Sustainable Development in the Amazon: Sambazon

The government of Brazil has recently announced that the rate at which the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed has increased. In recent years there had been a decline in the deforestation of the Amazon, which was widely viewed as a hopeful sign. The recent increase in world soybean prices has led to a renewed pressure for deforestation as soybean producers attempt to increase their planted area in soybeans. Soybean prices have gone up because of US farmers switching land previously planted in soybeans to the production of corn. This change is due to the rising prices of corn in the US because of the demand for corn as a feedstock for the production of ethanol. It is widely known that ethanol from corn is more costly than ethanol from sugar produced in Brazil, but the US government has placed restrictions on the import of Brazilian ethanol in order to favor US agribusiness. Here is an example of how US agricultural protectionism leads to increased pressure for the deforestation of the Amazon through the workings of the global corn and soybean markets.

The Sambazon case in the linked file presents a different scenario. Sambazon is a small business based on the exportation of a fruit which occurs naturally in the Amazon. The acai fruit from the Amazon is marketed as juice, pulp, and smoothies to health conscious consumers in the United States. The fruit of the acai palm, which is extremely high in antioxidents, has become increasingly popular in the US, where it was largely unknown before the marketing efforts of the Sambazon company which began at the turn of the 21st Century. This is an example of export based entrepreneurship which contributes to the sustainable development of the Amazon rainforest which contributes to improving the lives of the indigenous rainforest inhabitants.