Soy Fast Track Fund 2011-2016: Main Results & Lessons Learned

A bottom-up approach for the soy sector shows positive results. This report on the Soy Fast Track Fund (SFTF) highlights the need of value chain actors to recognize and support efforts at farm level.

In a joint publication, IDH and Solidaridad presented the main results and lessons learned from the Soy Fast Track Fund that ran between 2011 and 2016. Solidaridad acted as programme manager for the fund in South America.

More than 1,000 farms with a total of 1.3 million hectares in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina participated in the programme. The 37 SFTF projects demonstrated that a focus on continual improvement at the farm level, via legal compliance with certifiable practices, can lead to positive social and environmental impacts.

Bottom-up approaches largely based on voluntary initiatives should play a crucial role. It is important that these efforts at farm level are being recognized and supported by companies in the soy value chain. One important step is to drastically increase the demand for certified soy.

Soy Fast Track Fund 2011-2016: Main Results & Lessons Learned (PDF)