Our agroforestry courses this year trained over 40 young adults on how to implement and manage agroforestry systems in the Cerrado biome.
The courses were held at the Ipês Agoforestry Learning Hub, located at EcoAraguaia Farm of the Future. Each course included 10 young farmers from agricultural schools in the state of Tocantins, who spent 4 days immersed in practical and theoretical activities.
ERA offered these courses for free, as part of our capacity building strategy to train youth in order to build a strong foundation so a new era of agriculture can flourish in the region. The experience was exceptionally immersive and introduced the local students to the key concepts of agroforestry systems, as well as offering practical experience with syntropic management, green manure techniques, pruning and maintenance of irrigation systems.
“One of the most interesting things about the course was learning how to prune and manage the forage material, which brings greater productivity and adequate temperature for the soil. ” - Lenilson, student
ERA's goal is to train and educate the next generation of young farmers on regenerative soil management techniques. This alternative to conventional agriculture provides youth with the tools to scale regenerative smallholder agriculture in Brazil and participate in new models of sustainable land stewardship.
These courses are a pillar of ERA's Pollen Program. ERA, in partnership with SwissRe Foundation, launched the Pollen Program to catalyze the regeneration of degraded ecosystems in the Brazilian Cerrado, by encouraging regenerative agriculture and reforestation with native seedlings. These biodiverse agroforestry systems generate multiple products (nuts, fruits, spices, carbon credits), strengthening farmer resilience.
ERA's lead environmental engineer, Olivia Marques, Director of the Pollen Program, highlights the benefits of agroforestry systems, "not only do they promote carbon sequestration and soil health, but have enourmous social benefits, including increased resilience and higher returns from a diverse set of forest products compared to cattle farming."
ERA's mission is to promote social-environmental impact by leveraging the voluntary carbon market to finance regenerative agroforestry systems." - Hannah Simmons, Founder & CEO of ERA“