Selected Topic

Promoting sustainable production and food sovereignty, Supporting resilient and sustainable supply chains, Strengthening vulnerable groups.

Project Description

As part of the Innovation and Transformation Dialogue (ITD) of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH has been conducting a project on duckweed since the summer of 2023, the “Innovation Dialogue on the Introduction of Duckweed as an Ecological and Plant-Based Protein Alternative in Brazil”.

The background is that the globally dominant cultivation and production methods for obtaining animal and plant protein are not sustainable. This is no different in Brazil. The cultivation of commodities such as soy, for example, has led to severe deforestation in the past. Although not the main culprits, small and medium-sized peasant farms are particularly affected by these developments as a vulnerable group and increasingly have to abandon their farms and migrate.

Duckweed is a protein-rich plant that has been used for thousands of years, mainly for feeding livestock. Over time, it was pushed back by soy. It was only a few years ago that it was rediscovered by researchers as a supplement to soy feed. As a relatively undemanding plant, e.g., with regard to location, it is ideally suited for smallholder production, even in non-agricultural favourable locations that are already strongly affected by climate change. It can provide an alternative source of income for smallholder farmers in these areas.

IAK is piloting the project in the north-east of Brazil in cooperation with the Pernambuco Agricultural Research Institute (IPA), the University of Serra Talhada, the local municipality of Mirandiba and numerous small and medium-sized agricultural producers and farmers. The aim of local investments is to ensure that the entire value chain is in the hands of small and medium-sized farmers. The economy takes place on a comparatively small spatial scale and is thus more sustainable and resilient to global externalities.

About the Institution

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (IAK), headquartered in Leipzig, is an independent agricultural consultancy that has been active in international cooperation and private sector consultancy in Germany and abroad for over 40 years. Its clients in international cooperation include, e.g. BMEL, GIZ, EU and World Bank. Also, IAK works for private clients and for organisations, associations, municipalities and administrations. International cooperation focuses on creating better livelihoods for all through sustainable agricultural and food systems. Other focal points of the IAK’s wide-ranging projects include agricultural policy, food security, biodiversity, bioeconomy, organic farming, agriculture and climate change, digitalisation, rural development, agricultural trade, agricultural skills development and gender equality in the agricultural and food sector. We support small and medium-sized farms and enterprises, service providers and cooperatives in agricultural and food systems along the entire value chain in their sustainable development and transformation. We follow a holistic approach to sustainability, which focuses on three areas:

Economics – to maintain an economically viable business model
Ecology – in particular to adapt to climate change and achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets
Social – to create attractive and fair working conditions.

This also includes advising various institutions from politics and administration and organising knowledge transfer platforms.

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH: https://www.iakleipzig.de/leistungen/internationale-zusammenarbeit
APD-Brasil: https://de.apdbrasil.de/

Contact Person: Syman Jurk