The TRADE Hub launched this Wednesday (31/8) a study that evaluates policies with the potential to increase the sustainability of the soy production chain in Brazil and in the world. The investigation, entitled “Moving towards a sustainable soybean supply chain”, is led by Marcello De Maria and had contributions from GPP/Esalq researchers Arthur Fendrich, Alberto Barretto, Adauto Rocha Junior and Simone Ranieri.
One of the most important agricultural commodities in the international market, soy has had considerable territorial and productive expansion in recent decades in Brazil, today the world's largest producer of the grain. Likewise, the number of sustainability initiatives in its production chain also grew – which, however, did not prevent a series of negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts from being associated with cultivation.
“Over the past 15 years, various measures and policies have been designed and implemented to address sustainability concerns around the entire soy life cycle, but – despite some advances – none have proven to be fully successful yet. Thus, the question of how best to design and harmonize sustainable policy instruments in the soy production chain remains open”, the authors state in the introduction to the study. The intention, in fact, is to contribute precisely to this opening.
Main findings
Among the main findings, the researchers highlight the heterogeneity of the policies and tools analyzed, which can bring different results when applied in different communities and territories. Furthermore, although sustainability measures in the soy production chain have increased in number and diversified in scope, none have proved to be fully successful, and their level of harmonization with other policies is still limited, requiring more efforts to identify the combination. ideal of institutional arrangements.
“To support greater institutional harmonisation, we reviewed the strengths and limitations associated with each policy instrument, developing an original and intuitive visualization framework to position different measures within the institutional landscape, pointing out their jurisdictional boundaries and highlighting stakeholders with the power to influence its design and implementation,” the authors write.
About TRADE Hub
The TRADE Hub (Trade, Development and Environment Network, freely translated into Portuguese) is part of the efforts of the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) World Conservation Monitoring Center. The project brings together more than 50 organizations from 15 different countries to make trade more sustainable for people and the planet. Know more.