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Frequently Asked Questions | Portuguęs | Main Project Page
IFC will monitor the implementation of this project to ensure that the above requirements are being complied with. Is traceability important for Bertin's suppliers? Traceability provides a record of each animal from the farm where it was born, through possible intermediaries where it may have been raised, to its arrival at the slaughterhouse. It was originally designed for food safety reasons but it can also be used to trace the cattle to the farms and check for environmental and social performance. Most of Bertin's suppliers trace their cattle according to the national traceability system SISBOV. However, in the state of Pará, where Bertin's Marabá slaughterhouse is located, cattle ranchers do not have this system in place. This is because the state government does not require it and there is no financial incentive for them to do so until Pará opens for export to the European Union. Bertin undertook a pilot project with 25 suppliers in Pará to test the use of good agricultural practices, including SISBOV traceability. Following this experience, Bertin is currently developing a registration system that requires suppliers to complete SISBOV forms with additional information pertaining to environmental performance and corporate social responsibility. In addition, and as part of Bertin's commitments to IFC, the company will be training its own cattle buyers and producers in relation to good agricultural practices and SISBOV traceability. These actions will prepare Bertin and its suppliers for the opening of the EU market, providing a comparative advantage to them and an example to others How will the monitoring of the project be done, to ensure Bertin will fulfill its commitment to IFC? As with any project that IFC finances, monitoring and evaluation is mandatory throughout the life of the project to ensure compliance. Bertin will be required to submit annual monitoring reports of its activities to IFC. For its part, IFC will undertake annual visits (or more frequent as appropriate) to all relevant operations with the aim of ensuring compliance with IFC requirements and Bertin's commitment for ongoing improvement of its operations, as per the company's Environmental and Social Management System. What are the developmental impacts and the specific benefits that this project would bring to the people of the Marabá region, particularly for those in Pará? The practice of sustainable cattle grazing in the Marabá region is a positive development impact, since cattle ranching in southeast Pará is a reality. With IFC's social and environmental standards being applied to cattle grazing in the region, ranchers on the supply chain will be discouraged from resorting to slave labor, illegal deforestation, illegal landholding, and agrarian conflict. This is a benchmarking exercise for the sector, with important potential benefits elsewhere. In addition, more job opportunities will be created, particularly for the Marabá area. Dog toy factories, for instance, are labor-intensive enterprises, and most of the jobs in the dog toy factories tend to go to women (because of their handcraft abilities). Hence there will also be a positive gender impact. IFC's mandate is to create jobs that are sustainable within the perspective of a globalized economy, and the jobs created by Bertin are of that character. Although cattle grazing is not traditionally a labor-intensive activity, the Bertin loan would take into consideration that in areas with high social vulnerability and where extreme poverty is present, any private sector initiative should support alternative efforts at generating income. Based on the results of the local consultation process, Bertin and IFC have designed a social investment program aimed at strengthening family agriculture practices through technical training. Drawing on IFC's technical assistance funds, the effort will also use Bertin's purchasing power in the region to help the businesses of small producers. We estimate that around 2 million reais will be invested in those activities over the next three years. How does this project fit with the World Bank Group's strategy in Brazil? IFC and the World Bank's offices in Brazil closely coordinate their respective activities in the Amazon region. This project and, particularly, the supply chain of Bertin and other meat packers in the area, could improve their chances to attain greater sustainability with the implementation of World Bank programs such as Pará Rural and the Amazon Strategy, which will soon be submitted to the World Bank's Board for consideration. IFC's overall agribusiness strategy reflects the World Bank Group rural development strategy, which emphasizes the following strategic priorities:
Was there a consultation processes and a period for stakeholders to offer feedback? Throughout the first phase of the draft study, IFC staff and Arcadis Tetraplan held private meetings with a series of stakeholders in the state of Pará and in the city of Marabá. These included meetings with grassroots organizations, NGOs, farmers, trade associations and representatives of civil society. In addition, the company held two public consultations in Marabá, one at the beginning of the process and one toward the end of the study, so that local population could participate and offer their views. These were taken into consideration in the production of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the related action plan. In accordance with IFC's disclosure policy, once the ESIA is completed it will be made available to the public for a period of 60 days for comments. Stakeholders will be able to offer their comments through a series of mechanisms, including an online based form. IFC will also organize a consultation meeting in Brasilia on December 1, 2006, where the ESIA will be presented. This meeting will be open to the public. |
