Sustainable ambition in the heart of the Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is one of the world’s largest dry forests and an important carbon sink, spanning Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Despite its ecological value and role as home to Indigenous communities, it faces ongoing high rates of deforestation, with 13 million hectares lost in the past two decades.
On his 2,000-hectare farm in Santiago del Estero, farmer Juan Carlos Cotella is working to balance production and sustainability. He rotates soy and corn in the summer with wheat and chickpeas in the winter, guided by a framework that includes environmental, social, and business goals.
COFCO International works with producers like Mr Cotella to promote more sustainable practices across our supply chains. As a member of the Platform for the Sectorial Vision of the Argentine Gran Chaco (ViSeC), we support efforts to improve land-use planning and reduce environmental impact. This is part of our broader commitment—recently accelerated to 2025—to eliminate deforestation and conversion in our soy and corn supply chains across Latin America, with a focus on high-risk biomes such as the Chaco.
