Lettuce, rocket, parsley, watercress, radish, cabbage, broccoli and peas: all this and much more is grown on Rafael Floriani Gonçalves Ferreira's property in Macacos, Lages. As well as producing vegetables using hydroponics (cultivation in which the plant's roots remain in the water), he grows vegetables without the use of pesticides. To better meet customer demand and increase his income, Rafael wants to certify some of his products as organic. "If you don't have the seal, many people won't believe that you're growing without pesticides. With it, we have a greater demand for sales at fairs and receive 30% more for the product in the National School Feeding Program, the PNAE," he explains. As well as going to school meals, the farm's produce is sold at fairs in Lages, to restaurants and markets, to the city council's Food Acquisition Program and to the Army.

The Social Forests Program - Planning Sustainable Properties is helping farmers to obtain certification. Technical advice from Sebrae and the Association for the Preservation of the Environment and Life provided guidance on the ideal places to plant yerba mate seedlings, donated by the Association. As they grow, these trees will serve as natural barriers, preventing the wind from bringing pesticide droplets from other regions to their crops. Yerba mate could also be a new product for sale.

In addition to technical guidance, the consultancy costs up to 70% of the cost of certification. "The certification process is expensive for us to pay for on our own and this discount is a great help," says Rafael. For the future, the farmer already has plans: "My idea is to certify the whole property as organic. This will bring in more money and I'll be able to renovate my shed and improve the crops. As a result, it will generate more income".

Aline Rodrigues Madruga and Valdemir Rodrigues Madruga, a farming couple from Campina dos Ribeiros, in Correia Pinto, have been certified organic for over ten years. "My father-in-law already grew organic food and we continued the work," says Aline. Every week, they take products such as lettuce, cabbage, carrots and cabbage to sell at the Lages Cathedral market, and also send them to the National School Feeding Program in Correia Pinto. 

Every year, they renew the seal and, in 2023, they had the help of Matas Sociais. "With the 70% discount on certification we got through the partnership, we invested in building a new greenhouse to increase production," she says. The program also provided them with yerba mate seedlings to enrich an area of native forest and offers technical guidance whenever they need it.

GUARANTEED COSTUMERS

Neusete Aparecida Maziero, Correia Pinto's Social Assistance Secretary, notes that family farming has developed in recent years in the municipality because producers have realized that there is a market for it. To meet the needs of school meals, for example, the municipality has a partnership with 21 farmers and a cooperative.  

Another boost for the sector and for farmers' autonomy are the fairs supported by Matas Sociais, held at Klabin factories. "They have opened up a universe for small producers to analyze their own potential, to believe in increasing and improving their production, and to bring this to market with pride," he says.