Amaggi promotes large-scale regenerative agriculture in Brazil

The giant Brazilian agriculture company Amaggi, that markets annually approximately 19 million tons of grain and fiber globally, is launching a new phase of its regenerative agriculture program in an effort to combat climate change.

The goal of regenerative agriculture is to improve the health of the soil so it can capture more carbon from the atmosphere and reduce carbon emissions. Transitioning from conventional to regenerative agriculture requires investments in machinery, precision agriculture, and professional expertise.

Techniques used for regenerative agriculture in tropical Brazil include crop rotations, no-till planting, the use of cover crops, livestock and agriculture integration, and the use of biological inputs instead of chemical inputs. The Brazilian agricultural research service, Embrapa, has been promoting these technologies for more than a decade.

Amaggi has been incorporating these technologies on its own farms for several years and they will now expand the program to their suppliers.

Amaggi operates 369,000 hectares of land (911,400 acres) where they produce soybeans, corn, cotton, and cattle. Their farms supply only 5% of the annual volume of grain they market with the other 95% coming from its 6,000 suppliers. Amaggi originates 39% of its soybeans from the Amazon region and 41% from the cerrado region of Brazil. These two biomes encompass almost two thirds of Brazil.

Over the next 12 to 24 months, Amiggi will launch a training program for its suppliers that will also include financial incentives to adopt these new technologies. The company's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Other giant multinational agricultural companies such as Cargill, ADM, Bunge and even Walmart have initiated their own programs in Brazil designed to limit illegal deforestation and carbon emissions, but Amaggi has been the most aggressive in promoting regenerative agriculture to its suppliers.