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PÂNTANO AND CAIXETAS FARMS - PATOS DE MINAS, MG

This space is reserved for the coffee growers that make a difference, implementing sustainability projects that, in many cases, go beyond the limits of the farm and reach the community, with a multiplying effect. It's in this context that NUCOFFEE, a Syngenta initiative, supports these good practices of producers who participate in the program. And, in recognition to those that put them in motion, we create the opportunity for them to tell their story here.

The old stories of people from the region gave rise to a project that currently benefits thousands of people. Several reports mentioned the existence of wellheads that disappeared in time, at the area of Pântano and Caixetas farms, land of the coffee grower Wagner Ferrero, located in Patos de Minas (Minas Triangle).

Aware of the Água Viva Project developed by Syngenta, Wagner decided last year to check this story out and requested the visit of technicians of the company to make the first survey. The result was surprising. 10 wellheads were located. "Before, what we saw were only a few streamlets, which went unnoticed. Today we have a stream of 20 thousand liters of water per day", he celebrates.

Following all steps of Água Viva, the areas were cleaned and the wellheads recuperated. During the process, the farm employees followed the guidance of Syngenta's technicians and started to multiply the project in neighboring properties and at the community itself, in partnership with the residents' associations. At the village, where approximately three thousand people live, four wellheads of drinking water were uncovered and are being collected for the consumption of the residents.

"At the farm this water is used only for maintaining the wellheads, and we are now at the phase of deploying permanent preservation areas for protecting them. This project was instrumental for Fazenda Pântano to be chosen, in 2008, the "Best in Sustainability in Brazil", an award offered by Illy Café. The cost of deploying the project is small compared to its benefits. Water is a serious problem worldwide, and if each coffee grower is capable of recovering stagnated wellheads in his land this will be an important step towards protecting the environment and preserving life", reminds Ferrero.