We are in one of the largest rural settlements in Latin America, Tuerê, in the Brazilian state of Pará, in the Amazon region. Here we are welcomed by a very nice couple: Maria Josélia Santos Lopes, 55, and João Evangelista Lima, 58.

João has been one of a kind from the start. On the day he was baptized, December 27, the feast of Saint John the Baptist in the Christian calendar, his godparents convinced his parents to change his name. But, his family was already used to calling him Rogério, so he remained João in the papers, and as Rogério in the heart.

João never imagined his name would be heard across the ocean, or that his cocoa would make it among the 50 bean samples competing for the cocoa of Excellence awards. The Cocoa of Excellence Programme recognizes the work of cocoa farmers, and celebrates quality, flavor diversity and unique origins. 

About three years ago, João came into contact with Solidaridad through the programme “Inclusive and Sustainable Territories in the Amazon”, which promoted the adoption of agroforestry systems with cocoa as flagship crop. The first phase of the program supported by NICFI, Good Energies Foundation and the Netherlands government, delivered between 2015 and 2021, was designed to test feasible production models among 230 family farms to improve their income, and restore degraded portions of native forest.

The key to driving change in the area was providing good quality technical assistance services based on four pillars: individual technical visits, collective training that included financial education for long-term planning, use of digital tools to support the process of continuous improvement, and demonstration units. Thanks to this model, the area managed under climate-smart practices increased in 43%, reaching 9,204 hectares that have transformed their production systems as a result of the project.

In fact, it was one of the Solidaridad technicians who sent João's cocoa sample to the Cacao of Excellence competition. “Knowing that from all the samples sent, mine was among the 50 best was great. The lads from Solidaridad taught me what to do and the way to go, but I also put my share of effort, and I feel worthy of this distinction. I am very happy,” says João. He adds, "With this, now I earn a little more, and it shows in my pocket."

João is not alone in this path. Producers who implemented climate-smart practices, increased their income by 52% on average. Productivity raises both in cocoa and livestock had an influence on income improvements. Also, the adoption of climate-smart practices improved cocoa beans’ quality and provided access to high quality markets, in which price increases threefold. However, recognizing that this solution is only fit for a niche, Solidaridad also developed agreements with the biggest cocoa traders in the commercial market to offer benefits to farmers who produced cocoa without deforestation and under decent working conditions. The agreements consisted in a barter of cocoa for fertilizers, solving a need for inputs and credit in the region.

Over the three years of the project, more than 150 producers signed barter contracts with socio-environmental criteria with the industry. All of them have complied with no child labour, decent labour conditions, and 82% of them with deforestation clauses. While there is still room to improve, the trend is quite promising. 

The barter agreements are just part of the work that Solidaridad carries on with producers to preserve the environment, and it becomes evident in João's property, where cocoa trees coexist with other species.

“The producer that plants cocoa is reforesting. In addition to earning a living and supporting your family, with cocoa you help reforest, and that is very good,” says João alluding to the fact that cocoa is a native tree from the Amazon.

By comparing satellite images between 2018 and 2021, the amount of producers who did not deforest within their farms increased from 50% to 81%. Also, the results obtained highlight the potential of family farming in the mitigation of GHG emissions in the Amazon by adopting low-carbon practices. Based on a study done by Solidaridad it was estimated that each hectare of cocoa in agroforestry systems is capable of removing 16.2 tCO2e per year. Each hectare of livestock, the predominant land use in Tuerê, is responsible for the emission of 4.8 tCO2e/ha/year. Thus, combining the intensification of small-scale livestock with the transformation of pastures into agroforestry systems, producers could mitigate 21 tCO2 e per hectare per year.

Assuming that the areas deforested since 2008 in Tuerê have been destined to cattle ranching, restoring the environmental liabilities of 65 thousand hectares in the settlement through cocoa agroforestry systems would have a mitigation potential of 1.36 million tCO2 per year. 

FROM MINING TO AGRICULTURE

In a total area of ​​eight hectares, João has almost 5,000 cocoa trees in full production, 1,600 young plants yet to bloom, and 1,400 seedlings that he will plant in the coming months. He harvests an average of 4.8 tons of carefully cultivated cocoa every year. His property has been acquiring wooden boxes and a heater to improve the fermentation and drying process. But before his cocoa was used to make fine chocolates, João tried other paths. 

When João was 17 years old, his family moved from the state of Maranhão to Pará in search of a better future. They settled in the Anapu municipality, in a house surrounded by jungle. He was then attracted by the gold rush of the 80’s, and ended up working in the "garimpo" of the Sierra Pelada, in Curionópolis. This open pit mine, immortalized by the lens of the photographer Sebastião Salgado, was the largest in the world then. The mine received people from all over Brazil expecting to become rich by finding a large amount of gold; which rarely happened.

“I worked for 14 years in the 'garimpo', until I was 33, when I found a way to work the land,” recalls João. Still being miner, he ended up near a rural settlement created by an agrarian reform, and managed to buy a plot. There, he lived for seven years, built a house, arranged his affairs, and married Dona Josélia. Since then, both have been sharing life and love for 18 years.

LAYING ROOTS IN TUERÊ

João and Josélia arrived in Tuerê looking for a more suitable soil to grow cocoa. With cocoa, his life started to improve. They built a new house, more spacious, comfortable, with a front porch that receives fresh breeze.

It is from their porch that the couple watches the cacao trees bloom, bear fruit and ripen until they are ready for harvesting. Cocoa production marked a turning point for the family.