2018-2020

Peabiru Institute and Instituto Louis Dreyfus have supported us throughout the year. A visit to the community of the Tartaruga river nearby opened up our eyes. We finally understood how important is to have an açaí port, our own port, and not to be dependent on the intermediaries.

Valdecir Moraes Pereira “Toti” community of Rio Urinduba