The commitment to best and innovative
practices is present in the sugar-energy sector
throughout Brazil, in several programs and
initiatives. A social commitment has already
been signed in the realm of sugarcane labor
legislation, which comprises some 30 topics,
some of them even exceed legal obligations,
and have turned into a distinctive label of
hundreds of production units. Programs and
state legislation, in turn, encourage best envi-
ronmental practices, following on the heels
of the Agro-Environmental Protocol of São
Paulo, renewed on an annual basis, with en-
vironmental indicators moving to higher lev-
els. This leads to the introduction of new and
relevant production technologies.
In the 2015/16 growing season, the
protocol in question granted Green Etha-
nol Certificates to 133 agro-industrial units
and to 24 suppliers of sugarcane produced
in São Paulo that complies with the objec-
tives. According to state government sourc-
es, 91.3% of all sugarcane fields are harvest-
ed without burning, preventing millions of
tons of pollutants from being emitted into
the atmosphere, whilst mechanized harvest-
ing is making strides. A total of 259 hect-
ares of streamside areas and 8,400 sources
of spring water are committed to the pro-
tection and recovery of the sector and, since
2010, consumption of water in the industri-
al mills has been reduced by 33%.
In the meantime, the Renovation Proj-
ect is in force, aimed at professional requal-
ification. “It is an initiative of great impact
in the absorption of a big number of pro-
fessionals, whose manual sugarcane cut-
ting jobs have gradually been abolished
over the past decade, mainly due to an end
of the sugarcane straw burning method”,
comments Eduardo Leão de Sousa, execu-
tive director of the Brazilian Sugarcane In-
dustry Association (Unica). The entity co-
ordinates the program, jointly with the São
Paulo State Federation of Rural Workers (Fe-
raesp). From 2010 to 2015, the entity pro-
vided professional training to 6.650 people
of the sector and upwards of 78% of them
have already found new job opportunities.
Other training courses are focused on
the qualification of security and occupa-
tional health agents, without overlooking
union and labor relations at the sugar-en-
ergy agro-industries. They go in pursuit of
better practices and work environments,
says Elimara Assad Sallum, consultant with
Unica. Within this context, and on an indi-
vidual basis, the companies of the segment
give rise to many initiatives of social, cultur-
al and environmental projects, say sourc-
es from the Bioenergy Producers Union
(Udop), based in Araçatuba, São Paulo.
Social energy
Several social, environmental and technology innovationprojects strengthen the
presence of the sugar-energy segments in the areas where they operate in the Country
Evolving
On the other hand, the sector that is an international reference in technology is constantly in pursuit of innovations. So much so
that in a more difficult period the project had 35 business plans selected by the Joint Plan of the National Bank for Social and Econom-
ic Development (BNDES) and Funding Authority for Studies and Projects (Finep) in Support of Technological Innovation of the Sugar-
Energy and Sugar-Chemical Sectors (Paiss), at a public call in 2014. The Agricultural Paiss granted funding resources of R$ 1.48 billion
for the 2014-2018 period, and proposals have already been signed.
The projects that received support, according to information released by the bank, are concentrated on the development of technol-
ogies geared towards expanding productivity levels and reducing the costs of the agricultural operations relative to sugarcane. Among
the objectives of these technologies, the ones that are of note comprise genetic enhancement, with emphasis on transgenic sugarcane,
as well as equipment and harvesting systems, with a special focus on precision farming.
Best practices are remarkable in the sugarcanework environment
Sílvio Ávila
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