Strengthening Partnerships with Brazilian Learning Institutions and Other Organizations
During the last months, the country platform has strengthened several partnerships with education institutions, having trained over 850 students on the CSC, leading them to understand their responsibility to collaborate and increase sustainability in coffee, especially among small holders. As a result, many universities have adopted the CSC and the CSC App in their field activities.
Last 25th and 26th of May, GCP Brazil Program promoted another Training Course on the CSC in partnership with IF Sul de Minas, in Machado, Minas Gerais, integrating representatives from CESEP (Centro de Estudos Superiores do Estado do Pará), COOPFAM (Cooperativa dos Agricultores Familiares de Poço Fundo e Região) and two GCP members – Olam and Minasul.
The group got to know the 122 CSC items in detail including its Fundamental Items and Sustainability Indicators. The meeting held significant discussions about coffee sustainability and its challenges, along with the students and agronomists’ research and field experiences.
Thiago Noronha, GCP Brazil Program trainer, students from IF Sul de Minas Machado and CESEP, representatives from COOPFAM, Olam and Minasul.
Additionally, the Country platform was active in the following activities in May:
GCP Brazilian Working Group meeting
On May 17, representatives from 11 institutions gathered in Campinas, São Paulo for the first GCP Brazilian Working Group (BWG) meeting of 2018. Pedro Ronca, GCP Brazil manager, briefly updated the group about the Program’s activities and goals for 2018, highlighting Collective Action Initiatives (MIs), the CSC App safety and privacy and the Internal Management System (IMS) as a continuous improvement tool. Mr. Oséias Mendes da Costa, from Imaflora’s team, shared his experience with IMS implementation in institutions and the good results derived from it.
Other relevant topics discussed were: the integration of research institutions with extension services in the context of GCP Brazil, the relevance of scientific validation of new technologies, the need for different approaches when implementing sustainable practices in different coffee regions and engagement efforts to collect data using the CSC App. This continuous dialogue between partners provide valuable data and feedback on the CSC App, which translates into better ways to implement and the software and improve the quality of the collected data.
Collaboration is key for GCP Brazil
Pedro Ronca, GCP Brazil Program Manager, attended the 3rdBlockchain Forum in São Paulo, where experts gathered to talk about and show advances of adopting technology for innovating and revolutionary businesses that will soon impact companies and governments. According to Ronca: “Collaboration, value chain connections and shared economy structures are becoming increasingly relevant for the sustainability of businesses. We consider this trend as an opportunity to are actively at this and seek new opportunities for our members.”
This messsage also conveyed in other two important events coordinated by EMBRAPA: “Innovation and Technology Meet for Coffee Production in the Cerrado Region” and “Expocafé”, which took place in May in Patrocínio and Três Pontas, Minas Gerais state. Both events gathered around 13,000 participants – agronomists, technicians, researchers, students, coffee farmers and coffee institutions.
The Brazilian Country Platform constantly emphasizes on generating global impact to the collective action of local stakeholders, this workflow is essential for GCP Members who have more opportunities to invest and see better results on their sustainability initiatives running in Brazil.
For more engagement opportunities with the Brazilian Country Platform click here