After one year of construction work, December marked the inauguration of the new manioc flour belonging to the Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Producers’ Cooperative (COOPATAN), supported by the Odebrecht Foundation through the PDCIS Program. The factory is being founded already as the largest in the North and Northeast regions and as one of the country’s most modern.

Located in the municipality of Presidente Tancredo Neves, in the Bahia Southern Lowlands, the unit was built with funds from the Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement signed in 2009 between the Brazilian Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) and the Odebrecht Foundation. The total investment was R$ 5.8 million. At the new factory, white and yellow flour is produced for the brands Primeira da Bahia, Itabaína and Pirão Bom.

The products are sold in the states of Alagoas, Bahia and Sergipe. Juscelino Macedo, Executive Director of COOPATAN, explains that the unit’s daily production is three times greater than the former factory that A operated at the site. “The industry’s differential is adding technology and high performance,” said Macedo. “We can produce approximately 20,000 1-kg sacks of manioc flour per day, or in other words, 20 tons. It is an advancement and victory for the region,” he said.

It is expected that the factory contribute toward the development of manioc cultivation in the municipality and neighboring cities, increasing the farmers’ average family income and attracting new professionals. For Eduardo Odebrecht de Queiroz, Executive Chair of the Odebrecht Foundation, the inauguration marks a year of achievements together with partners and investors like BNDES. “We are celebrating 50 years with actions that reinforce our commitment to social transformation, guaranteeing a better future for current and future generations,” he said.