Tuesday April 19th, 2022

Earth Day is celebrated worldwide on April 22. Created in 1970, in the United States, the date is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of conservation and preservation of the environment and discuss sustainable actions in the world.

With the rapid growth of the world population, the adoption of sustainable practices in food production has become indispensable. And when it comes to sustainability, Brazil has fulfilled its role and demonstrated positive results in the agricultural sector.

Fruit growing, for example, has stood out in recent years for the use of technologies for productivity and sustainability gains, ensuring fresh and tasty products and offering more quality of life for people.

Among the various agricultural practices, the most common are the management of soil cover and fertility, the conscious use of irrigation systems, the monitoring and control of pests and diseases, fertigation, the intercropping of fruits with other smaller crops. and traceability, which monitors the entire production process.

Sustainable initiatives in Brazilian fruit growing tend to increase exports, as food production combined with environmental protection has become a requirement of external customers. In general, international consumers are willing to pay more for a tropical fruit that has been produced according to sustainability standards.

For the International Director of the Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives ( Abrafrutas ), Luiz Eduardo Rafaelli , sustainable fruit production in the country, especially for export, is a reality.

“Today, 85% of Brazilian fruit is exported to Europe and this has forced the rural producer to adapt to the standards of quality and social and environmental responsibility that European buyers demand”.

Luiz Eduardo is also the director of Be Fruit , a company that produces and exports tropical products, such as oranges, lemons, avocados and ginger. According to him, the company has been adopting sustainable initiatives in the day-to-day production for several years.

“We work with the rational use of energy and water, we do the recycling of garbage and packaging and sustainable management in the orchards. On my farm we use insect traps in order to reduce the use of pesticides”, he said.

All these practices have earned Be Fruit internationally recognized certifications and references, such as the Rainforest socio- environmental seal and the Global GAP food safety seal. more demanding”, explained Rafaelli .

For Brazilian producers, sustainability is not just about introducing environmental initiatives in the field, but also about protecting and using natural resources responsibly, ensuring a better future for planet Earth.