Socio-environmental responsibility is a value for CMOC Brasil, and one of the initiatives that strengthens this commitment is the Nossa Terra Program, which promotes environmental awareness and offers support to families and small producers in the communities surrounding our operations. One of the outcomes of this program is the Viveiros Project (Nurseries Project, in English), which deals with the construction of structures for the production of native tree seedlings on the properties of neighbors who are interested in joining the production chain and commercialization of this item. The expectation is that in the next few months about 30,000 seedlings will be produced, which at first the company will acquire. 

This is a pilot project, and as the company verifies the interest of new neighbors in joining the initiative, the possibility of expansion will be evaluated. “Our partners in this project are families neighboring the Fosfatos Ouvidor and Boa Vista Mine units and, with the construction of the nurseries, they will be able to produce seedlings of forest and fruit essences aimed at commercialization and reforestation”, explains Gabriela Nascimento, analyst of Community Relations. 

The owners received a complete structure with a production capacity of 10,000 seedlings each, with a semi-automatic irrigation system and all the material for the first production, such as bags, substrates, and seeds of five species native to the cerrado: ipê, jacarandá, barbatimão, aroeira, and guava. In addition, they also received training and monitoring in all phases of construction and production of seedlings and will continue to receive this assistance until the commercialization phase. "The idea is that in the next planting, the seeds used will be collected by the nurserymen themselves from the matrix trees, already identified on the properties, and the substrate will also be produced by them, based on the knowledge acquired in the trainings, making this production sustainable. In addition to the production process, they will also be trained to become small entrepreneurs”, highlights Lisiane Feltraco, coordinator of Social Management at CMOC. 

Those who participate in the project already feel the benefits and see a lot of value in what is being developed together with CMOC - as is the case of the couple Gilberto and Sandra Duarte. “My wife and I are very fond of plants, so this project interests us a lot. After we do the first deals, we want to plant some seedlings here for our land. It is small, but we like to plant trees, and my wife doesn't leave the nursery! The good thing is that this nursery is very profitable and we can take our own project forward”, celebrates Mr. Duarte, from the Morro Agudo Nursery, neighbor to the Boa Vista Mine.