A hub to showcase the Cerrado

Do you know what bioactive products are? You may have heard of a nut that is similar to the one from the neighboring state of Pará (Brazil Nut) and that is winning the market because of its nutrients. But did you know that one hectare of land planted with baruzeiro—the tree native to the Cerrado biome that produces baru nuts—can yield more than the same area planted with soybeans?

This profitable agricultural production model—which also helps preserve native vegetation and recover degraded areas—is the focus of Bio2me.

The purpose of Bio2me, a startup created in 2022 by entrepreneurs Claudio Fernandes and Marcio Campos, is to show investors, farmers, and local communities that rich biodiversity is a source of income generation that combines financial return with the conservation of large tracts of native vegetation.

And this blog aims not only to show this journey, but also to help disseminate knowledge about the Cerrado.

As the second largest biome in South America and covering almost a quarter of the country, the area concentrates a rich biodiversity. The region, which is crucial for food production and the Brazilian economy as a whole, is also, like the Amazon region, an important carbon sink with an essential role in mitigating the increasingly extreme effects of climate change. The biome also forms the headwaters of the main rivers that supply much of the country, including some of its most populous cities.

Half of its area is used for agricultural production. Finding new solutions that can combine environmental protection with income generation and food security are strategic points for maintaining the region’s characteristics.

“We are aware of the value of native woods and we can be a hub that disseminates the value of the Cerrado and its products. Our goal is to communicate this value to all corners of Brazil and beyond,” says Fernandes.

The Cerrado, as well as the important bioactive products and their benefits should be addressed not only here, but also in our social media and presentations at events and business rounds.

Many people from other regions are still unfamiliar with the fruits, nuts, and many other species grown in this biome. Nor do they know about the benefits and the many ways to use these ingredients—a barrier that needs to be overcome in order to expand the market for bioactive products.

There are a number of aspects that could and should be further emphasized—from supplying quality seedlings on the scale needed to increase production, which today is almost exclusively based on artisanal extraction—to making farmers more aware that their conservation areas and private protected areas can be substantial sources of income, which would further encourage them to maintain or recover areas of native vegetation.

The industry also needs to be brought closer to this environment; the production chain needs to be strengthened (involving smallholder farmers and cooperatives); mechanisms need to be created to guarantee traceability; and actions need to be proposed to boost the dissemination and marketing of nuts, fruits, and plants from the Cerrado biome.

“Many people will look at a property with native vegetation and refer to it as an undeveloped or unproductive farm. They just don’t know about its richness, which, when properly managed, can generate income and jobs. People need to know in order to value and preserve it,” adds Campos.

Thus, this blog will talk about bioactive products, sustainable finance, conservation areas, agribusiness, technology, climate change, education, local culture, gastronomy, among other topics. It will also show that investing in the conservation of the Cerrado is good business for everyone.