Action seeks to engage for the recovery of the Doce River Basin and is the result of a partnership with WWF-Brasil; initiative continues in 2020
In December, field days were held in the municipalities of Governador Valadares and Periquito. Result of the macro action Opportunities for Sustainable Rural Development, and developed by the Renova Foundation and WWF-Brazil, the initiative aims to rehabilitate the Doce River Basin by training rural producers in the region.
WWF-Brazil Conservation Analyst Gabriela Soares Pereira talks about the dynamics of this project: “On Field Days, there is training and dissemination of knowledge for rural producers, the community and other participants. The topics addressed in the December Field Days dealt with ways to improve productivity in the field that can make rural producers aware of the possibility and need to maintain preserved areas on their properties,” she explains.
In Governador Valadares, the action took place in the district of Sao Jose do Itapinoa. The 31 farmers who participated in the Field Days learned techniques for planting and fertilizing sugar cane and kurumi, a grass species with high forage production potential.
In Periquito, the training was held in the district of Sao Sebastiao do Baixio for 25 people. Here the focus was on planting and fertilizing sugar cane and capiaçu, another type of high yielding grass for bulk silage supplementation.
In total, 56 rural producers participated in the Field Days activities. Next year, new methods and technologies will be included in future actions.
Felipe Drummond, Renova Foundation’s Sustainable Land Use specialist, explains that the choice of regions to receive such training is deeply aligned with the recovery process. “These actions take place in priority areas, thus defined because they are alternative water sources for districts where water withdrawal was affected by the Fundao dam collapse. With this training, the idea is to spread the possibility of producing on a smaller piece of land and implement forest restoration actions in the other areas within the property. Thus, the objective is to improve the quality and quantity of water in these watersheds that would serve as an alternative source for water supply,” he says.
Basin Partnership
The Field Days are part of a partnership between the Renova Foundation and WWF-Brasil, which have signed an agreement to develop a large-scale pilot forest recovery project, seeking to integrate sustainable rural development and an inclusive approach of the communities in the Doce River Basin.
The partnership between the two institutions provides for four major areas: Governance of Forest Recovery Programs; Opportunities for Sustainable Rural Development; Renewing Ideas Contest: Planting Trees; and Harvesting Foods in the Doce River Basin and Management, Monitoring and Communication. Keep an eye on the Renova Foundation website to learn more about this initiative.
