Embrapa Rondônia announced today the launch of the first benchmarking system for the Brazil nut chain in the Amazon. The project, selected among 221 proposals, will standardize efficiency indicators across industrial processors in Pará, Amazonas, Rondônia and Mato Grosso.
The initiative aims to collect confidential operational data from six partner beneficiadoras and produce anonymized comparisons to guide technical improvements and public policy. Researchers say the system will boost competitiveness, increase value-added and support a sustainable bioeconomy based on robust evidence.
Six Processors Will Share Confidential Data Under LGPD Protection
Six beneficiadoras from Pará, Amazonas, Rondônia and Mato Grosso agreed to provide operational data under confidentiality and Brazil’s LGPD protection. Each company will receive individualized analyses and improvement plans based on their performance.
Project coordinators emphasized that data will be anonymized and aggregated before sectoral use to protect business interests and comply with privacy rules. The approach aims to balance transparency for benchmarking with legal safeguards for participating firms.
The involvement of these six partners will allow the team to test indicators in real industrial settings, identify bottlenecks, and calibrate benchmarks before broader rollout. Success with the initial group may encourage further participation across the region.
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Project Chosen Among 221 Proposals and Funded by ICS and Bezos Earth Fund
The research project was one of six winners in the “Sustainable Economy in the Amazon” call promoted by the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS) with the Bezos Earth Fund. Organizers received 221 submissions from regional scientific institutions.
Selection in this competitive edital highlights the perceived urgency of building metrics for the sociobiodiversity sector. Funding from iCS and the Bezos Earth Fund will support data collection, analysis, training, and platform development.
Researchers expect the resources to enable rigorous statistical validation and the construction of a secure comparative platform accessible to partners. The financial backing also signals international interest in Amazon bioeconomy solutions.
Three Axes: Operational Efficiency, Public Policy, and Local Capacity Building
The project is structured around three complementary axes: efficiency operational metrics, policies and governance mapping, and formation of local competencies. Each axis will receive targeted activities, data collection, and stakeholder engagement.
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Operational efficiency will gather standardized industrial indicators, while the policy axis will map regulatory frameworks and investment opportunities for the sector. The training axis will support local human capital through scholarships and technical courses.
Coordinators argue that simultaneous work on these fronts is essential to translate benchmark evidence into financing programs, industrial upgrades, and long-term incentives that preserve standing forest resources.
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Key Indicators Include Cut Rate, Production Yield and Broken-kernel Percentage
The benchmarking system will develop standard indicators such as raw material cut rate, production yield and percentage of broken kernels during processing. These metrics will allow apples-to-apples comparisons among processors.
Researchers noted that the lack of uniform indicators currently hampers productivity gains and encourages competition based solely on price. Reliable metrics are intended to reveal inefficiencies and inform targeted technical improvements.
By tracking these indicators, companies can prioritize investments in machinery, process flow, or personnel training to increase yield and reduce kernel breakage, raising both quality and market value.
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Will Validate Additional Sustainability and Cost Metrics
The team will apply the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to select and validate supplementary performance indicators that integrate environmental sustainability, production costs and product quality. AHP will ensure transparent weighting and prioritization of metrics.
Using AHP allows researchers to combine technical criteria with stakeholder preferences to build a balanced indicator set. The method also supports sensitivity analysis to test how different weightings affect benchmark outcomes.
Validated indicators will feed into a statistical environment for consistency checks and then populate a comparative platform used by partners to track progress and design interventions.
Platform Will Deliver Anonymized Sectoral Recommendations and Partner-specific Plans
Data will be processed in a secure statistical environment and published on a limited-access comparative platform for project partners. Aggregated results will underpin recommendations for the sector and inform policymakers.
Each participating beneficiadora will obtain tailor-made improvement plans based on their benchmark position and identified bottlenecks. The platform will not publish firm-level identifiers, preserving confidentiality.
Aggregated indicators are expected to guide public investment programs, credit offers and technical assistance schemes, aligning incentives to increase value added while maintaining forest resources.
Network of Institutions Includes Embrapa, Universities and Export Promotion Agencies
The project brings together a multi-institutional network led by Embrapa Rondônia plus Embrapa Instrumentação, Embrapa Meio Ambiente and Embrapa Acre. Academic partners include the Federal University of Rondônia and New York University.
Operational and market insertion partners such as the Center for Entrepreneurship of the Amazon (CEA) and ApexBrasil will support business development and internationalization efforts. Embrapii, Finep and Senai are among the institutions targeted for policy articulation.
Researchers expect the mix of technical, academic and commercial competencies to ensure methodological rigor, local capacity building and pathways to scale benchmarking to other sociobiodiversity chains like açaí and cupuaçu.
Training Program Will Fund Young Researchers and Aim to Replicate Methodology Regionally
The initiative includes scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students from the Amazon to build local expertise in industrial analysis and bioeconomy. The training component aims to create a cohort of analysts capable of sustaining and replicating the methodology.
Project leaders stressed that consolidating skills locally is critical for long-term adoption across other forest-based value chains. Scholarships and hands-on placements at participating beneficiadoras will embed practical competencies.
If successful, the training pipeline will enable replication of benchmarking protocols in additional commodities and strengthen regional research capacity to drive evidence-based policies for a sustainable Amazonian economy.
Edvânia Almeida. Formada em Ciências Contábeis e Pós-graduada em Gestão Financeira: Auditoria e Controladoria pela FGV. Pequena pecuarista e apaixonada pelo Agronegócio e Gestão Estratégica.
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