ReSeed and Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia Partner to Create New Revenue Stream for Brazilian Smallholder Farmers and Curb Deforestation via Farm-based Carbon Credits

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Jan 17, 2024, 08:44 ET

The partnership promotes climate resilience amongst Brazilian smallholder and traditional communities while reversing poverty cycles

PITTSBURG, Brasilía, Jan. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ReSeed, a leading nature-based carbon credit provider, formally announced their partnership today with internationally-renowned Brazilian nonprofit Equipe de Conservação da Amazônia (ECAM) to bring carbon credits directly from Brazilian smallholder farmers to market. The announcement builds off of their work together in 2023, partnering with thousands of Quilombola farmers across Brazil to receive recognition and climate financing for their environmental services.

ReSeed partner farm in Brazil growing cacao

In a global environmental win, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest – a vital ecosystem often described as the lungs of the planet – fell to a five year low in 2023. Smallholder farmers frequently stand as last lines of defense against major deforestation: Many of Brazil's 3.9 million smallholder farmers have worked their land for generations, possessing the knowledge to grow food in harmony with ecosystems while playing an essential role in the country's food security, producing an estimated 70% of Brazil's food. They also steward important and endangered ecosystems, including the Amazon Rainforest and Atlantic Forest. Yet, the vast majority of these communities live below the poverty line – hindered by the lack of access to market insights and minimal ground support.

ECAM serves as ReSeed's Brazilian implementation partner, supporting Brazilian farmers to unlock new revenue streams by measuring the carbon drawn down into soil via their regenerative farming practices. Often, smallholder farmers in the region turn to selling lumber to generate extra income, resulting in deforestation. As more carbon credits are sold, there will no longer be a need for additional deforestation to generate extra income for smallholder farmers and traditional communities. For over two decades, ECAM has empowered these communities by providing on-the-ground support to nurture socioeconomic development, environmental balance, and increased climate resilience. ECAM established the first-ever indigenous park guard and oversaw the creation of the first-ever indigenous REDD project.

ECAM recently oversaw the onboarding of Dengo Chocolate's cacao farmers to ReSeed's carbon protocol, where 59 farms, 42% of which are headed by women, signed onto the Protocol at their first partnership period.

"Supporting, amplifying, and advocating for environmental resilience within traditional and indigenous communities throughout Brazil has been at ECAM's core for over two decades. In the first year of our partnership with ReSeed, we've seen the tremendous real-world impact that increased incomes and specialized technical support have had in maintaining the communities' way of life and farms to promote forest and ecosystem health," said Fabio Rodrigues, ECAM Technical Director and Team Lead.

"ReSeed's partnership with ECAM is integral to the success and ability of our operations to deliver meaningful support to farmers in Brazil. Our joint efforts and the milestones achieved in our first year of collaboration reflect a common commitment to a future that is sustainable and ethical, establishing a new benchmark for ethical business conduct on a global scale," said Vasco van Roosmalen, ReSeed CEO and co-founder.

Carbon credits from Brazilian smallholder farmers are currently available for purchase.

About ReSeed
ReSeed is a nature based services provider, bringing carbon credits directly from smallholder farmers to the market. ReSeed partners with smallholder farmers around the globe to unlock climate financing and incentivize environmentally-beneficial regenerative agricultural practices while supporting global corporations to clean their supply chains. The first company to combine environmental and social impact metrics with traceable carbon credits from farms, ReSeed brings to market a data set that increases accountability and fights climate change at scale.
Learn more at https://reseed.farm/

Media Contact:
Kate Laursen
(203) 610-5879
[email protected]

SOURCE ReSeed