Cametá, located in the state of Pará along the banks of the Tocantins River, has a history spanning nearly 390 years. The city is known for hosting what is often called the “largest carnival in the Amazon”, a tradition that for more than 150 years has brought people together from across the region. During the annual water carnival, boats fill the river in a long-standing cultural celebration that transforms one of the Amazon’s most iconic waterways into a vibrant gathering space.
Many of the families who help preserve this important cultural tradition also play a central role in the local economy through açaí production. However, working far from major Amazonian urban centers such as Belém presents significant challenges. Limited access to financial services, credit, and technical support can make it difficult for these families to invest in long-term, sustainable production. In regions where açaí harvesting is deeply tied to both income and cultural identity, expanding access to inclusive financial tools is essential.
Cametá contributes an estimated 8% of Brazil’s national açaí production, approximately 422,700 tons annually, making it the second-largest producer in the country after Igarapé-Miri, also in Pará. Without mechanisms that support sustainability and economic resilience, extractive families face increasing pressure, threatening both their livelihoods and the forest resources they depend on. This challenge is not unique to Cametá, but reflects broader realities across many parts of the Amazon.
To help address these gaps,Banco do Brasil launched the Bioeconomy Financial Hubin 2024, designed to expand financial inclusion and promote sustainable economic development among rural, forest-based, and traditional communities. Since its launch, the initiative has expanded beyond its original base in Belém, with additional units established in Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, increasing the hub’s reach into remote areas of the Amazon.
Beyond the Amazon region, Banco do Brasil has also implemented Bioeconomy Financial Hub units in other parts of the country. These include Ilhéus, in the state of Bahia, where the focus is on strengthening the cacao value chain, as well as Cuiabá, in Mato Grosso, and Montes Claros, in northern Minas Gerais. In these regions, the hubs support the development of products native to the Cerrado biome, such as pequi and baru nuts, demonstrating how the model can be adapted to different landscapes and production systems while maintaining a strong sustainability focus.
In Cametá, the Bioeconomy Financial Hub has supported approximately 200 extractivist families involved in sustainable açaí management, many of whom had no previous banking history. Through a human-centered, inclusive approach, the hub’s team has helped families open bank accounts and structure operations through the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (Pronaf), enabling access to credit and strengthening local production. Beyond financing, this process has helped make visible traditional populations that were previously excluded from the formal financial system, consolidating an innovative and replicable model of sustainable development.
“Our work helps strengthen the açaí supply chain based on sustainable practices, and this allows us to create a unique model that can be replicated in other Amazonian communities,” says Ana Claudia Melo, project manager at Banco do Brasil’s Bioeconomy Financial Hub who has been involved in the initiative since its implementation and regularly visits participating families.
Pronaf represents a unique opportunity for family farmers, as it guarantees access to credit with reduced interest rates and special conditions, allowing investments in production, infrastructure, machinery, inputs, and technology. In addition to facilitating financing, the program promotes social inclusion and values family farming as a fundamental element for food security and local economic development.
Another important aspect is the encouragement of sustainability, since many Pronaf credit lines incentivize agroecological and environmentally responsible practices. With this support, farmers reduce their vulnerability, become less dependent on intermediaries, and are better prepared to face climatic or economic crises. Finally, the program contributes to income generation, the permanence of families in the countryside, and the strengthening of rural communities, consolidating itself as an essential instrument for regional development and for improving the quality of life in rural areas. For extractive families, such as those in Cametá, receiving this credit contributes to keeping the forest standing, valuing sustainable practices, and supporting ethno-development.
In less than two years of operation, the Bioeconomy Financial Hub has facilitated millions of reais in rural credit, contributing to improved açaí production and expanded financial access for families who were previously outside the banking system. Strengthening financial inclusion in this way plays an important role in long-term sustainability, allowing producers to invest with confidence and plan for the future.
Low-Carbon Agriculture in the Amazon and Why it Matters
Supporting extractivist families in Cametá is part of Banco do Brasil’s broader strategy to promote Low-Carbon Agriculture (ABC) across the Legal Amazon. This approach focuses on improving land use and intensifying production through sustainable practices such as crop-livestock-forestry integration, no-till farming, organic agriculture, agroforestry systems, and forest restoration initiatives that help sequester carbon and restore biodiversity.
By offering credit aligned with sustainable value chains, including açaí, cacao, nuts, and coffee, the Bioeconomy Financial Hub helps reduce deforestation, encourage responsible land management, and support agricultural systems with lower greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts combine financing, technology, social inclusion, and environmental conservation to create a virtuous cycle that supports rural livelihoods while keeping more forest standing.
Progress in Cametá is not measured only in credit volumes or project numbers, but in the growing range of choices available to families whose work is essential to the forest’s future. As more communities gain access to financial tools designed for their landscapes and livelihoods, the region’s path toward sustainability becomes more secure. The Amazon’s story is best written by the people who understand its needs most deeply. By expanding financial access in ways that support low-carbon, sustainable production, the Bioeconomy Financial Hub is helping ensure those voices continue to shape the future with confidence.