Norberto Ortigara, secretário estadual da Agricultura e do Abastecimento (Seab) Foto Gilson Abreu/AEN

Agriculture Secretary says Paraná is working to expand ICLF

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Working with low-carbon emission farming is our commitment, Ortigara declares

Paraná is one of the leaders in timber production in Brazil, with over 817 thousand hectares planted, only behind the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Additionally, it has the best structure in the timber production chain, with a thorough industrial pole that absorbs practically the entire production and demands for more. It also excels in the production of grains, always featuring among the three top states in production. Furthermore, it is the main national producer of animal protein, producing 1.5 million tons of meat in Q1 2021, almost a quarter of the 6.5 million tons produced in the first quarter throughout the country. However, the Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry system (ICLF), which brings benefits and excellent results for all the sectors involved, is still under exploited in the state.

The State Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock (Secretaria de Estado de Agricultura e Abastecimento – SEAB) has been making investments to change this reality. According to the State Agriculture Secretary Norberto Ortigara, the State Agricultural System (Sistema Estadual de Agricultura – Seagri) – which includes the Rural Development Institute of Paraná (Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná Iapar-Emater – IDR-Paraná), the Paraná Agricultural  Defense Agency (Agência de Defesa Agropecuária do Paraná – Adapar) and Paraná Supply Centers (Centrais de Abastecimento do Paraná – Ceasa) – is working to advertise and expand the system, as provided in the ABC Plan, to increase the areas in ICLF to reduce the carbon emission. “Seagri has a state coordination in charge of the Plan, which is connected to IDR-Paraná. This work includes also the integration with private initiative and representative entities, such as the Ocepar System, Paraná State Agriculture Federation (Federação da Agricultura do Estado do Paraná – Faep) and the Federation of Family Farming Rural Workers in the State of Paraná (Federação dos Trabalhadores Rurais Agricultores Familiares do Estado do Paraná – Fetaep), to value the dialog and joint actions. Working with low emission agriculture is one of our commitments, a constant concern, not only within the scope of the Plan, but in actions that encourage the conservation of soil and no-tillage planting system, for example”, he explains.

According to Ortigara, ICLF improve soil conditions and has become a great economic strategy, with good results. However, there is still a long path ahead for it to become a popular alternative also for small producers, “for matters of organization or cost control, regardless of training and guidance from technicians”. “Seagri has been working towards that through the promotion of Field Days, events, courses, demonstrative units and other actions that seek to to present more knowledge about the integration, and I think we are advancing in this. We have had good experiences in the Northeast and West of the State, with the maze consortium with Brachiaria, a technique used by the expansionists, which has collaborated for the productivity and sustainability. It is necessary to clarify even further the results accomplished with these initiatives.”

Regarding specifically the forestry sector, the secretary says that it also has a lot of support from Seagri.  “We have approximately 120 technicians from IDR-Paraná dedicated to support the sector, in addition to training to integrate it into agriculture. Paraná has the most thorough chain of forestry products, used in energy, mills, lamination, paper and pulp, with responsible planting. According to him, SEAB works on several fronts to support the forestry sector in Paraná. One of them is the incentive of the industrial development, including the reduction of taxes, support to infrastructure and logistic strategy. Another initiative is the motivation to plant, whether for the production of timber or pulp, to close the gap between farmers and the industrial demand, as performed in the regions of Ortigueira and Telêmaco Borba. “Additionally, in a partnership with the Water and Earth Institute (Instituto Água e Terra – IAT), an entity connected to the Secretariat of Sustainable Development and Tourism (Secretaria do Desenvolvimento Sustentável e do Turismo  – Sedest), we provide guidance to the producers regarding environmental licenses. This set of initiatives is in sync with our objective of having more and more space for agriculture and forestry production to become an integrated activity. We don’t want producers to be only reforesters, our aim is for the forest to be part of the productive system”, he states.

According to Ortigara, among the public policies aimed at the sector there are research, rural extension, and technical assistance to promote the development of different crops, such as rubber trees, palm trees, bracatinga, and Yerba maté. IDR-Paraná has a specific program for Forestry Crops (check it out here). The research developed by the Institute demonstrate how Integrated Crop-Livestock (ICL) and ICLF systems can be adopted in soils from Arenito Caiuá, for instance. “Other actions involving partnerships with municipal governments and cities with vocation for the sector, as well as encouraging associativism and cooperativism in cases where the producers cannot act directly with the industries”, he explains. Furthermore, the resources from the Coopera Paraná program also collaborate to foster this activity, he says. “As an example, one of the projects developed with the support of the program last year allowed a cooperative of Yerba maté producers to expand the export of their product, with higher added value, in an organized manner, and with a diversified production”, he points out.He also mentions one of the financing lines from the Farmer Bank (Banco do Agricultor) program, which provides benefits in interest equalization for producers in the forestry sector. “These resources came to ease and reduce the cost of the daily lives of rural producers, mainly for the small ones who wish to grow. The agribusiness sin Paraná employs thousands of families and has space to grow with sustainability and responsibility”, he concludes.

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ICLFS has only advantages, but is still underused in Brazil

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Researcher at Embrapa Forests says growth is still slow, but within the expectations of the ABC Plan

The last Agricultural Census showed that Brazil has a total of 5,073,324 agricultural establishments, which occupy a total area of 351.289 million hectares, or in other words, approximately 41% of the total area of the country (851.487 million ha). However, it is estimated that the Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry system (ICLFS) is only developed in approximately 15 to 17 million ha, in only 5% of the total area in rural properties. The state of Paraná, with 4,741,967 ha in agricultural establishments, would have from 0.6 to 0.7 million hectares implemented with ICLFS, according to data from Dr. Vanderley Porfírio da Silva, PhD in Agronomy and researcher at Embrapa Forests.

But why the system – which is excellent for the producer, great for the cattle, and better for the environment – is still so underused?

According to the researcher, it is natural that the country still has large areas of crops and grazing pastures, since there are numerous producers with vast experience in crops and animal farming. “The technology integrating crop and/or grazing with trees is something relatively new for our farming culture. Therefore, in general, we are still learning how to do it, how to sell it. And as with all innovation, it also has a maturity time. The adoption, in the different regions of the country, must advance as the knowledge and feasibility are present and demonstrated”, he explains.

However, the researcher says the adoption of the ICLFS advances as expected in the Sectoral Plan for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Changes for the Consolidation of an Economy with Low Carbon Emission in Farming (ABC Plan). This is one of the sectoral plans developed pursuant to article 3 in Decree No. 7.390/2010 with the purpose of organizing and planning actions to be made for adopting sustainable production technologies, selected with the objective of answering the commitments to reducing Greenhouse Effect Gases (GHG) in the farming sector signed by the country. “The target established by the ABC Plan in 2009 was to increase in 4 million hectares until 2020. According to the preliminary estimate from the ABC Platform, the multidisciplinary group established to monitor the reduction of the GHG between 2010 and 2015, the increase of 5.96 million hectares of ICLFS was responsible for sequestrating 21.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent”, he explains. The targets for the ABC+ Plan for the next 10 years have not been defined yet.

Porfírio da Silva says that, in Paraná, with an excellent, well-structured productive chain of timber, there would be even greater encouragement for more producers to join the system. “The greatest difficulty for the producer is to make the decision of investing in the system. The decision requires technical knowledge, whether their own and/or through the technical assistance services they use. Another aspect that may hinder the decision-making process is the lack of familiarity with the forestry/timber business. And so, information on that must also be sought”, he declares.

According to him, the Paraná Rural Development Institute (Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná – IDR-PR), former Emater, may assist the producers interested in migrating to the ICLFS. “The IDR is a partner to Embrapa in several technological reference units (URTs) in agroforestry in Paraná. Some of these URTs were implemented in the 1990s, making Paraná the state with the most extensive experience in the country”, he states.Embrapa has several publications on ICLFS. One which is particularly interesting can be found on this link.

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Mechanization adds more competitivity to Brazilian planted forests

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Mechanized processes bring greater yield and optimization of the scarce labor

The mechanization of the planted forests in Brazil is still far from the level of the harvesting and transport systems existing in other countries, which in turn harms its competitivity in the international market. According to surveys by the Forest Research and Study Institute (Instituto de Pesquisa e Estudos Florestais – IPEF), held bi-annually since 2018 with companies members of the institute – some of the largest Brazilian forestry companies – the mechanization index reaches 51.1% of the companies at a level five: mechanical and tool sets that demand only the driver, without the use of auto-pilot. Most of them, 30.9%, still at level 2 using tools with mechanical activation. The latest survey, from 2019, can be viewed here.  

And what does that mean for the forestry sector? According to Professor Saulo Guerra, PhD, from the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences at Unesp – Botucatu campus, and scientific leader of the Forestry Mechanization and Automation Program (Programa de Mecanização e Automação Florestal – PCMAF) from IPEF, mechanization is a spontaneous need of the forestry sector for several reasons: it promotes the reduction of operation costs, increases yield, and optimizes the labor on the field. “Additionally, there is also a matter of comfort, of ergonomics, of reducing efforts or repetitive actions for the worker. The person who is heading the silviculture operations must have appropriate work conditions”, he says.

According to the PCMAF presentation, the increasing costs with labor and the decrease in its offer, the domestic tax burden higher than that of countries such as China and the US, and the cost of electricity in Brazil, among other factors, make the country, despite holding the highest average productivity for the main forestry genre (Eucalyptus and Pinus), it no longer holds the title of most competitive and profitable country in the forestry sector. “In a very objective manner, the mechanization level varies according to the other operations. If we consider the soil preparation operations, 75% of the forestry areas with eucalyptus are mechanized. However, in the following stage, which may be planting, 65% of the areas today are on manual plantation. In other words, even within the eucalyptus planted forests, there is a huge variation of manual, semi-mechanized, mechanized and automatic operations. It is important to emphasize that, in relation to the information that there are some automatic operations in place, if one considers the use of drones for applying herbicides and even ant baits, for instance”, he explains.

According to Guerra, what still hinders the greater level of mechanization in the Brazilian production is the acquisition cost. “In addition to the investment, which is high, some machines require special training. This is a problem since there is a current shortage of qualified labor for operating forestry operation machines and equipment in silviculture. Furthermore, there is no specific financing program for those machines. What happens is that many farmers can use the financing options for tractors, and hose tractors then go on to work on forestry operations”, he says.

Mechanized harvest – The Paraná Wood Group, which already works with mechanization in most of its forestry operations, is preparing itself to mechanize its harvesting, similar to the large forestry companies. Paraná Wood Florestal has already purchased a Komatsu tractor and is only waiting for the arrival of the Wharatah hydraulic head for cutting and processing the eucalyptus logs. The part is imported from Canada and is scheduled to arrive until December. According to Douglas Mendes, PWF manager, the head harvests the eucalyptus and cuts the logs into specific sizes. The equipment has the capacity for cutting trees up to four tons and 50-cm diameter. “The machine is able to harvest up to 70 tons/day working two shifts”, he explains. The company invested BRL 1.26 million on this acquisition.

According to Paraná Wood Group owner, João Luiz Garcia de Faria, the mechanization is the key process for increasing the quality of the harvest, which is important for exporting wood. According to him, the mechanization will also make PWF able to get international certifications. “Furthermore, you avoid the risk of accidents with workers during harvesting. By decreasing the number of workers on this stage, you also decrease risks and quality operators. It’s the natural evolution of the processes: making things safer, with greater quality, and greater qualification. This also provides greater opportunities to the employees”, he points out. According to the manager, no employee among the 44 who currently work at the company will be laid off. “Since the company is expanding, they will be reassigned to other areas. It is a valuable, trained, and highly skilled work force, and we are not going to waste it”, he assures. 

The company, with a log removal equipment already in operation, wants to acquire another one and full harvesting equipment until next year. With two sets of machines, it will also be able to provide services for other producers in the region, according to Mendes. “And as we grow, more machines will be purchased”, he declares.

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Paraná still has disparities in forest production, says head of Embrapa

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Erich Schaitza took over in May and wants to foster partnerships between private companies and the institution to solve common issues in forest planting

The state of Paraná is privileged when it comes to planted forests, according to Embrapa Forestry General Head Erich Schaitza. He, who officially took over in May this year, states that the forests in Paraná grow much better than in any other location in Brazil. “The highest yields and the greatest forest productivity are in Paraná”, he declares.  

The scenario could be even better if it weren’t for a huge disparity among the producing regions within the state. “There are regions where we find a very high level of professionalism to produce forests, and others with not such technical capacity available,” he justifies. According to him, there is a lack of trained staff in some new planting regions. “And that happens not only due to the fact that the people are not trained, but also that in some areas, that have never worked with forests, everything is more difficult, the nurseries are not well-structured, the genetic material is not well identified for each location”, he adds. 

Therefore, according to his point of view, research is essential. “For instance, we went to a region that is not bad, they are quite good producers, in the western Paraná. And we started to see soil, different genetic materials, and we were able to reach 10 to 15% productivity gains. And these gains result in savings, since it costs the same amount to do things in a wrong way. So, research has tried to generate knowledge for things to happen in the right way,” he says.

Another hindrance, according to him, are sporadic farmers, which happens quite a lot. “There are people who plant forests every 7-8 years and they end up having quite nice forests, but it is not an activity, since they are not part of the daily routine of the producer. The forestry producer plant all year round. They plant and they harvest. And with that, they establish a cycle of quality within their own action, take all necessary measures, and make adjustments. So, it is very important for the forestry producer to grow along the time and to have organized, regulated forests, for them to produce a given amount every year,” he states.

Partnerships between the private sector and research institutions are essential for the forestry industry to continue developing itself in a solid and constant way, Schaitza says. He sees in the union between these two poles the solution for issues that are common to all forestry producers in Brazil, whether in the sense of increasing productivity, or solving specific issues in the forestry industry. “Embrapa Forestry, as a research institution, is not able to work with the 8 or 10 million producers in Brazil. Our budget has been reduced year after year, and our capacity for financing projects has been decreasing. What we are doing is joining companies and people, with participation in the costs,” he explains.

And through these partnerships with companies that Embrapa Forestry was able to find a solution to leaf-cutting ants, for instance. “Ants are a problem everywhere. And the most commonly used insecticide  nowadays, sulfluramide, is soon to be taken off the market. We could develop, in partnership with someone, a project to make a substitute for such ant insecticide. And with this partnership, my partner who invested in the research, will have the right to trade the product, which may even be a biological insecticide. He is going to make money, we will earn some money in royalties, but the entire forestry productive chain will take advantage of this partnership,” he emphasizes. The same goes to technical planting improvements, a new planter. “The partner invests 30%, Embrapa invests other 30%, and together we invest additional 40% in services. It will be produced by the partner, but will be available for everybody”, he says. 

Small producers can also take part in the partnership process. However, it’s important to talk to someone at the Paraná Rural Development Institute (Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná – IDR), former Emater before that. “Go to them and say: I’ve got this opportunity and would like to research about it. What do you think? Many times it is not a research issue. Sometimes the solution is ready, and by talking to a technical assistant you will get the help you need. If he is convinced, together they will call us and we will put a project together. IDR is a fantastic channel for small producers,” he declares.

According to Schaitza, the system only works “if we talk to each other”. “So if you have an idea and think, for instance, that we could develop a pruning system, to have better genetic material, and that you could do that in partnership with Embrapa. We can. If you do not have the capital to invest, Embrapa doesn’t have it either, but let’s talk about it. Is it interesting? Is it an actual technological issue? Can it benefit many people? We will seek companies to invest in the project. Our business is how to discover a way to move things forward,” he states.

According to him, Embrapa Forestry is developing several projects in partnerships as we speak. One of them, with nanocellulosis, which is a product from the pulp industry, to generate artificial skin for burns. “We have another study with nanocellulose encapsulated as fertilizer, to see how the fertilizer can be released in a slower manner. Another project is on the genetic improvement of pine trees to have better wood for sawmills. This is a project developed by us and a consortium of companies from Paraná and Santa Catarina,” he comments.

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Paraná Wood Group seeks rural partners

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The company expertise and structure, guaranteed minimum income, and the creation of an operation network for the product are among the benefits offered

The Paraná Wood Group (GPW) is always seeking rural partners, whether in forestry, farming or cattle raising areas. The group currently has eight partnerships in the region of São Jerônimo da Serra, in the north of the Paraná state, but is expanding. According to GPW director, João Luiz Garcia de Faria, the idea is to have the regional productive sector growth with greater speed. “Joining two companies as a partnership provides the scope for the small producer, mainly those without a great structure in the forestry area, and therefore, they do not need to start from scratch. The partnership allows the creation of an operation network to produce more and better, which is what the modern world is doing nowadays. You don’t have to do everything. You only need to be good in what you do”, he explains.

According to Faria, the great advantage is in expanding the use of timber and increasing the added value of the raw material in the region. “It favors the farmer who has older wood and does not know how to sell it, the farmer who plants pine wood and does not know where to send it. By bringing in a company such as ours, with all its expertise, infrastructure and deep knowledge of the area to work as a partner, they can grow together with us”, he declares.

According to Douglas Mendes, manager at Paraná Wood Florestal and Paraná Wood Indústria Madeireira, in charge of the negotiation of partnership agreements, there are several types of agreements that can be made. Among them, the leasing of land (40% of the results for the farmer); the renting of land, which can be made on a monthly, yearly, or forest cycle (7 year) basis, depending on the negotiation; the harvesting and trading of trees; and consultancy services, where the company is hired for planting, maintenance, and harvesting to be paid with the result. “All those options are for producers with land in a 70-km radius from São Jerônimo da Serra, so that distance does not have an impact on costs”, he explains.

And for those who do not own land but still want to invest in forests, there is the option of forest quotas. “The person decides how much he/she wants to invest, which can be anything from 10% to 100% of a forest, with equivalent percentage of the results”, Mendes explains. This type of partnership is for anyone in any place in the world, and, according to João Faria, it has a better profitability than the financial market.

In all types of partnerships, GPW has legally binding agreements and guarantees a minimum yield of 420 tons of wood per hectare. In addition, Paraná Wood Indústria Madeireira purchases the entire production. “In every scenario, the partner has a safe return and is able to enter a legal and regulated timber market”, Faria states.

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FSC Certification demands complying with requirements in stages

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Small producers can join forces to share costs and documentation

In order to obtain a forestry management FSC certification, which brings a series of benefits to the producer, a few important stages must be completed and the property must also be organized, as shown in this article. According to the CEO of FSC Brazil, Daniela Vilela, the farmer must strat to think about it well before hiring a certifying company, since there will be direct and indirect costs that may affect a small property. For small farmers, with up to 480 hectares of effective planting area, and a thousand hectares of total area (also calculating the permanent preservation and legal reserve areas), she suggests joining forces with other small farmers.

“We have seen that, for this group, strength lies in numbers, with the possibility of joint certification. The small farmers get together, form a group and obtain a single certificate for the whole group, instead of individual certificates for each of them. In this way, they can share documents, grow in scale for a consultancy company, and if they need a service provider, they can share the costs, easing access. This, in addition to fostering the sharing of knowledge, also leeds to the professionalization of the whole group, resunting in an interesting collective construction”, she states. FSC Brazil has already certified several groups, even in Paraná, which included Klabin suppliers. “Of course, in this case, there is a greater level of responsibility, since if one fails to comply, all the others will be affected. But it also generates a very nice sense of responsibility, since you know that what you do has a direct impact on the group”, she explains.

Costs and time until receiving the certification vary on a case-to-case basis. “There is the direct cost, when the producer calls one of the four certifying companies authorized by FSC in Brazil, and that company goes out on the field to check all the details. The certifying company is going to assess, together with the producer, the size of the area, what they have there, the areas of permanent protection (APPs), and the entire scope of the property”, she explains. Everything has impact on the cost, since it depends on the size of the area, the number of auditors required, the time spent, and if there are indigenous populations and preservation areas that may be affected. “Between hiring the certifying company and obtaining the seal, a period of six months to a year is required, with variable costs”, Daniela explains.

However, the time and direct costs are of tow impact on the process, according to the director.  What takes place before that has a greater impact on the process. “If it is not a well-organized, consolidated property, with all adaptations implemented, the producer will first need to assess if all the employees comply with the labor obligations, if their medical exams are all up-to-date, the status of the environmental issues of the property, of the legal reserve, in other words, he will need to make sure all the assessment items are compliant before the visit of the certifying company. This period is usually slightly long, since it depends on the current status of the property, and therefore, the cost will also be proportional. If there is work on adapting and constructing the property being performed throughout the years, the cost will surely be lower. But if all the work must still be developed, both the cost and the timeframe will be higher”, she explains. According to her, this fact may discourage some people. “Mainly small producers, since it is very costly to comply with everything straight away – there are many issues that must be adapted, and complied with”.

The good news is that FSC International wants more certified producers, and that they do not get scared away with all the costs involved. And that is why it is developing a process referred to as Continuous Improvement Procedure, which must start to be implemented from 2022 in the whole world. “The forest handling standard has 10 principles, which are broken down to 70 criteria, with each criterion having several indicators. In order to obtain the certification nowadays, all items must be met in the audit. What FSC International is proposing, especially for small producers, is a kind of staged strategy. First the essential requirements are identified, which are the base of the certification. If the producer complies with those requirements in the first year, he will receive a certificate and can start trading his certified product. And throughout the cycle, he must comply with the other requirements. An action plan is defined, 20% in this year, another 10% in the next year, and in that way, the financial burden is reduced, as well as providing maturity for the producer, so that he may grow together with the process”, Daniela completes.

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With FSC Certification, Paraná Wood Group guarantees timber with social, environmental, and economic development

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Seal recognizes the responsible production of forest products, allowing consumers and companies to make conscious purchase decisions, benefiting both people and environment, as well as adding value to the business

Every tree that leaves the approximately 1.5 thousand hectares of eucalyptus forests from Paraná Wood Group (GPW) is FSC certified. That means the wood produced by Paraná Wood Indústria Madeireira is environmentally correct, protecting and preserving protection areas such as native forests, hydrologic resources, and biodiversity; socially beneficial, respecting the rights of workers, local community, and indigenous peoples in the region; and also, being economically feasible. GPW earned the FSC seal five years ago, and ever since, it holds annual audits to continuously improve the work it develops. In addition, it seeks to encourage producers in the region of São Jerônimo da Serra, in the north of the Paraná state, to do the same with their own forests.

But why is this certification so important? The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an independent, non-profit, international organization created to promote the responsible forest management around the world. Through its certification system, the FSC seal recognizes the responsible production of forestry products, allowing the consumers and companies aware during their purchase decisions, benefiting both people and the environment, as well as adding value to the business. It is an answer to the growing illegal deforestation at a global level. For Brazilian tree producers, it is even more important, especially for those aiming at exporting or selling to timber exporting companies.

According to FSC Brazil executive director, Daniela Vilela, even though the certification is not mandatory for export, since it is not part of any law, it is a key pre-requirement. “Mainly due to all the international attention Brazil has in the world in relation to deforestation. And therefore, most of the purchasers have the certificate as a demand, for the timber to reach the foreign market with all checks and legal compliance” she states.

However, according to Daniela, the benefits of the certificate are not limited to those aiming at exporting. The FSC seal brings several benefits, with the first one being the incentive and encouragement for producers to always adopt the best practices. “This first bias looks from an economic point of view to the production, the efficiency to improve productivity. It encourages the producer to know his own forest, how much he will be able to produce, how he can extract the most benefits the forest can provide, together with what the forest can actually offer, finding a balance between both. And the best practices in preserving the soil, hydrological resources, and the balance with biodiversity”, she adds.

A second  benefit is the legal compliance, the executive director says. “Here in Brazil, we have a robust legislation and, many times, the producer is not familiarized with it, and may end up being penalized by such lack of awareness, and be fined by it, for instance. The certification is based on the legislation. And with the certificate, the producer must be compliant with the legislation, and then, he will rarely be fined regarding any environmental or labor infraction, since he is one step ahead, adapting anything he must adapt”, she explains. In addition, the certification also helps the organization. “Since there is a certain bureaucracy to get it, it also helps them to become organized, to have all documents ready, all information at hand, in knowing what he has in the forest, knowing his business, and thus, it promotes management improvement”, she states.

And, according to Daniela Vilela, the certification opens up market opportunities the producer often has no access to. “He will be able to find markets buying uncertified wood, but there are several companies that will request the certification as a guarantee, as a way to prevent purchasing illegal wood, to avoid disrespecting labor laws, illegal deforestation, any type of non-compliance with legislations, social and environmental conditions”, she assesses. In her opinion, there is no premium price for certified wood yet. “Sometimes it happens. It is not common, but there are companies willing to pay a bonus on certified wood. However, it is very much related to the trade relationship between supplier and purchaser. But the opening of markets is still a benefit of the certification as a whole” she declares.

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Investing in forests in Paraná is good business

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The state has the most thorough productive chain of the sector, and with export, it consumes “from tip to toe of the tree”

In recent years, the consumption of forest by products has been increasing. And those who invest in the plantation of forests is profiting from it. Planted forests in the state of Paraná and in the southern region of Brazil, as a whole, are multi-products, with destination in different market branches and niches, ranging from pulp, paper, generation of energy, boards, reconstituted boards, furniture, frames, civil construction, packaging, hygiene, medications, nanotechnology, food, clothing, and many others.

And the tree producers in Paraná are in an even more comfortable situation, according to the chairman of the Paranaense Association of Forest-Base Companies (Associação Paranaense de Empresas de Base Florestal – Apre), Álvaro Scheffer Junior. “Paraná has the most complete productive chain in Brazil. The industries in the state, focusing mostly on export, consume from tip to toe of the tree. And thus, the producer can easily provide a destination for his products”, he declares.

According to Scheffer, the cultivated tree sector is going through an exceptional, “outside the curve” moment. In his point of view, the exchange rate moment is favorable for exports. Countries are seeking wood-derived products in Brazil and the Brazilian industries are investing, seeking new areas to increase the planting of forests, precisely to supply the demand of the industrial production. But he recognizes that it is a cyclical market. “2018 was one of the best years for timber production. On the other hand, 2019 was a bad year. In 2020, with the global pandemics, there was an enormous increase in the search for timber” he said.

According to him, that can be explained by the constructive systems in the United States and Europe, which use the Wood Frame style in their houses and some types of buildings. “With the pandemic, those markets went into lockdown. In those regions, it is common to perform maintenance on the houses whenever possible. Therefore, the American and European civil construction turned to Brazil for its raw material, and the price skyrocketed all the way to the base of the forest”, he explains.

With an eye on that potential, Paraná Wood Florestal, a company in the Paraná Wood Group (GPW), is preparing to enter the civil construction market. In every area of planted forest in its lands in São Jerônimo da Serra, in the north of the state, the company is reserving approximately 90 of the total trees per hectare to be destined to furniture and civil construction industries. “This means selecting some trees and leaving them up for longer, approximately 14 years, since that market demands a wider trunk and greater density”, explains the manager at Paraná Wood Florestal, Douglas Mendes. GPW cares for each planted forest in a unique form, with the development of its own methods, steering slightly away from the traditional ones. One of such methods is the division of each forest in plots, which can range from 12 to 25 ha. Each plot is carefully observed, and only then the inputs that it actually needs are applied, thus reducing the costs.GPW believes in the potential of Paraná, one of the most competitive states in Brazil, and a successful ESG business case, evaluating the impacts and performance of businesses in three areas: environmental, social, and corporate governance. In the past two years, the forest area planted by Paraná Wood Florestal had a 38% increase, currently at 1,460 hectares of own forests, with planting, handling, and technology employed in a personalized manner in each and every plot. With fertilization, technology, and knowledge, the production of eucalyptus at Paraná Wood Florestal reaches 65 cubic meters per hectare per year. At the end of harvesting, every seven years, it produces a total of 454.4 cubic meters per hectare.

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Care when starting planting trees guarantees profitability

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Pine planted forests can usually adapt to any type of soil, but it is important to study the weather to pick the best species for each region, mainly when thinking about Eucalyptus

Certain care is necessary when starting to plant trees for commercial purposes. Planted forests can usually adapt themselves to almost any type of soil – as long as duly corrected. However, the weather demands studies for the initiative to have positive results. According to the chairman of the Paraná Association of Forest-Base Companies (Associação Paranaense de Empresas de Base Florestal – Apre), Álvaro Scheffer Junior, planted forests are like any other crop, with the same legal demands – compliance with labor and environmental laws in force. “You need to know what you are doing, just like any farmer planting soybean, for example”, he says.

According to Scheffer, the soil is a demand that the producer can correct through a series of resources, such as chemical fertilization, organic compost, microbiotics, among others. “However, the  weather is more demanding.  If you plant the wrong species in a given climate, there is the risk of losing all the investment, mainly in eucalyptus. Frosts can often happen in the southern region of Brazil, and some species of eucalyptus do not survive such weather. Pine, on the other hand, is slightly more resistant. The regions of the north of Paraná and inland São Paulo accept more tropicalized species”, he explains. According to him, a comprehensive study of the occurrence of frost is extremely necessary to choose the right species for the region. “We cannot correct that part”, he adds.

Pests – In pine, the main plague is the wood wasp, which already has a control system, Scheffer says. “From the sixth, eighth year of plantation, we place some trap trees, and if they get infested, control is made with nematodes produced by Embrapa Forest within a program of the National Fund for the Control of Forest Plagues (Fundo Nacional de Controle de Pragas Florestais – Funcema). In eucalyptus, there are many more plagues, such as beetles and rust. But all of them are very well known, with handling and control available for each of them. Currently, there are no unknown pests that may hinder the production of timber”, he assures.

Costs – The costs for implementing planted forests vary according to the species chosen and the final destination of the timber: pulp, paper, energy, short-cycle reconstructed boards, which equals 7-8 years in eucalyptus, and, in average 14 years for pine; or wood for civil construction, furniture, framing – which depends on different densities and greater quality, in the long cycle. The largest expenses, however, are made during the first year. According to Scheffer, one hectare of forest (without considering the cost of land), with seedlings of proven quality, mowing, application of herbicide, planting activity, and others, would reach the end of the first year with expenses of approximately R$ 3.5 thousand, R$ 3.7 thousand per hectare for pine; and approximately R$ 6.5 thousand for eucalyptus, per hectare, depending on fertilization. “On the following years, cost variation depends on the region, on the area it is located. If it is an open area, you will need to mow less and apply less herbicide than in a hilly area, where the weed infestation is greater”, he explains.

If the wood is intended for civil construction, framing, wood frame (wooden-base building system), it will need different handling, including pruning from the third year, and thinning from the tenth year. “With thinning, the trees presenting smaller diameter are removed, opening space for the remaining trees to grow and present better development. The producer must understand that the first thinning is a very expensive operation and that, even if you can sell what is harvested, it will not be a very large income, since the production is low and the harvesting costs are relatively high. The producer must see this operation as an activity in which he is preparing his forest for a better performance in the future, and consequently, a greater profitability. So, it is the final product that will define all the interventions that must be made inside the plantation”, Scheffer completes.

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Silvopastoral system can help those who want to start planting forests

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Cattle and forest consortium generates income while trees grow

Many rural producers think of investing in forests – which have a solid investment and guaranteed trade, mainly in the Southern region of the country – but do not take it up because they believe it to be an expensive investment that takes long to generate profit. However, according to the chairman of the Paraná Association of Forest Base Companies (Apre), Álvaro Scheffer Junior, if correctly planned and with the integration of the forest production to other activities, such as the silvopastoral system, the producer can start planting forests and guaranteeing an income even before the first cutting of trees.

According to Scheffer, the silvopastoral system is extremely interesting for those wishing to start planting forests. “In a consortium with cattle, it is possible to start having an income before the forest. In addition to environmental benefits, it has benefits to the cattle and the economy in the forest cycle. When cattle is added, no herbicide is applied, and there is no weed competition (caused by the invading weeds in the planted forest crops), which generates lower handling costs and thus maintains the extra income. This is true to both small and large producers, we have several associates, large companies, working with silvopastoral system”, he adds.

In any way, the producer wishing to start the activity on their lands will need a bit of patience, since the cultivation of forests is a long-cycle crop when compared to agriculture. “A short-cycle forest such as eucalyptus takes seven to eight years to generate profit. In short-cycle pine, the average is 14 years. Long-cycle pine takes approximately 26 years”, the chairman explains. “If you are starting from scratch, you cannot expect the forest to generate financial return on the first year. At the beginning, it is necessary to have cash flow to be able to wait out this time to have the return, but the wait definitely pays off”, he states.According to Scheffer, o the producer who is starting must plan for the forest to generate income ad aeternum,  planting every year. “It is better to start planting in a smaller area, and on the following year, plant in another area, and so on. In that way, every year there will be wood to harvest. He will be collecting a part of that forest, and will have return [on the investment]”, he says.  According to him, forest companies have the vision of assembling a cycle for 60 to 70 years in the future. “The forest is a cyclic activity, like a gear. And when it gears up, every year there will be an area to harvest and plant again. And from there on, the activity will be practically autonomous”, he assures.