CTA-Continental's agricultural production operates within ESG principles and requirements, aiming to obtain a quality product in compliance with the governance, social, environmental and agronomic pillars, as well as current legislation.
The company applies various strategies and techniques to its integrated farmer base, seeking to standardize technical guidelines, optimize data collection accuracy, conduct monitoring, and uphold continuous improvement actions.
An example of this is the technological improvements implemented in the agricultural production area, such as the use of electronic signatures in contracts with farmers, configuration of the ESG platform for collecting agricultural production data, and the development of the CulTivA app for CTA farmers in order to provide information, knowledge, guidance, and technical training.
Furthermore, in order to ensure adequate governance, monitoring, and effective measures at the production base, the company created an internal committee to evaluate strategies jointly with the Agricultural Sustainability Section. The company thus acts responsibly to furnish excellent products in compliance with current legislation and customer demands.
Governance management in agricultural production is strategic and extremely important for business success and continuity. The company thrives to ensure that contracted properties comply with current legislation and are aligned with social, environmental, and agronomic pillars, via monitoring and continuous improvement mechanisms.
The social pillar has been a hallmark of CTA-Continental since its foundation. The company is currently working on several strategic projects and campaigns with employees, integrated farmers, and the community.
CTA-Continental is committed to protecting the environment. The company supervises and acts whenever necessary through Biodiversity, Water and Soil plans, thus fully promoting conservation and environmental protection. Moreover, the company is committed to maintaining energy self-sufficiency in tobacco curing at the farm level, with firewood coming from legal, sustainable, and traceable sources.
With a technological package that includes approved and recommended crop inputs, management techniques and crop management adhering to good agricultural practices, the company provides customized service to the farmer base, with trust and respect. Each crop, field technicians undergo constant training to provide standardized technical assistance, valuing quality and excellence with contracted farmers.
The company uses internationally approved seeds. These are high-tech seeds without genetic modifications, which are characterized by high productivity, quality, and resistance to disease, enabling reduced usage of crop protection agents (CPAs). The float system is employed for seedling production, which is easy to manage, substantially reducing costs and CPA application.
During technical guidance on crop management, the company recommends soil protection and conservation techniques such as planting directly on straw, minimum tillage, soil cover, subsoiling and crop rotation, among others. Farmers are instructed to practice integrated pest management (IPM) and to use CPAs only when pest pressure exceeds the economic damage. The company is concerned with the protection and safety of growers and their families, providing all the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as well as training on CPA usage, handling, and application.
CTA-Continental's AgroTop project aims to monitor, analyze, and implement improvement opportunities identified in the social, environmental, and agronomic pillars to increase income and quality of life, in accordance with the Law.
Historically, CTA has developed projects that support the evolution of rural properties and farmers, positively impacting their lives and the local economies of their communities.
AgroTop, launched in 2022, expands this commitment by encouraging good agronomic, social, and environmental practices. Additionally, initiatives such as the Springs/Fountainheads Protection Project and reforestation directly benefit integrated farmers and their families, protecting the sustainability of their businesses and motivating them to remain in the field.
Check out what the 2023 Technical Field Week was like, where we disclosed the actions developed in the reference properties that receive the project and discussed the importance of good agronomic, social, and environmental practices.
The project is a groundbreaking initiative of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, financed by the “Fundo de Reconstituição de Bens Lesados” (Damaged Assets Reconstitution Fund) for the Rio Pardo River basin, to which CTA-Continental is a proud contributor.
The goal of the project is to regenerate riparian ecosystems and create green corridors, protect biodiversity, and improve the quality of life for the communities.
Planned events include monitoring activities and their impacts on water quantity and quality in the basin, training on soil conservation practices, crop diversification guidance for small properties, technical field days for integrated producers, their neighbors, and the rural community.
CTA joined the initiative promoted by Jornal Folha do Mate (local newspaper) and Rádio Terra FM (local radio station) in 2022.
The project intends to raise awareness by means of newspaper articles, radio content and advertisements on this topic. Among the main subjects covered by the project is raising awareness about the importance of recovering the springs that feed the Castelhano Stream.
The project carries out awareness-raising activities in schools, where it distributes the materials produced.
CTA-Continental, together with strategic partners, gave life to the Springs Preservation Project to recover, protect, and promote preservation of the springs feeding the Castelhano stream’s tributaries. These efforts reinforce CTA's corporate commitment to the sustainability of its production base and to the community, which will also benefit from the positive results of the initiative.
With the CulTivA App, the company aims to be even closer to its production base and provide more know-how and information to its integrated producers. With CulTivA, producers have quick access to technical and general information to increase their profits and improve life quality on their property. Through this tool, the company additionally provides quick access to various internal and external trainings that will help producers and their families develop professional qualifications. With this and other actions, the company acts responsibly and contributes to the continuous improvement of its production base, with emphasis on social, environmental, and agronomic pillars.
The project, in partnership with the University of Santa Cruz do Sul since 2015, involves biodiversity monitoring and analysis and environmental conditions on rural properties. The project covers 165 sites in the three southern states of Brazil.
The company is always looking to develop or evaluate potential technologies that can add value to its production base. To this end, the company is evaluating the efficiency of new sustainable energy sources, one of which is sustainable wood pellets. Among the benefits of this technology under evaluation, we can highlight better comfort, ergonomics and labor reduction during the tobacco curing and drying phases.
