Benzinga | Jun 30, 2021 04:31PM EDT

Elanco Foundation Announces Partnership with the JBS Fund

Today,the Elanco Foundation announces a partnership with the JBS Fund for the Amazon (The Fund) to jointly support the RestaurAmaz?nia Project, which promotes sustainable farming and environmental conservation in the Amazon. Over the next three years, the Elanco Foundation will provide $450,000 to Solidaridad Network, the international civil society organization managing the project. Funds will support an initiative that combines cocoa cultivation with cattle raising in the State of Par? in Brazil to increase the income of rural farm families, preserve forest areas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The Elanco Foundation is committed to advancing the sustainable growth of communities around the world and we are proud to partner with the JBS Fund on the RestaurAmaz?nia Project," says Kristin Bloink, chairperson of the Elanco Foundation. "The project aligns well with our efforts to promote sustainable farming and environmental conservation and supporting the health and well-being of one of the most important biomes on the planet and its inhabitants."

The Fund, which was created last year by JBS - the second-largest food company in the world - is committed to the preservation of the forest and sustainable development in the region and improving the income and quality of life for the communities in the biome.

"The support of institutions such as the Elanco Foundation helps to strengthen initiatives in the Amazon that contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of the biome", says Joanita Maestri Karoleski, president of the JBS Fund for the Amazon. "Following the commitment announced in 2020, JBS will double our partner's contribution, which will certainly help the program gain even more scale in the region."

Based on the results and findings gained from the pilot project, the overarching goals of this initiative are to:

* Increase livestock production by 22%

* Increase cocoa production by 40%

* Preserve over 30,000 hectares of forest (a 50% improvement in current deforestation rates)

* Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53%; and

* Increase rural farm income by 30%