Brazil - Trying to save an ecological reserve

[Donald Reid]

From Capt. Donald Reid - Ande Turismo Ltda. (Andetur), and ONG ASSOCIAÇÂO ABTC-BRASIL, registered IBAMA – Ministério do Meio Ambiente – as Técnico Federal N° 235492 “Uso de Recursos Naturais / utilização do patrimônio natural; Turismo / complexos turísticos e de lazer, inclusive parques temáticos”
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I am an American, raised in Texas, retired US Merchant Marine, and resident in Brazil where I work as consultant to the environmental protection agency IBAMA, own a small tour agency, and am president of an NGO/ONG ASSOCIAÇÃO ABTC-BRASIL. Our ONG has the objectives of developing tourism projects in communities in the interior of the northeast of Brazil, one of the poorest, yet most beautiful regions, in Brazil.

Four years ago we (IBAMA) protested the sale of an established 'caatinga' ecological reserve know as RPPN Sernativo to a group (cooperative) of landless rural farmers whose original intentions were to burn the caatinga and try to make a living raising simple crops like beans, etc. Since that time our ONG has been working to try to same the reserve, the only caatinga reserve in our state.

We have created a BLOG on the Our World Community to try to inform members about the area, the caatinga, the reserve, and our proposal to save it.

The government land reform agencies MDA, INCRA and SEARA that originated the sale have agreed now that the sale itself to rural farmers was illegal and are now trying to cancel the original sale. The farmers themselves now realize that their purchase was a mistake. The bank - Banco Nordeste - has agreed to consider allowing our ONG to assume the existing mortgage with the objective of saving the reserve if we can raise a minimum of US$ 10,000 and agree to help the farmers try to make a living on an 18 hectare (45 acre) area between the two sections of the actual reserve.

A few kilometers to the east of us an unique system of small irrigated organic vegetable farms were created in a similiar area. This system is referred to as Mandallas and I have posted on the BLOG and on my page several articles and videos explaining the system in detail.

Attached are the original project we presented to the bank in Portuguese and a translation of part of the project in English.

The plan is that once the Mandallas are established and a good income being generated, we would build a small guest hotel or pousada (called a hotel-fazenda) on another area lakeside close to the reserve which would serve as a school teaching the system to other farmers in the semi-arid sertao and provide employment to the families of the residents and neighboring community of Acari.

I would like some suggestions and/or help from community members on how exactly to raise this initial 'seed capital'. The bank has given us a deadline to raise this minimum to enable us to start.

Donald

[Donald Reid]

Amazon destruction increasing, says Brazil
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30/09/2008
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The Amazon is being deforested more than three times as fast as last year, Brazil says, in a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.
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Brazil’s environment minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections were partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.
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Non-government environmentalists blame the global increase in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.
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Elections no doubt play a part, but “the tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up”, said Paulo Adario, who co-ordinates Greenpeace’s Amazon campaign.
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“When you have elections, the appetite of authorities to enforce laws is reduced. But the federal government has to step in and do its job.”
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Amazon destruction jumped 228% in August when compared with the same month a year ago, according to a report from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.
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About 300 square miles of the Amazon was destroyed last month, compared with 90 square miles in August 2007.
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The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said the destruction was probably even worse than its figures showed. No information was available for approximately 26% of the Amazon because of cloud cover during the month.
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Mr Minc also released a list of what he said were the 100 individuals or companies responsible for the most deforestation since 2005.
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Leading the list was the Brazilian government’s own land and agrarian reform agency, Incra.
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Greenpeace has accused Incra officials of illegally handing over rainforest to logging companies and creating fake settlements to skirt environmental regulations.
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Mr Minc said Incra was responsible for destroying 544,000 acres of the Amazon in the past three years.
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But Incra president Rolf Hackbart said all the areas cited by Minc as being deforested by Incra were areas legally settled between 1995 and 2002.
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Most of Mr Minc’s list comprises Brazilian farmers and ranchers.
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HELP US SAVE OUR LITTLE ECOLOGICAL RESERVE IN ACARI!
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Donald
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[Donald Reid]

Our NGO / ONG has created an investment fund for small investors to support projects in Brazil.
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OBS: Note - in order to participate you must be a club member. We still have the 8 special

memberships for sale for US$ 100.00 each. These memberships (Silver Card) will be sold to

the first 8 that send their US$ 100.00 to the association via PayPal (www.paypal.com)

addressed to [e-mail] ... after these 8 memberships are sold, sales will revert

to our website at www.andetur.org/memberships_en.htm ...
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Be sure to add a note that payment is for the Special Silver Club membership.
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ADDITIONAL NOTE regarding our new INVESTMENT FUND!
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Due to the bank holiday in Brazil created by the strike declared on Tuesday, we still have a

chance for the INVESTMENT FUND to raise the US$ 10,000.00 which is our goal to meet the

requirements for the bank financing the ranch Sernativo.
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The first members (2) to join the fund have so far invested US$ 1,500.00 leaving a balance

to be raised of US$ 8,500.00
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Suggestion: Since participation in the INVESTMENT FUND requires club membership, those forum

members interested could buy one of the discounted Silver Club memberships listed above for

US$ 100.00. The Silver Club memberships qualify for all club discounts in Brazil.
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The initial Us$ 10,000 to be raised is important to obtaining the ranch and ecological

reserve which is the most important project we have to date.
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This INVESTMENT CLUB investment will initially be treated as a loan with targeted payout

over 3 years ... Investments are limited to individuals interested in small investments of

US$ 500.00 - 1,000.00. Interest to be paid is 5 % per month. Interest each month is applied

or added to the principle. In other words, US$ 1,000.00 today could feasibly be worth mored

than US$ 4,000.00 at the end of the three years. At the end of the three years, the total

accumulated can be applied as a permanent investment or can be cashed out.
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See a condensed version of the project on the Our World Community BLOG:
http://ourworldcommunity.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2n7axiocb...
BE SURE TO LOOK AT THE VIDEOS! They explain a lot.
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More pictures and information are included on our pages in the Acari site:
www.acari-rn.com.br/pre-project.htm
www.acari-rn.com.br/sernativo.htm
www.acari-rn.com.br/mandallas.htm
www.acari-rn.com.br/coop.htm
www.acari-rn.com.br/photos_3.htm
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Regards,
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Donald
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Capt. Donald Reid - Ande Turismo Ltda. (Andetur), and ONG ASSOCIAÇÂO ABTC-BRASIL,
registered IBAMA – Ministério do Meio Ambiente – as Técnico Federal N° 235492 “Uso de Recursos Naturais / utilização do patrimônio natural; Turismo / complexos turísticos e de lazer, inclusive parques temáticos”
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[Donald Reid]

A Silver Lining for Brazil's Agriculture: the Stronger Dollar
Written by Joel dos Santos Guimarães - BrazzilMAG
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
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Agribusiness in Brazil has already been affected by the economic crisis, but at a lower rate when compared to other sectors of the economy. This is the opinion of Eugênio Stefanello, Rural Economics professor at the Federal University of Paraná and a technician at the National Food Supply Company (Conab).
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He states, for example, that the reduction of international commodity prices and the reduction of offer of credit for financing is a result of the global financial crisis. On the positive side, shall we say, Stefanello states the depreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar. "The sector exports more than it imports," he said.
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Stefanello added that the economic crisis that now scares the world is a consequence of the shortcomings of the American financial crisis. He also stated that the efforts of the European Union to combat the crisis are being more efficient than Bush's plan. Read below the main stretches of the interview.
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The American plan, plus the coordinated actions developed by the countries in the euro zone, United Kingdom and the nations of Oceania and the Middle East have allowed for the disbursement of US$ 2.4 trillion to aid the global financial system. Are these measures enough to end the crisis or at least reduce its effects on the global economy, mainly of the so-called emerging nations?
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Before any evaluation, it is necessary to recall that the current crisis in the financial system is mainly due to the following factors. Firstly due to the excessive liquidity created by the United States to sustain their war efforts (the invasion of Iraq). Secondly, due to the excessive leverage of banks, which generated excessive credit, further expanded due to the creation of derivatives. This creates a bubble of speculation of assets, with appreciation of prices and their distancing themselves from the real world. The contrary effect takes place when the financial system is taken with mistrust, causing a lack of credit that brings devaluation of assets. The coordination of efforts of the governments and of central banks aimed at re-establishing confidence is the only way out. In this case, the efforts of countries in the EU were more effective than the ones taken by the USA.
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Have several countries already announced plans to fight the crisis? Shouldn't Brazil do the same?
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The Central Bank is taking the measures, with the reduction of compulsory deposits, which increases the volume of credit available in financial institutions. If all the measures announced come true, the increase should be 160 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 73 billion). The problem is that the banks do not loan money while they are not sure of how economic activity will progress and it is surely going to suffer a reduction in 2009, due to reduction of foreign demand.
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Has agribusiness, the cash cow of the Brazilian economy, been affected by the crisis? How?
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Yes. Agribusiness has already been affected by the crisis due to the foreign depreciation of commodity prices, generating negative effects with the revenues of producers, to the appreciation of the dollar against the real, generating positive results, as the sector exports more than it imports, and to the reduction of credit for the financing of crops of medium and small producers and for exports. This will make the 2008/09 grain crop greater than the current one.
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Is credit to farmers lacking?
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This crisis is going to generate direct consequences in rural credit for the next crop, among them: less funds due to the reduction of cash deposits and to banking requirements, greater selectiveness and lower maturities, higher market interest, delays in clearance, less credit for the sale of inputs and the anticipated purchase of products and less credit for trade and exports, among others. The greater production costs are not going to drop and should come close to 20% in the second half of 2009, and the same may be said about interest rates, which should rise from 9% to 10% to 12% to 22%.
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In the productive chain of agribusiness, what are the sectors most affected by the lower credit?
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The sectors most affected due to the lack of credit are exports and financing for medium and large producers. The Central Bank is not, however, reducing the benchmark interest rate, which is also very important now, to maintain the dynamism of economic activities. It is also necessary to recall that the banks are not financing farmers who renegotiated their debts and this is among the main problems. And it is not possible to oblige them to finance, unless the government competes offering additional guarantees.
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The offer of greater funds for export credit to large producers who comply with their debts is important, not to reduce the production and the export flow, especially when the global demand seems to show signs of cooling. The greater requirements over cash deposits from 25% to 30% should not only compensate the lower volume of funds made available in cash deposits in banks, but is also important as it generates additional offer of funds for rural credit.
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With little credit, according to analysts, producers should find it hard to keep their production and productivity up. Do you agree?
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If there is lower global GDP growth and demand, prices of inputs do not suffer high pressure. If interest rates rise, prices of imported inputs rise, affecting producers who make products for the whole world. If they export, the positive effect on revenues should compensate the greater cost. Producers should never forget to employ better technology, which increase productivity and also the total cost per hectare, but reduce the cost per unit of the product produced. And that is what interests, as it provides the producer with greater competitiveness.
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When faced with this scenery, what picture do you imagine for Brazilian agribusiness in 2009?
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In 2009 the grain crop, in the best of sceneries, should repeat the 2007/08 crop, with lower production of maize and wheat and greater soy and bean crops. In livestock farming, there should be a reduction in the production of milk and growth in chicken, beef and pork. Exports should grow more, due to the reduction of the GDP of Brazil and to global trade. And the prices of commodities should be smaller due to the reduction of the speculative content of funds over prices.
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The crisis is showing the fragility of the system for financing Brazilian agriculture and, consequently, agribusiness. Is this not the time to promote changes in the current financing system?
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Among the main problems of the financial system we may mention the lack of regulation and control, the high leverage due and expanded by the existence of derivatives and high risk. I understand that, from the crisis, measures for control and prudence should arrive, and they should make the banks less levered in terms of credit and more demanding in the concession of financing.
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And with regard to agribusiness?
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In the case of Brazilian agribusiness, the directed credit system, with controlled interest rates, has sources for funds that depend on economic activity and on some funds, attending to just 30% of the needs of farmers. The remaining 70% should be supplied by own funds, by trading companies and by market interest-rate financing. Worse of all, agricultural insurance has little coverage and the minimum price guarantee policy is not universal. However, the objective of stabilizing producer income is greatly compromised, and this may be proved by the several debt renegotiations that the government should promote.
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With regard to this scenery, do you think that agribusiness will maintain the rhythm of exports?
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Sustainability of agribusiness depends greatly on four legs: technology (research and technological development), sanitary defense, policies for stabilization of income (credit, insurance and minimum price policy, based on the solution of domestic sector problems) and infrastructure to support production and trade.
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However, agricultural production has advanced significantly in terms of volume and in productivity. But that it will become more and more difficult to compete on the foreign market without the solution of domestic products.
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Anba - www.anba.com.br
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OBS: Note: On our project in Acari, PRONAF - the government agriculture development plan would allow us a 40% discount on loan payments paid on time. Our payments would be yearly in March at the end of the Brazilian summer.
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The interest rate on the existing loan we were assuming was 2.5 - 3.5% PER YEAR ... IF THE GOVERNMENT GIVES US A 40% DISCOUNT, this in effect means that the government is paying US 36 + % PER YEAR on the loan balance.
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This would mean that a loan of R$ 140,000, if notes are paid on time each year, should cost us only R$ 90,000. That is a saving of R$ 50,000 over 10 years. Not bad! For government agriculture support.
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Why would they do this? Because we are providing jobs in a sector that really needs help. And the system is a continous one .. the jobs created are permanent. People are always going to eat, even in bad economic times.
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Donald