1. What is Agroideal’s purpose?
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) built Agroideal as a pre-competitive tool to assist all stakeholders involved in the soy sector plan the purchase, investment and sustainable expansion of production in the Amazon, Cerrado, and Argentine Chaco biomes. Our main purpose is to bring knowledge about the regions by integrating the socio-environmental commitments assumed by the sector into the business planning. We also aim at contributing to the evaluation of new sustainability challenges. We hope that stakeholders directly related to the sector and all of society can benefit from the tool. We expect Agroideal to help create and support collective territorial knowledge that can help users plan future sustainable land use.
2. Can I use Agroideal to evaluate the impact of socio-environmental commitments on my business strategy?
Yes. Agroideal brings a series of socio-environmental indicators that allows users to evaluate the stock of at-risk areas by considering different commitments: the Amazon Soy Moratorium, the Slave Labor List, and other initiatives being discussed by soy-sector stakeholders. For example, if a trader is planning to expand his/her portfolio with customers who have signed the”Declaration of Support for the Cerrado Manifesto,” Agroideal could be used to verify the areas that meet the production requirements of the business strategy (the economic opportunity theme). The tool could also evaluate the stock of at-risk areas according to the commitment to zero conversion of natural areas in the Cerrado. In this case, indicators of natural vegetation combined with agricultural suitability could be used to assess the risk of buying soybean cultivated in recently deforested areas. The greater the stock of native vegetation in suitable lands, the greater the risk of non-compliance with environmental commitments in that region. Thus, a company can assess where there is greater reputational risk related to non-compliance with commitments within its region of influence, and where efforts toward new strategies to minimize risks should be intensified within that area. By evaluating the risk in all regions, the company can create commitment implementation plans that fit its operational capacity.
3. Can I monitor my supply chain with this tool?
No. Maps and detailed information are required to assess changes in land use/land cover (LULC) within properties to monitor the supply chain. That way, one would be able to ensure accuracy in the supplier-blocking process. The monitoring systems work on a local (farm) scale. Property monitoring is usually carried out by a company specializing in farm-scale based geo-technology, allowing high levels of accuracy of LULC maps and precise estimation of the suppliers’ location. A historical series of satellite images are used in farm monitoring because they allow the assessment of changes in LULC and their long-term impacts.
Agroideal differs from farm-monitoring systems because it offers a set of maps that is usually updated annually, offering an alternative for land-use planning at a regional scale (biome, meso and microregions, states, municipalities, and smaller regions within municipalities).
4. When should I use Agroideal?
One can use Agroideal whenever they need to decide on a regional investment in purchasing and expanding soy production with the least possible socio-environmental impact. Agroideal is a system that provides information with qualified geographic data and allows experts to decide in which regions they should invest or what actions to take to minimize environmental impacts in the region of interest. The focus is on medium-to-long-term business planning that helps define the regions with the lowest socio-environmental risk for investors´ business plans.
Agroideal is an option for both strategic planning discussions as well as rapid risk assessments. By crossing the maps presented in the “LAYERS” tab, users can make rapid decisions based on the characterization of the regions. For example: where do I find the largest stock of previously-disturbed areas suitable for soybeans?
In the “STRATEGIES” tab, users can perform multi-criteria analysis by answering complex questions involving different economic and socio-environmental indicators. For example: which soybean production areas should be prioritized at purchase? Where are the regions with the greatest stock of previously disturbed areas, but with low risk of land conflicts, and the best CAR coverage?
5. What makes Agroideal different from other tools already available?
Agroideal is the first tool created to assist the agribusiness sector invest in the sustainable expansion of soy and support the segment´s sustainable purchase planning. It differs from most existing tools because it brings together production information and economic opportunities for sustainable expansion, especially in previously disturbed areas, in the same system. Another difference is that experts of the soy sector suggested, discussed and selected all existing information, which helped turn Agroideal into a precompetitive spatial intelligence tool.
Agroideal is the first online free tool designed to help sustainability teams assess the risks associated with business plans. Thus, the system allows users to act preventively to reduce the socio-environmental impacts of companies and, consequently, the reputational risks related to commitments.
Agroideal uses a multicriteria analysis method to create a socio-environmental risk map fully customized according to users´ sustainability policies or their specific perceptions of risk. Therefore, the system is more than a static risk map, allowing the customization of dynamic scenarios shareable with all stakeholders.
6. Can I rely on soy productivity information?
The data provided by Agroideal represents average values of soybean productivity between 2000 and 2015. It was obtained from the Municipal Agricultural Production (PAM) census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The data comes from questionnaires filled out by IBGE census agents who obtain information from producers, technicians and control entities. It also considers previous knowledge acquired by specialists in the specific evaluated regions. Although the information is considered data, it is the best official productivity estimate that we currently have in Brazil. Detailed information on the method used by IBGE can be obtained at https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/pam/tabelas and at https://metadados.ibge.gov.br/consulta/prnRelatorioPesquisa.aspx?codPesquisa=PA
Data on planted soy was derived from maps generated by satellite images according to a method developed by Agrosatélite Applied Geotechnology for the harvests of 2000/01, 2006/07, 2013/14 and 20016/17 in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes. The Amazon mapping was gently provided by the Gibbs Land Use and Environment Lab, coordinated by Dr. Holly Gibbs of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Details of the database will be soon published in a scientific paper and will be available on this site as soon as the publication is available. Data on the planted soy area is more accurate than estimates of the planted areas provided by the IBGE. A detailed study can be found at: http://biomas.agrosatelite.com.br/#/index
7. Who defined the indicators available in Agroideal?
All Agroideal layers and indicators have been defined by a group of experts in the soy sector who work in companies, NGOs, consulting companies, associations, research institutes, and banks. We dedicated 18 months to intense discussion about risks and opportunities for the expansion of soy; we carried out specific discussions, interviews with origination sectors, and business-planning agents. We also proposed that soybean trading companies conduct a proof of concept evaluation. Our partners in this initiative are: Bunge, ADM, COFCO, Louis Dreyfus, Amaggi, ABIOVE, Agrosatélite, Agroicone, EMBRAPA, Earth Innovation, IDH, WWF, Rabobank, and Banco do Brasil.
8. Who built the tool and who coordinates it?
TNC and Bunge conceived Agroideal. They invited key actors in the soy sector to jointly build a pre-competitive tool that would gather essential and unprecedented information for the sector. Agroideal is a tool proposed to help users plan the purchase, investment, and sustainable expansion of production in the most important cropland regions of the biomes, allowing socio-environmental commitments to be incorporated into the planning of future actions. Several partner institutions built Agroideal: ADM, COFCO, Louis Dreyfus, Amaggi, ABIOVE, Agrosatélite, Agroicone, EMBRAPA, Earth Innovation, WWF, IDH, Rabobank, and Banco do Brasil. TNC coordinated the working group and developed the tool in partnership with Agrosatélite Applied Geotechnology and SuperNova Design with financial support from Bunge and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Agroideal belongs to the working group, which defined its basic requirements allowing the implementation of an online, free, customizable, and secure tool that will constantly improve. The system is part of the Collaboration for Forest and Agriculture (CFA) project, a cooperation between TNC, WWF and NWF to stimulate the production of soy and beef free of deforestation.
9. How should I interpret the final risk-exposure map?
The risk-exposure map is the result of the ponderation between economic opportunities and socio-environmental risks according to the indicators users have selected to answer the question they had in mind. A region with a higher-risk rating should be carefully evaluated, considering the indicators the user selected. In the results report, it is possible to verify the final weight of each of the selected indicators within the final risk map. By identifying the indicator with the most significant negative impact, it is possible to set up action plans that minimize the risk associated with the specific indicator. For example, if a company buys from a group of farmers located in a high-risk region, it can adopt some actions in that region. Examples are: 1) More frequent monitoring of deforestation in the region; 2) Constant monitoring of farms in the region to ensure that there is no regional leakage; 3) Estimation of production capacity in the region and monitoring of the volume of purchases; 4) Request the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) information and provide incentives so that producers develop their Environmental Compliance Plans (PRAs), their Restoration Project for Degraded and/or Changed Areas (PRADA), and the Environmental Reserve Quotas (CRA), among others.
10. Should I avoid the regions marked as high-risk zones?
Not necessarily. Agroideal’s major goal is to provide an indicator of previously-assessed opportunities and risks to support decision-making on how to operate in a specific region. The final map should not be considered as a chart of areas in which users should or should not invest. The tool was created to support decision-making and not to provide a final action plan. The main purpose of Agroideal is to provide tools that support the creation of collective knowledge to define future land use actions. Thus, the regions included in Agroideal should be considered as spaces of social planning and action.
Based on the most relevant indicators concerning high-risk zones (orange and red), users can evaluate actions within a region to mitigate future risks, always keeping in mind their socio-environmental commitments. The mitigation strategies can be adopted whenever the region presents high economic opportunities and high socio-environmental risk.
For example, consider that a region with a high stock of previously disturbed areas is suitable for soy. Traders or banks are likely to be more interested in developing a financing program in these areas using the detailed production estimate. The region, however, presents high environmental risk due to the stock of suitable areas with remnants of native vegetation. By investing in the region, the possibility of leaks might increase due to future deforestation, and there is the risk that companies could buy products that are not in compliance with their sustainability policy. Therefore, these regions should be monitored more frequently and more rigorously by companies. Alternatively, public authorities could define a more intensive monitoring plan in those regions. Associations can intensify awareness-raising work on sustainable production. NGOs can support producers by disseminating good production practices, and geo-technology companies can assess which areas should be used for establishing new croplands in previously disturbed areas. In this case, natural areas should be used to compose both the Legal Reserve and the private Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs), as well as Environmental Reserve Quotas (CRA). Finally, results should be used to support future actions of multiple stakeholders toward a common goal: investment in the sustainable development of a region considered to be at risk.
11. Are all strategies generated by Agroideal the same for all users?
That depends. The strategies will only give the same result for different users if: 1) the same indicators are selected in both the economic and socio-environmental themes; 2) the selection of maximum and minimum thresholds is similar, and 3) if the same weights are assigned to the same indicators. The tools available in Agroideal have been developed to provide different business plans, according to different objectives of specific users of the tool.
12. Are the strategies saved in users´ folders available to other users?
No. The system does not share the strategies created or saved by users. Sharing is only possible if the user sends a shareable link to another person.
13. How often is the data updated?
The data is updated according to the availability of more current databases provided by source institutions, usually on an annual basis. Daily data, such as IBAMA embargoes, for example, will be updated monthly in Agroideal as of version 2.0.
14. Is the system open? How was it implemented?
Yes, Agroideal is an open system that allows integration with other systems. The back end was developed in Python language using the Flask Framework, and the front end was developed in HTML and javascript languages, using the JS Framework and the OpenLayers library. The database server is PostgreSQL with the PostGIS extension, and the map server is the MapServer. Agroideal’s homepage is based on WordPress Framework implemented in HTML and javascript languages. Our entire structure is configured on Amazon Web Service (AWS).
