Tome-Acu (Brazil), May 9 (Inditop.com/EFE) Setting up of palm-oil processing plants in Amazon will help reduce environmental damage and generate wealth for the region, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said.
“This is the start of a revolution in this region,” Lula said in a speech in Tome-Acu, a town in the northern state of Para.
Advocating plans to build palm-oil processing plants in the state, the president said it would help “reduce environmental pollution” and “generate wealth” in one of the country’s poorest regions.
Backed by the federal government and state-controlled energy giant Petrobras, the plan would require investment of 1.3 billion reais ($702 million) and encompass two different projects.
Under the first, 120,000 tonnes of palm-oil-based biofuel would be produced annually to supply Brazil’s northern region; the second would involve a partnership with Portuguese energy firm Galp to export a portion of that fuel to Europe.
Lula said that even though Brazil is one of the world’s leading palm-oil producers, it imports “almost half” of the oil its consumes.
The initiative would end the state’s dependence on the timber market, considered as the main culprit of Amazon deforestation, Lula said.
According to the Brazilian government, close to 2,000 Para farmers would benefit from the project, which is expected to create 7,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs.