*By Nikole Cantoara
Claúdio Aquino, owner of the Assurini Cacau enterprise, won the International Chocolate and Cocoa Festival – Chocolat Xingu 2025 competition in the cocoa or chocolate-derived drinks category. The farmer is supported by the Sustenta Inova project, funded by the European Union and coordinated by SEBRAE Pará, in partnership with IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute).
“It is with great joy and gratitude that I receive this first place award for my cocoa liqueur with cumaru. This recognition is of enormous value to me because it represents the result of work built up over many years,” says Claúdio.
Photo: IPAM
The event, which took place from June 26 to 29, was held in the town of Altamira (PA), one of the largest cocoa producers in the state and in the northern region. There were more than 190,000 visitors over the four days.
The event was organizedby the Altamira City Hall together with SEDAP (Secretary for Agricultural Development), and organized by MVU Empreendedorismo with the support of the Sustenta e Inova project.
Sustenta &Inovastand
The enterprises supported by Sustenta & Inova had the opportunity to exhibit and sell their goods at the initiative’s stand. The aim was to bring more visibility to the brands, attracting new clients and audiences, as well as expanding the network of contacts and prospecting for business. The beneficiaries Ozawa Chocolates, Frutuoso Chocolate, Fruto dos Deuses and Assurini Cacau took part in the Sustenta e Inova stand, as well as Coopaabam (Agroindustrial Cooperative of Farmers from Brasil Novo and Medicilândia), which sold liqueurs, chocolates and other cocoa products.
In addition, the beneficiaries of the project received training to exchange experiences, access new technologies, motivation and knowledge to improve the productivity of cocoa farming.
Handmade stamps
The festival was also the stage for the award of the Artisanal Seals of Plant Production, which certify that the products made by the farmers are produced with quality and are sanitary. The registration, granted by the State Government through Adepará (Pará’s Agricultural Defense Agency), counted on the partnership of IPAM, which took part in the table at the Cocoa Forum to hand out these seals.
Photos: IPAM
In total, four family-run agro-industries in the municipalities of Altamira and Brasil Novo received authorization to produce chocolate on their properties, a way of encouraging family farmers to remain in production and verticalize the product in the countryside.
“IPAM’s participation in the Cocoa Forum has reinforced the importance of valuing and giving visibility to agro-industrialization in the Transamazon and Xingu. This space has allowed us to present recent achievements, such as obtaining the artisanal plant production seals granted by Adepará, the fruit of a trajectory built on the ATER work carried out by IPAM in conjunction with partner institutions,” says Thaynara Veloso, a researcher at IPAM.
“Thanks to SEBRAE and IPAM, within the Sustenta e Inova project which discusses the permanence of family farming in the countryside together with technological innovation, we were able to win our seals, and that’s what we need. The performance of these roles, which give us a voice,” says Jiovana Lunelli, a farmer, owner of Cacau Xingu and a beneficiary of the Sustenta e Inova project.
Communications Intern*
