As a leader in agriculture, food and nutrition, we are keenly aware that the strength of the global food system depends on the health of the world’s natural resources and farming communities. That is why we have committed to ending deforestation in our cocoa supply chain to help mitigate climate change and reduce habitat loss. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, but it faces significant threats such as agricultural expansion. In the last ten years, this expansion accounted for half of all deforestation in tropical areas worldwide. It is also a region that has excellent conditions for cocoa. Our partnership with The Nature Conservancy in Brazil is engaging diverse stakeholders to reverse deforestation trends in the Amazon. At the same time, we are promoting a sustainable rural economy through agroforestry with cocoa on degraded or unproductive pasturelands. Through a three-year partnership, we are replanting areas of land that have been cleared of forest, as well as growing 1,000 hectares of cocoa using the forest canopy as shade protection. Farmers are able to expand cocoa production and become compliant with the Forest Code without having to give up the economic potential of their farm. To date, 100 farmers have been trained in Good Agricultural Practices and have had their farms mapped. 500 hectares of land have also been planted with cocoa and native forest. By 2020, we plan to reach 2,500 farmers in Brazil...500 hectares of land has been planted with cocoa and native forest...2,500 farmers will be reached by 2020...“Currently, 100 families are engaged in the Forest Cocoa project and 500 hectares have been planted with agroforestry cocoa. This highlights the opportunity to expand our efforts to more than 2,500 families by 2020 if we can establish inter-institutional arrangements with the private sector, public agencies and cocoa producers. Cargill's support has been instrumental to the success of the project." [said] Rodrigo Mauro Freire is Forest Cocoa Project Manager at the Nature Conservancy Council in Brazil.