Eduardo Leão's presentation at the 'Driving change in the sugarcane sector: what can the rest of the world learn from Brazil' session at Bonsucro Global Week 2022

1. Eduardo Leão de Sousa
Executive Director
Training and
Requalifying our teams
RenovAção

2. Background:
Agro-environmental Protocol (June/2007)
End of pre-harvest
burning and mechanization
of harvesting;
Positive impacts: improvement of environmental
quality, decrease in pollutant and GHG emissions,
efficiency gains;
Preservation of riparian areas, better soil use practices, and decrease in the industries'
water consumption.

3. Change

4. The Response:
RenovAção
Project

5. Shared
coordination:
Partners:
(Federation of Rural Workers
of the State of São Paulo)
represented cane cutters of
the state.
(represents 130
mills)
SUGARCANE
MILLS

6. Two components: Courses related
to the sugarcane industry sector as well as to other
sectors of the economy.
Component 1: courses for the
sugar-energy sector :
 Tractor Driver
 Harvester Operator
 Automotive Maintenance Mechanic
 Truck Driver
 Automotive Maintenance Electrician
 Welder
 Industrial Electrician
 Boiler Room Worker
 Mechanical Fitter and Turner
Component 2:
courses demanded by the
communities :
• Bricklayer
• Painter
• Residential Electrician
• Cutting and Stitching
• Confectioner
• Manicurist
• Horticulture

7. Mechanical tractor course
First Welder gradueate class
BID visita – June, 2011 – Região Preto region
Eletrician tractor course

8. RenovAção
Project results:
As per study performed by UNICA, 81%
of the attendants of Component 1 were
immediately placed in the labour market.
As reported by the FERAESP, at least 50%
of the workers who attended the courses of
Component 2 have established their own
business and/or have gathered in a system
of cooperative. In addition, 20% of these
workers were placed in the labour market.
Average salaries
of the re-qualified
professionals
raised by 61%.
Multiplier Effect:
RenovAção’s model were
replicated in the mills and
inspired public sector
initiatives, such as the
Pronatec, a Federal Public
Program, coordinated by
the Ministry of Education
More than 200,000 workers
benefited
RenovAção re-qualified more than
10,000 rural workers and members of
the communities affected by the crop
mechanization process

9. Lessons Learned
 Identify individual potentialities: In Component I, many of the vacancies were appointed by
the mills, through a selection process, and based on individual skills and potentialities.
 Empower the communities: the offered courses in Component II were identified by the
communities, based on their needs, customs and traditions and local/regional
 In-depth, structured courses: to ensure employability (average: 300 hours/course)
 Gender balance: at least 25% of the vacancies were destined to women
 Basic instruction and safety at work: basic instruction (Portuguese and math) to balance out
differences between the “students”. and health and safety at work.
 Engage the supply chain: more commitment, more ideas, more resources

10. Iza Barbosa