The Sustainable Calf Production Program, for example, has conquered the interest of new farmers in the Juruena Valley region, where the implementation is conducted by Natcap. This year, 33 new farmers started the process of joining the programme, as a result of the benefits offered: general diagnosis of the property according to good agricultural and livestock production practice criteria; guidance on land and environmental regularization; support for accessing funding for investments in technology and environmental recovery and degraded areas; technical assistance in the areas of animal production and property management. With the new additions, the Program will serve 113 calf breeders with a goal of reaching 157 by 2022.

"This is a great programme because it opens people's minds on how to work with cattle. The team provides full support and has no sales obligation. This year we've already carried out the first negotiations of cattle raised in this new system and the result in terms of price and return was really good", says Elaine de Souza Machado, a calf breeder in the municipality of Juruena that has been in the programme since the beginning.

These results are raising the interest of other farmers, as in the case of Adriane Inês Crozeta, who reported her interest when she saw the results on her father-in-law's property. "I have observed that the family farm is making more progress in terms of production and quality management, with better pasture, more consistent spending, cattle weight gain and better remuneration," she said.

The Program aims to change the production and marketing dynamics of the livestock chain to make it increasingly inclusive and financially sound. It is coordinated by IDH with investments from the Carrefour Group and the Carrefour Foundation and having as implementing partners Acrimat, in the Araguaia Valley, and the company Natcap, in the Juruena Valley, a region that also has Agrojacarezinho as commercial support. The plan is to support 457 calf producers by the end of 2021. For the implementation of the activities, planned investments total EUR 3.5M.

Another example of the results of the Field Programmes was the 6th Regional Meeting of Productive Systems, organized by CAT, in partnership with IDH, REM-MT, Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril, UFMT and Santana Farm, which was broadcast online from the field directly to the connected public. The event gathered experts who brought information on two main topics: crop-livestock integration and the no-till farming system. View the event here.

The activity integrates the actions carried out under the Cultivating Sustainable Living Programme, launched in March 2020 by IDH in partnership with CAT Sorriso. The planned investment amounts to EUR 1 million, of which EUR 660,000 from IDH and a match of EUR 780,000 for farmers, in activities aimed at promoting the sustainable development of the region through a territorial approach. Therefore, the programme is part of the strategy to support the PCI (Produce, Conserve and Include) Regional Compact in Sorriso.