Partnership with the municipal government, the Association of Family Farming Cooperatives and Sebrae strengthens small producers across the region

Paraná, September 27, 2023 – Telêmaco Borba will have a new Family Farming Fair starting from January, which will function in the ground floor of the town’s current bus station. The goal is to support small and midsized farmers while supplying quality food to the population. The initiative is supported by the Social Forests Program, launched by Klabin in partnership with the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) and the Association for Preservation of the Environment and Life (Apremavi).

To establish this partnership, an agreement was signed to use the location, which includes office space, as well as the center for storage, distribution and sale of food directly to consumers. The Association of Family Farming Cooperatives in the Central North region of Paraná (CCN-PR), the Municipal Government of Telêmaco Borba, Klabin and Sebrae designed a plan to renovate the location, which should be ready by January 2024.

The space will have air conditioning and ambiance based on sensorial design, which will add value to farmers’ produce, making it more attractive for sale. It will also showcase the region’s historical and tourist highlights. The project also aims to attract new cooperatives to the association to broaden the variety of products sold. 

“With the new Family Farming Fair, we plan to encourage the consumption of quality food, increase sales and income of farmers in the region, and give the region an opportunity to attract visitors,” said Uilson Paiva, Social Responsibility and Community Relations manager at Klabin.

For the Municipal Government of Telêmaco Borba, the initiative is very important to encourage the efforts of families that produce food, besides providing more options to ensure food security for the population. “The project will stimulate the regional economy, expand the options to sell these food items, drive income generation for families and ensure the diversity and quality of food that goes to the tables of our residents,” said Marcio Artur de Matos, mayor of Telêmaco Borba.

According to Regiane Aparecida Moura da Silva, president of the Association of Cooperatives, the partnership will fulfill one of the Association’s goals, which is to expand competitive potential and sales channels.  “As an Association of Cooperatives, our role is to welcome and empower farmers across the region, and the fair in Telêmaco Borba strengthens this mission,” Regiane said. Five cooperatives are part of the association, consisting of 900 farmers from 40 municipalities across Paraná.

Sebrae provided consulting services, which included mapping the fruit and vegetable consumption habits, as well as the profile of consumers and farmers, besides suggesting the design for the space, from packaging to air conditioning. The goal is to make it an attractive place for consumers.
“Sebrae’s challenge for the project is to help family farming showcase its potential to innovate, thus highlighting the importance of the sector, which is based on sustainability principles. All visitors can participate in this experience through a sensorial project, which makes the sector more attractive in every way,” said Joel Franzim Junior, regional manager of Sebrae/PR in Ponta Grossa.

Feira do Bem

Klabin’s Social Forests program, which provided support to the creation of the Association of Cooperatives in 2021, has enabled the delivery of products to the Feira do Bem, a project launched by the Municipal Government of Telêmaco Borba, thus meeting the needs of the program and benefiting the population. At the Feira do Bem, the Municipal Government acquires food in exchange for solid waste. Around 20 tons of fruits and vegetables are collected every week in exchange for recycling materials. In May 2023, with the arrival of new cooperatives, around 25 tons of fruits and vegetables were collected.

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