The Coopera+ Amazônia program aims to foster innovation and generate income for forest-based families
Published on Nov 17, 2025 10:47 PM - Modified 4 hours ago
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Vice President Geraldo Alckmin participated in the announcement of investments in Amazon bioeconomy initiatives on Monday, November 17. Photo: Rafael Neddermeyer / COP30
By Mayara Souto and Edson Carvalho / COP30
Brazil launched on Monday, November 17, the Coopera+ Amazônia program, which will invest nearly R$107 million to strengthen managerial and productive innovation in 50 extractivist cooperatives operating in the babassu, açaí, Brazil nut, and cupuaçu value chains. The initiative seeks to support cooperatives in five states of the Legal Amazon (Pará, Rondônia, Maranhão, Amazonas, and Acre) over a period of 48 months.
The announcement took place during COP30 in the Green Zone, with the presence of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
“These resources will, in this first stage, add value, increase household income, strengthen cooperativism in the region, and contribute to combating climate change. Approximately 3,500 families will benefit,” he stated.
The initiative is a joint effort by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae).
Coopera+ Amazônia will receive R$103 million from the BNDES, through the Amazon Fund, coordinated by the MMA. An additional R$3.7 million will be provided by Sebrae
Climate Solutions
“These investments will improve producers’ livelihoods by enabling the development of machinery, project proposals, higher productivity, greater market access, and job and income generation. This is essential and will help keep the forest standing,” said Tereza Campello, BNDES Director for Social and Environmental Affairs.
Décio Lima, President of Sebrae Nacional, emphasized that, in addition to expanding markets, the program will incorporate technologies that strengthen the Amazon bioeconomy. “This is a unique bioeconomy, born of this extraordinary forest, which sustains livelihoods without cutting down trees or polluting rivers—it is sustainable. This is the reflection we must make, particularly within the cooperative model,” he noted.
Silvia Musshurá, President of Embrapa, explained that the program will also help identify gaps and guide research. “We will use data and indicators to monitor these value chains and support rural producers and local communities, providing information to improve production systems. We can be part of the solution to climate change,” she said.
The ceremony also featured the participation of Brazil’s Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira; Minister of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise, and Small Business, Márcio França; and Secretary for Bioeconomy at the Ministry of the Environment, Carina Pimenta.
Actions and Expected Results
Structured by Sebrae, in partnership with the MDIC, the program aims to improve management, increase productivity, expand markets, and incorporate technologies that strengthen the Amazon bioeconomy. Planned actions include consultancy services, training, technical assistance, rural extension, and the acquisition of machinery to reduce the hardship of extractivist labor and add value to products.
Expected outcomes include higher productivity, increased value-added products, revenue growth, expansion of cooperative membership, waste reduction and reuse, and higher income for beneficiaries. The initiative strengthens business models that preserve the forest and provide economic alternatives to deforestation.
The strategy also includes the creation of a Territorial Business Office to support cooperatives in commercial expansion, brand strengthening, and market access. Local Innovation Agents for Cooperatives (ALICoop), sponsored by Sebrae, will monitor technological and managerial improvements. Furthermore, the project will incorporate Embrapa’s survey of machinery and equipment suited to sociobiodiversity value chains, expanding the sector’s mechanization potential.
Amazon Fund
Created in 2008, the Amazon Fund is Brazil’s main international cooperation mechanism for climate action, combining forest protection, sustainable development, and improved quality of life in the Legal Amazon. After the resumption of donations in 2023, the number of donors increased from three to nine, including the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Since its inception, the Fund has benefited approximately 260,000 people, supported 144 projects, and strengthened more than 600 community organizations, reaching 75% of municipalities in the Legal Amazon Region. Its resources finance activities such as deforestation prevention, bioeconomy, sustainable value chains, protection of Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities, as well as monitoring, research, and environmental innovation.
Coordinated by the MMA and implemented by the BNDES, the Fund contributes directly to Brazil’s climate targets, the Paris Agreement, and the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm).
