Local vocation and the desire to keep young people in the countryside led the village of São Vicente, in the municipality of Igarapé do Meio (MA), to invest in chicken farming as a strategy for income generation and youth inclusion in the community. In this sense, on October 24th, the locality inaugurated a Community Family Farm. The initiative is a result of the Program to Support Traditional Communities (PACT), which is implemented by ISPN in partnership with Vale.
With an investment of R$ 40, the project will benefit 12 families, significantly including young people from the community. The facility will have the capacity to offer 300 chickens every 15 days for sale or slaughter (including broilers, egg layers (free-range and large free-range), and breeding stock). The goal is to sell the produce in local markets and access institutional markets such as the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) and the Food Acquisition Program (PAA).
The families involved participated in workshops and exchanges on raising small animals and creating productive backyards. The project will continue to receive technical assistance from ISPN.
According to Ruthiane Pereira, coordinator of the ISPN Maranhão Program, the project will be a milestone for the community, as it will involve and attract local youth. “The inauguration of the collective farm represents the culmination of the families' effort and determination. At the same time, it allows them to have experience in collective management and marketing,” she emphasized.
“For us, this project is of great importance, especially for our young people, showing that it is possible to live and work within our own community. The farm has arrived at a good time to attract our youth. Many young people still leave here to look for work in the big cities of Brazil,” declared the project coordinator and partner of the São Vicente Community Association, Eliene Fernandes.
In addition to ISPN's technical advisors, Vale employees and contractors participated in the inauguration of the collective farm. Also present were municipal secretaries from Igarapé do Meio, representatives from Banco do Nordeste, partners, suppliers, and neighboring communities.
Program to Support Traditional Communities (PACT) – This is the result of a public call for proposals from the company Vale SA through a public notice, as well as one of the licensing conditions related to the works of the Northern Logistics Capacity Building Program (CLN) of the Carajás Railway (EFC) duplication project in the state of Maranhão. The activities foreseen in the PACT include the traditional communities of babaçu coconut breakers and riverside communities affected by the project.