Aug 15, 2024
Green Ethanol Program Deemed Success in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In 2007, members of the sugarcane/ethanol sector in Brazil initiated a Green Ethanol program to improve the environmental practices associated with sugarcane production in the state of Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is the largest sugarcane producing state in Brazil responsible for approximately 60% of Brazil's production.
Members of the Union of Sugarcane & Bioenergy Industries (UNICA) and the Ministry of Agriculture for the state of So Paulo recently met at the 30th edition of the Fenasuero & Agrocana bioenergy conference in Sao Paulo to discuss the progress of the Green Ethanol program.
The main goal of the Green Ethanol program was the elimination of the use of fire during the pre-harvest of sugarcane. Traditionally, fire was used to burn off the dry leaves before the cane was cut by hand. This led to widespread pollution and respiratory problems for residents of Sao Paulo. The burning occurred during the annual dry season when there was an absence of rain that could flush out the pollutants in the atmosphere. The result was several months of a "blue haze" over much of the state.
UNICA worked with the state legislature to pass laws eliminating the use of fire by switching to mechanical harvesting, except for small landowners or terrane that was too hilly for mechanical harvesters. The program was successful and by 2021, virtually all the sugarcane in the state was harvested mechanically. The state government estimates that the elimination of fire reduced the level of pollution equivalent to that of 214,000 buses annually.
The Green Ethanol program also reduced water consumption for processing sugarcane by 52% compared to 2010/11. It also prompted the planting of 54 million native tree species and the preservation or restoration of 127,500 hectares of native forest.