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Lula praises Veracel’s Forestry Partners Program and says the PNF is a government priority - 01.24.05
photo: Ricardo Stuckert
During a visit to the construction site of the Veracel pulp mill on January 21, Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva stated that his government intends to expand the financing lines for sustainable forestry projects and to improve legislation regulating forest plantations. "The National Forest Program (PNF) is one of the priorities of our government. With it, we are looking not only at today but also for maintaining sustainable development for a long time."
According to the president, the National Forest Program has dedicated about R$ 27 million over the past two years in funding for the forestry area and it is estimated that this year some R$ 50 million will be made available. "The Veracel pulp mill is one more possibility for us to prove the need to make use of the multifunctionality of our land, and not think that rural land is only good for raising cattle," he said.
The president also said that the major social significance of the Veracel pulp mill was the deciding factor for the Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) to invest R$ 1.5 billion in the project. During his visit to the construction site, President Lula highlighted initiatives such as Veracel's Forestry Partners Program, which provides additional income for farmers, with the company guaranteeing the purchase of their eucalyptus production.
Under the eucalyptus forest partnership arrangement, farmers' income can reach R$ 485 per hectare per year. By way of comparison, and cattle ranching, on average, annual income is R$ 200 per year. The Veracel Forestry Partners Program has now reached 10,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations in the extreme south of Bahia, and is expected to hit 23,000 hectares in three years. The eucalyptus produced in partnership with the farmers in the region should represent 18% of the Veracel mill's requirements for wood. "A project such as this one shows us while it is possible to invest in a responsible environmental fashion," President Lula said.