On October 9, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Land Conservation Organization (OCT) signed an agreement through the Multilateral Investment Fund (FUMIN) that will allow for investments in actions designed to improve the economic and social conditions of the communities located in the Bahia Southern Lowlands. The goal is to boost the region’s agricultural productivity, while also promoting the use of sustainable practices.

OCT is associated with the Bahia Southern Lowlands Environmental Protection Area Mosaic Program for Development and Growth Integrated with Sustainability (PDCIS), supported by the Odebrecht Foundation and through public and private partners. The institutions that make up PCDIS synergistically promote the generation of work and income, education geared toward the reality of the rural region, the construction of a more just and fair society and natural resource conservation.

The signing of the agreement took place at the Odebrecht São Paulo Building and was attended by Daniela Carrera, IDB representative in Brazil; Keisuke Nakamura, Sub-Manager at FUMIN; Kazuko White, Assistant General Manager of the Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Washington DC Office; Saori Matsubara, Corporate Strategy Coordinator at Mitsubishi; Joaquim Cardoso, Chair of the OCT Board of Trustees; and the representatives of the Odebrecht Foundation, Mauricio Medeiros, Special Advisor, and Augusto Cruz, from the Governance and Legal area.

Through the agreement, FUMIN will invest US$ 1 million, and a matching contribution of US$ 1 million will be made by OCT, which will be responsible for executing the agreement, which has a 42-month term. Besides this, the Mitsubishi Corporation will also serve as co-financer, with a US$ 600,000 contribution to teaching institutions.

The resources will be invested in the training of 2,000 people, including both cooperative members and students who are learning at the Rural Family Homes – the teaching units associated with PDCIS. “We believe that this initiative increases our involvement and also helps improve people’s quality of life,” said Daniela Carrera, IDB representative in Brazil. Kazuko White emphasized that the idea is to strengthen agriculture and also increase the scope of the actions underway. “Sustainability can be developed from the environmental, social and financial spheres,” said Carrera. “None of these can be ignored, and PDCIS integrates the three, primarily the social one, with education projects that have received our support for many years now,” he said. At the end of the agreement term, there will be the filming of a documentary and a seminar designed to disseminate good practices and the lessons learned through the project.