Sustainable agribusiness: focus on small and medium-sized businesses and solutions for the Northeast

I recently participated in an important seminar hosted by Folha de S.Paulo, which discussed solutions for sustainable agribusiness. It was one of those events that reminded me of the importance of our sector to the country, highlighting the diversity of Brazilian agriculture and the responsibility we bear, directed at each link in this chain.

I heard from representatives from the federal government, Embrapa, large companies like Marfrig and Korin, and Muda meu mundo, a startup focused on helping smallholder farmers. Here are some thoughts I took away.

Technology and biology: an inevitable transition

Minister Paulo Teixeira highlighted the need to transition from a chemical to a biological basis in agriculture, encouraging agroecology and technological mechanization. This not only addresses the demands associated with the climate crisis but also ensures young people remain in the countryside. The minister also reinforced that Brazil's commitment to COP30 will focus on productive forests, bioinputs (PRONARA), and food sovereignty.

His speech made me think: sustainability is viable as a ready-made package. It needs to be translated into tools, language, and reality for the producer, with ongoing technical support.

Being natural and being great: is it possible?

Luiz Demattê (Korin) discussed this provocative question. It is indeed possible, as long as sustainability is considered a strategy, not an exception. Brazil has 5 million rural producers. The emphasis was on how supply chain traceability is crucial for achieving scale and environmental responsibility.

Furthermore, Paulo Painez of Marfrig commented on how most emissions, in the case of beef and pork, occur at the base of the supply chain (the so-called "from the farm gate inward," or scope 3). In other words, any project to reduce the final product's carbon footprint must present effective solutions that also benefit producers.

Luiz Demattê and Paulo Pianez's remarks also made it clear that we have the technology to achieve decarbonization goals in agribusiness. What's missing is creating models to support producers, with traceability, real incentives, and clear protocols, to build trust between industry and the field and communicate this to the consumer.

The role of the Northeast and productive inclusion

The second panel focused on challenges and solutions for the Northeast. There, I saw, once again, how much access to basic infrastructure still represents a barrier to sustainability. The startup Muda Meu Mundo , present on the panel, already serves over a thousand small producers, solving a problem that impedes growth: many don't even have a bank account or tax receipt. Evandro Holanda, from Embrapa, noted: 50% of the country's family farmers are in the Northeast. This reinforces the need for inclusion, public policies, and solutions for each producer profile at the base.

Sustainable agribusiness requires support networks

I left the event reflecting that the future of sustainable agribusiness will be built through joint and collaborative actions. We need to create networks: between producers and industries, between data and credit, between public policies and applicable tools.

ESGpec has focused on this path: bringing accessible technology, practical diagnostics, and digital solutions to measure what matters and what decision-makers need to see before investing. Without forgetting that behind every kilogram of raw material lies a wealth of people, culture, effort, and history.