Itaipu Binacional highlighted in panel addressing challenges and opportunities for rural producers
Itaipu Binacional was one of the highlights of the panel “Family Farming, Climate Vulnerability and Priority Territories”, held on Wednesday morning (19th) at COP30, in Belém, Pará. The company, represented by the manager of the Environmental Action Division, Ronaldo Juliano Pavlak, presented its initiatives to strengthen family farming, agroecology, technical assistance and rural extension, and family agro-industries.
Other participants included Banco do Brasil, represented by the Vice President of Agribusiness and Family Farming, Gilson Bittencourt; the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), represented by its Vice President and Secretary of International Relations, Marcos Vinicius Dias Nunes; and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA), represented by Executive Secretary Fernanda Machiavelli. Ernesto Galindo, Director of Evaluation, Monitoring, Studies, and Strategic Information at the MDA’s Executive Secretariat, moderated the event.
The purpose of the panel was to promote an interinstitutional discussion on strategies to identify and support priority territories facing climate vulnerability, addressing topics such as financing, integrated territorial management, socioenvironmental infrastructure, social organization, local cooperation, and the strengthening of community networks. The panelists discussed rural financing instruments and risk mitigation mechanisms; models of climate-focused rural technical assistance and training for youth and women; territorial management, water conservation, and productive adaptation, as well as cooperation among the federal government, public financial sector, public companies, and social organizations.
Pavlak provided an overview of Itaipu’s initiatives with family farmers, especially Rural Technical Assistance (Ater), in its area of influence, which covers all 399 municipalities in Paraná and 35 in southern Mato Grosso do Sul. According to him, the company began this work more than 20 years ago and has dedicated itself to improving families’ lives through sustainable socioeconomic development and increased production, working directly with cooperatives and institutions connected to family farming. The Binational’s goal is to generate income while also promoting protection of its reservoir.
“We work in partnership with universities and other research institutions to develop technologies that allow for better production with less water use and proper soil care. It’s not enough to produce more—we must also protect the reservoir. A good example is no-till vegetable farming, which greatly reduces water use,” he explained.
The company’s actions were praised by the MDA’s Executive Secretary, Fernanda Machiavelli, who reinforced the need for initiatives that help mitigate environmental impacts while supporting rural production. “Itaipu has been doing very beautiful work supporting family farming and restoring areas of the Atlantic Forest,” she said. According to her, every organization plays an important role in developing public policies and engaging society so that it is possible to deliver a more sustainable planet to future generations. “Family farming is crucial in this process, promoting agroecology, caring for biodiversity, and producing healthier food.”
Marcos Vinicius Dias Nunes, from Contag, emphasized the importance of Ater in enabling family farmers to access resources that support on-farm development, both in production and infrastructure, since many face difficulties obtaining financing or credit lines that, although available, require specific documentation. He noted the importance of enabling youth to continue their parents’ work and improving the quality of life for women.
“They have a double workload, and we need to expand this discussion. Contag has raised these issues with the government—we have the Marcha das Margaridas (March of the Daisies in English), for instance, which brings together women to advocate for these causes. Another priority is youth; we need policies that keep young people in rural areas. Today it’s possible to have the same comforts as in the city, which is something they seek, but we need to ensure access to that,” he highlighted.
From the credit institutions’ perspective, Gilson Bittencourt agreed and stressed that it is not enough to merely provide access to credit—it must become a transformative tool in the reality of these families. “One of Ater’s challenges is to turn information into credit projects and revenue generation, to create wealth and sustainability.” According to Pavlak, this is precisely where Itaipu operates: although the company does not provide credit, it works through Ater and partnerships so that rural producers can access financial resources and use them appropriately.
