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Partnerships and Agreements

With its 3,000 hectares in the high sertão of Paraíba, its dams and undulating topography covered with native vegetation (the caatinga), with hills and typical stone outcrops, its PNHR with more than 300 hectares that joins the Legal Reserve areas, which receive total fauna and flora protection since 1977, and the fact that it has been farmed under the biodynamic system since 2000, the Tamanduá Farm has become an unique area to develop partnerships and agreements in the field of environmental preservation and sustainable agriculture in the semi- arid.

This is how we entered into the following partnerships and agreements:

Como a RPPN da Fazenda Tamanduá contribui com a biodiversidade da Caatinga?

Dr. Pierre Landolt conversa com os Biólogos Paulo de Barros e Thais Lira sobre a importância da RPPN, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural, para os estudos do bioma da Caatinga, e a contribuição na manutenção da vida de mais de 300 espécies catalogadas por lá e que resultaram no livro Fauna Ilustrada da Caatinga.

NORDESTA Reflorestatiton et Éducation

A recent and very original partnership was established between the Tamanduá Farm Institute and NORDESTA Reforestation et Éducation. A Swiss NGO founded in 1985, based in Geneva, its action is located in the Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve, covering an area of 50km2 located in Brazil between the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco. Covering a biome formed mainly by the Atlantic Forest, its founder, Anita Studer, a biologist, decided to undertake a titanic and highly commendable job in this region. This includes reforestation, which prevents erosion in addition to allowing the recovery of drainage basins that suffered from excessive deforestation, in addition to creating jobs in native tree nurseries. Another aspect is the raising of honeybees, native bees, but also of conventional beekeeping, guaranteeing the pollination of the reserve and the income of the residents in the surroundings.

The preservation of fauna and flora, in an area of very rich biodiversity, involves special projects, such as the endangered hyacinth macaw. Environmental education makes the residents and young people in the region aware of the need to preserve their environment to ensure a better and healthier life. Finally, to support her work in the field, Anita managed to produce and edit an exceptional book called “Biodiversidade da Reserva Biológica de Pedra Talhada, Alagoas, Pernambuco-Brasil," summing up the fauna and flora of the Reserve. Many of these actions are carried out by the Tamanduá Farm Institute, but in a different and complementary biome, that of the caatinga in the semi-arid in the Northeast, and a collaboration seemed obvious. Anita and Pierre met and a win-win partnership was quickly established. In addition to an ample and permanent work of exchange of knowledge and experiences between the two entities, one of the first collaborative works was the reconstruction of the riparian forest in the sertão, which was destroyed mainly after the end of the cycle of the oiticica, Licania tomentosa. In fact, its fruit was harvested and transformed in oil used for various purposes, such as making soap, homemade medicine and replacement of synthetic oils in paintings, representing an interesting source of income. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic, the work is on stand-by, as well as the planned exchanges.

Interview: Arthur Navarro – IBAMA Superintendent

IBAMA

The IBAMA Superintendence in Paraíba has always followed up with the work of preserving fauna done at the Tamanduá Farm. They decided to sign an agreement authorizing and defining the construction of a large nursery aiming at the readaptation of birds apprehended to their environment before their release, as well as the use of the Farm to release mammals rescued from trafficking.

Superintendent Dr. Arthur Martins Marques Navarro personally paid tribute to this work by releasing birds, tortoises, and several mammals at the Farm. The inventory available in the book Fauna Ilustrada da Fazenda Tamanduá ensures the existence of these animals in the farm environment.

Interview: Capitã Thais Vilar - 3º Batalhão de Polícia Ambiental (PB)

MILITARY ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE

A Polícia Militar Ambiental de Patos desenvolve também um belo trabalho com a Fazenda e trazendo todos os animais apreendidos e soltos em seguida no seu ambiente. Já vieram veados, tamanduás, jabutis que voltaram felizes a natureza. Com o seu batalhão, a Tenente Thais não para este trabalho tão importante de orientação do público e apreensão dos animais.

Interview: Theonys Diógenes - Coordinator of the Veterinary Medicine course at UNIFIP

UNIFIP

The biodynamic livestock system developed at the Tamanduá Farm, with Swiss Brown dairy cattle, goat farming with mixed Boer and Alpine breeds, and sheep farming with Santa Inês and Dorper breeds, works very well, giving value to the products as helping the environment. The perfect adaptation of the Farm staff to the strict federal rules of MAPA and the Botucatu Biodynamic Institute ensure the quality of organic and biodynamic products.

Encouraged by the world view of the Coordinator of its Veterinary Course, Theonys Diógenes Freitas, UNIFIP (Patos University Center (PB)) decided to sign an Agreement with the Tamanduá Farm, located just 20 km from the city of Patos, to be a pioneer in teaching students the secrets of organic animal farming, with classes, courses and internships at the Farm.

The Farm may benefit from the support of UNIFIP professors and laboratories, with the possibility of developing specific research. In addition, some scholarships will be awarded to Farm employees.

UNIFESP

The Tamanduá Farm established a research partnership in the health sciences, through Dr. Anna Rafaela Cavalcante Braga, a professor who acts in the areas of Food Sciences, Bioproducts and Bioprocesses at UNIFESP (Federal University of São Paulo).

The Cooperation will focus on studies of bioactive compounds present in the biomass from spirulina as well as from other biodynamic products from the Tamanduá Farm, such as honey, propolis extract, milk derivatives, fruits and derivatives, colorful rice, collaborating for the development of bachelor, master’s and doctoral research studies. Thus, we bring value to our products through research.

EMBRAPA Meio Norte

Dr. José de Almeida Pereira, a specialist in colorful rice, has developed an exceptional work initially on red rice, also called “arroz da terra” or “arroz de Veneza,” which was the first variety of rice introduced in Brazil, in the 17th century, by the Portuguese. The cultivation of this historic rice was maintained over time, mainly in the countryside of the Northeast, in “rice lowlands,” in which water pools during the short rainy season, allowing a production cycle to be completed. Almeida decided to study the different varieties spread across the Northeast and make improvements to make the rice more precocious, productive and colorful.

Em 2011 a Fazenda Tamanduá participou de um trabalho de pesquisa de cerca de 40 variedades diferentes de arroz vermelho com manejo orgânico que resultou na ressurreição desta variedade original e esquecida.

With EMBRAPA, we are now resuming work with black rice, originally from India, a variety that we farmed with organic management and sold successfully. A new page of learning and exchanges of experience begins.

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Didier Jean

There is one person we cannot forget if we want to tell the story of the Tamanduá Farm: Didier Jean, a quiet person, but who played a very important role.

In 1976, I decided to buy a farm in the sertão of the Northeast to produce long-fiber cotton, following the guidelines of French IRCT researcher Jacques Boulanger, who worked at SUDENE in elaboration and genetic improvement, and was the father of C71.

I went to see up close what their production system was. They practiced the famous cattle/cotton binomial.

Passionate about growing cotton, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about cattle management and reproduction techniques.

My friend Didier Jean, a Parisian architect, thought this challenge was at the level of his abilities. He has a degree in “Conduite de troupeau,” artificial insemination, and did an internship at INRA, a French research organization like EMBRAPA, to learn the innovative technique of embryo transfer via cervical route, without surgical intervention.

I arrived from São Paulo at the Tamanduá Farm in April 1977, speaking Portuguese quite well, and started to organize things, mainly telling residents that we were going to abandon the “meia” system of pay and hire all as employees, giving them more financial security.

I started communicating with the Paraíba Agricultural Office, preparing the Tamanduá Farm to become a producer of selected C71seeds, which it was until 1984. It was a fruitful cooperation and it taught me a lot.

The dairy cattle on the Farm held a few dozen cows led by Araruta, Carapeta, Schwitinha, who left 15 calves behind, and the bull, Givanildo, of the Schwitz breed, who had suffered from foot-and-mouth disease and was quite ugly, but energetic and yielding reasonable offspring.

Didier arrived in July 1977, the savior of the herd, bringing ideal and updated knowledge to organize and resize our flock in an efficient and productive way. A great challenge that he took on with courage and determination.

We opted for the Brown Swiss breed, which was already well established in the Northeast, and artificial insemination, which could bring about a rapid improvement in animal quality.

The only problem was that he didn’t speak a word of Portuguese and even with the herdsmen who were very interested in his knowledge, it was not easy, at least initially.

Besides, I decided to leave for a while to try to convince Catherine, my future wife, to visit the Farm where I would be living from now on.

Didier was alone!

A long-time friend, completely trustworthy, we moved forward together in this beautiful adventure that is the Tamanduá Farm.

An important step was to value the milk, which until then was sold to milkmen from the city of Patos who came daily to collect it on motorcycles, with drums that were already filled with water or even small fish...

We set up the cheese-making business, with SIF, producing local cheeses, like curds, but also matured European cheeses, like Saint Paulin and Reblochon.

We performed the first embryo transfer via cervical route in Brazil.

We imported pregnant heifers from Switzerland.

We participate in fairs in Parnamirim and Recife, collecting awards, divulging our breed and selling our animals.

At the end of the cotton cycle, we decided to implant the irrigated mango fields.

One of the exceptional strengths that Didier possessed was his calm nature. Because he had a certain visibility in the region and was a foreigner, all inspections and verifications landed here, and a lot of time was lost explaining and demonstrating our good faith. Didier, who said he was “inemmerdable,” withstood the pressure with tranquility.

Thanks to his presence, Catherine and I had the opportunity to see our 3 children grow up, initially on the Farm with French National Education courses, also sailing around the world. Then, at boarding schools and universities in Europe, always leaving with no worries, knowing that the Tamanduá Farm was in good hands.

Slowly, the Farm became more and more structured, and Didier and I grew old... Our super-active roles waned, and we went on to supervision and strategy.

Didier moved away, went to the coast, close to the sea that he loves, and I went back to Europe, to be closer to family, but our hearts still beat for the Tamanduá Farm and its history.

Thank you so much, Didier!

Text by: Pierre Landolt