It is with pride that couple Oladi and Marli Schroeder recall that the beautiful
stretchof lowlandwhere they live, inFaxinal deDentro, interior of ValedoSol, inVale
doRioPardo, central region inRioGrandedoSul,wasoneof the cradlesof oneof the
most successful model relative to the relation between farmers and industries in the
world: the Integrated Tobacco Production System(ITPS).
Created in 1918, by Souza Cruz, the Integrated System revolutionized both the
technical side and the commercial implication of the activity. In the case of the
Schneider family, the parents Oladi, Ervina and Albano, were among the pioneers
who adhered to the changes. “I was still a child. I can recall that my father did not
even call the company Souza Cruz. He used to say “the Americans”. For the people
in the countryside, anyonewho spoke English andhappened to come to the interior
was referred to as American”, he sayswith a smile.
A century after the beginning of this partnership journey, the Schroeders continue
growing tobacco. “I am61 years old. I have been growing tobacco for 40 years. I have
noplans toquit.Withmywife,wewill continue. And thechildrenare followingon their
heels,with their own farms”, saysOladi.
In all, the Schroeders grow410 thousand plants of tobacco. On the farmof Oladi and
Marli,250thousand.InthedistrictofFormosa,theirsonDionas,35,plantedmorethan110
thousand in the 2017/18 crop year. Their daughter Inês, 28, cultivates 60 thousand plants
Rural property inVale do Sol, in theRioPardo
Valley region, was one of the pioneers relative to the
partnership between farmers and industries, in 1918
on the farmof her parents. “If the Integrated System
did not exist, we would have already quit. If produc-
er and industry are transparent, there is no room for
mistake”, statesOladi. “Purchaseguarantee is impor-
tant, and soare the technologies that arebrought to
thecommunitybyresearchworks,whichincreasing-
lyreducetheeffortstomanagethefields”.
Technical assistant Rodrigo Toneli, 32, who
serves the family at the moment, has it that it is
gratifying to be engaged in a century-old busi-
ness structure, but it equally generates responsi-
bilities. “A link is created between the farmer and
thecompany.Ifthereisconfidence,thefarmerac-
cepts andwelcomes the suggested technological
innovations, thus improving the results of the en-
tire supply chain”, he ascertains.
IntegratedTobacco
ProductionSystem
completes 100yearsand
setsanexample to theworld
HerewastheIntegratedSystem
born
