Farmers who are part of the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation's Program for Development and Integrated Growth with Sustainability (PDCIS) have participated in activities in recent months aimed at training and developing topics related to crops and soil management. Both actions were promoted by the Associação de Proteção ao Patrimônio Ambiental e Cultural Tororó Sana (APPAC), the program's manager in Sana, which is supported by Ocyan.

In March, a seminar was held with the aim of promoting sustainability, autonomy, food security and quality of life for the communities, as well as mapping challenges and opportunities in the fight against pests and diseases in Sana. The meeting sought to identify solutions and alternatives based on biological pesticides. Among the topics covered were conventional management, different species and the availability of seedlings resistant to the main diseases. The seminar was attended by APPAC staff and invited farmers.  The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the technical team from Organosolo, which is the supplier of agroecological inputs for PDCIS Sana, produced from composting organic waste from the city of Rio de Janeiro, also attended to the two days of debate.

This month, two workshops were held with a participatory and practical approach, including lectures, demonstrations, group discussions and visits to the farms in agroecological transition of the farmers benefiting from the PDCIS. The environmental technician and workshop moderator, Daniel Amaral Lopes, developed theoretical and practical activities to teach farmers how to manage crops agroecologically, composting, pest control and diseases with biological products. In addition to the PDCIS beneficiaries, farmers from Barra do Sana also took part, such as Graça Amim, an agroecological producer, and other members of the Sana Family Agriculture Producers Association (APAF-SANA). The workshops lasted four hours each and reached a total audience of 32 people. 

"The activities contribute to enhancing the learning and development of farmers, as they learn new techniques for growing crops. These seminars and trainings are included in the schedule for the Family Farming Project, which is a reapplication of the actions of the PDCIS, already applied in the Southern Bahia Lowlands by the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation and now extended to the Macaé region," explains Kátia Santos, Ocyan's Social and Environmental Responsibility specialist.