00:00 Bright and yellow.
00:02 That's how the cocoa pot needs to look like so Izet Costa can harvest it.
00:11 This is of good quality. It is still a bit acidy though.
00:18 But once we ferment it, that acidity will go away.
00:26 Izet Costa has been growing cocoa for 40 years.
00:30 It's a self-made family business.
00:32 She invested her own resources in farming sustainably.
00:35 On her seven hectares here on the island of Cambu,
00:39 she follows the rules of agroforestry,
00:42 combining agriculture with the natural environment,
00:46 without chopping trees or chemical fertilizers,
00:49 and in sync with nature.
00:51 Political leaders in the Amazon regions want to boost sustainable bioeconomies
00:56 to protect the forest.
00:58 We need leaders to really sign an agrarian reform
01:06 so that small producers have access to microcredit,
01:13 which has incentives, such as help with machinery.
01:19 It's not to become a big industry, but small traditional industries.
01:25 Small industries like hers process everything themselves,
01:31 from the cocoa bean to a proper regional area of chocolate that Costa is proud of.
01:36 And an investment could also give nature some respite from mass exploitation
01:43 and help regenerate degraded areas.
01:47 20% of Brazil's Amazon rainforests have been affected by destruction
01:52 mainly due to agricultural activities.
01:55 And projects like this year close to Belém could show the way
01:59 to a more sustainable agriculture that at the same time
02:02 also provides income for local communities.
02:05 But as ever, keeping the balance is paramount.
02:08 The demand for products from the region, such as cocoa, is on the rise.
02:13 Increasing the risk of creating monoculture that further damages the forest.
02:18 Biologist Patrícia Pino therefore urges that the concept of bioeconomies,
02:23 in order to work, needs to strongly focus on local communities,
02:27 who are victims of the destruction of the Amazon region.
02:30 They want to have their territory demarcated, protected.
02:36 They want to have autonomy to the decisions that concern their territory.
02:44 They want their future generations, their kids, to be able to see
02:48 the same products or practices that they already have.
02:51 So I think that's something that we should be really keeping in mind.
02:55 They want their livelihoods to be maintained.
02:58 Therefore, it's quality over quantity.
03:01 That is also the way to go for Iset Costa.
03:04 A cocoa farmer who has long understood that the future of a healthy rainforest
03:09 is determining the future of mankind.
03:12 the future of mankind.
