Unlocking private sector potential for responsible beef and soy production.

Combining meetings, workshops and a field trip, the visit was the latest in Proforest’s support to the Collaboration for Forests and Agriculture (CFA), a joint effort formed to help companies sourcing from the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco regions to translate their deforestation-free commitments for beef and soy into practice.

CFA was launched in 2016 by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as part of their larger Forests and Agricultural Markets initiative, which seeks to make deforestation-free beef and soy the global standard for these commodities. Due to growing demand, the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco regions have experienced significant beef and soy expansion – causing over two thirds of their total deforestation. These two commodities are interrelated in many complex ways, and whilst some companies are already making deforestation-free commitments, there is often a lack of understanding on how to fulfil these commitments without cross-sector action.

 

That is where CFA comes in. Led by the National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund, this collaboration supports companies to align, develop and implement deforestation-free commitments for beef and soy in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado and the Gran Chaco in Argentina and Paraguay by improving decision-support tools, enhancing information transparency and unlocking financial incentives.

Proforest is supporting CFA by complementing their efforts in defining how to implement deforestation-free commitments, aligning sourcing policies of international and national companies and subsidiaries, and developing capacity within companies to implement their responsible sourcing commitments.

 

The recent meeting in Argentina provided a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to key stakeholders that it is possible to halt deforestation in these biomes without compromising beef and soy production meeting its demands.

Find out more about CFA’s work in South America.