Sustainability of Pará cocoa celebrated at the International Festival in Altamira
Governor Helder Barbalho, at the opening of the event, highlighted the productivity of cocoa in Pará and the encouragement for the verticalization of cocoa production.
Responsible for planting her own cocoa, transformed into chocolate at her enterprise Bada Chocolates Fino da Amazônia, Fernanda Sahaba and almond producer Antônio Sena share not only the profession but also the certainty of participating in the largest event focused on cocoa cultivation in the region influenced by the Transamazon Highway (BR-230), in western Pará.
Like them, another 200 cocoa producers and chocolate entrepreneurs are participating in the 4th edition of the International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival, officially opened this Thursday (26), with the presence of Governor Helder Barbalho.
Until next Sunday (29), around 140,000 visitors are expected at the Vilmar Soares Events Center, which hosts the Chocolate Xingu – as the international event is also called – an initiative of the State Secretariat for Agricultural Development and Fisheries (Sedap) and the Municipal Government of Altamira.
Pride - Governor Helder Barbalho, who visited all the stands at the event, at the Events Center, and closely observed what is produced in Pará from cocoa, stated that cocoa cultivation and its producers are a source of pride for Pará. Only in the Transamazon region, the head of the Executive informed, is most of the cocoa produced in Pará, with the municipality of Medicilândia being the largest state producer.
"Brazil produces 287 thousand tons of cocoa. Of this total, 154 thousand were produced in Pará. A clear consolidation of Pará as the largest producer in Brazil. We managed to meet the target, and we have the highest productivity in Brazil, surpassing the State of Bahia. Thanks to technical assistance, Pará stands out in this production. I congratulate agencies like Emater (Company for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension), Sedap, Adepará (Agency for Agricultural Defense), and municipal secretariats. If today Pará is what it is, it owes much to the Xingu region, which was the cradle of it all," emphasized Helder Barbalho.
The governor mentioned other crops in which Pará stands out, such as pineapple, palm oil, and açaí, in addition to maintaining the second-largest livestock herd. "The integration of livestock, crops, and forests is very important. Cocoa and açaí are important, generating income. Cocoa is one of the main strategies for restoring degraded areas. It is the best bean in Brazil," he reinforced.
In the assessment of Vice Governor Hana Ghassan, the event is very important for the region. According to her, who congratulated the event organizers, "we are showing the world that Pará has the highest cocoa productivity, with award-winning beans and the best cocoa in the world."
Showcase - For producers like Fernanda Sahaba and Antônio Sena, who live outside the largest cocoa production hub in the State – she is from Santa Bárbara do Pará (Metropolitan Region of Belém), and he is from Igarapé-Miri (in the Tocantins Integration Region) – participating in the Festival in Xingu is a stimulus and a showcase to show the public in the region the cocoa produced in their municipalities of origin.
“It is, above all, a learning experience for us, who are here for the second time learning and participating in this cultural exchange,” said Fernanda, who is participating in the program for the second consecutive year, thanks to the encouragement provided through resources from the Pará Cocoa Support Fund (Funcacau), which injected R$ 1.2 million into the realization of Chocolate Xingu.
Agroforestry - The State Secretary for Agricultural Development and Fisheries, Giovanni Queiroz, who presides over the Funcacau Management Council and was one of the supporters of the Chocolate Xingu event, emphasized that cocoa from the region, as occurs in other Integration regions, is produced in Agroforestry Systems (SAFs), responsible for preserving areas previously deforested. This practice, the secretary added, is the guideline of the Sustainable Territories Program (PTS), executed within the actions of Sedap.
“We have a Fund specifically aimed at the development of this culture in Pará. It is through Funcacau that we take and encourage our producers to participate in national and international events. We have here, in this region, award-winning producers, and the quality of this bean is increasingly recognized internationally," informed Giovanni Queiroz.
One of the award-winning producers from the Transamazon region is Robson Brogni, who at his stand at the Festival offers the public products made from beans whose quality is recognized both inside and outside Brazil. In the contest for the best chocolate held at the Chocolate and Cocoa Fair in Belém earlier this month, he won three awards. "Our expectations are high. We believe that this Festival will bring many fruits, and we think it will be one of the best we have ever participated in," said the producer.
The mayor Loredan Mello hopes "that the event values the work of those who produce, who drive the economy of the region, as it is a showcase and a strategic tool to generate opportunities and development in the region." The mayor recalled the investments of the state government in the realization of the event - about R$ 2 million, strengthening the partnership between government and city hall.
Verticalization - After the official opening, Governor Helder Barbalho highlighted, in a press conference, the importance of the event, the investments, and the encouragement for the verticalization of cocoa production, especially in the Transamazon region. He also stated that cocoa has stood out in soil restoration and mentioned the challenges of verticalization. "The State does not want just to produce and export beans, but to stimulate verticalization, the encouragement of manufacturing throughout its cycle until the commercialization of chocolate. For this, Funcacau and Banpará-Bio have been fundamental for a stronger cocoa production," added the governor.
The head of the Executive also mentioned that the expectations regarding Chocolate Xingu are high, as the event is expected to generate a financial movement of R$ 10 million.
The International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival is just beginning, highlighted Ivaldo Santana, the event coordinator for Sedap. “This will be the largest gathering ever held in the region. We have more than 100 stands here. Bring your families and friends, because what we can say for sure is that those who come will leave here wanting to return,” he guaranteed.
