About
The Balsas region covers 12 municipalities in the southern region of the state of Maranhão (Balsas, Riachão, Carolina, Nova Colinas, Loreto, Fortaleza dos Nogueiras, São Raimundo das Mangabeiras, Sambaíba, Feira Nova do Maranhão, Tasso Fragoso, Alto Parnaíba and Pastos Bons). Its territory is located in the Cerrado, the biome with the highest rates of deforestation in the country in recent years. Its area is contained in the region known as MATOPIBA, which from the 80's onwards, became an important agricultural frontier in Brazil.
The main production chains in the region are soybeans and cotton, grown on a large scale. As it is an expanding grain supply area, strategic for the European market and also with high vulnerability in environmental and social terms, as of 2020 IDH started to operate in the Balsas region, together with FAPCEN and Natcap in identifying actors to join a coalition to join efforts in for the sustainable development of the region. This process, which took place in 2020, during the pandemic period, had as its main stages the engagement of local stakeholders, the agreement of intentions in relation to priorities for the region, the establishment of goals and the consolidation of the common vision for the municipality through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in November 2020. Since then, the PCI Compact of the Balsas region has been structured in order to increasingly incorporate the needs and actors of greater relevance to the territory. In 2025, R5 – Development and Innovation Agency of the Southern Cerrado of Maranhão, began to assume the governance of this regional pact, updating and strengthening the role of local actors in the initiative that is under continuous construction.
The PCI Pact of the Balsas region aims to develop a deforestation-free grain and cotton supply area, promoting the preservation of the Cerrado and generating income for large and small farmers.