• Sep 05, 2024

Soy grown illegally on Brazil's tribal lands finds its way to global markets

Farm cooperatives in Brazil that supply some of the world's biggest multinational agricultural firms are buying soybeans grown illegally on Indigenous reservations in the country, according to tribal leaders and court records, despite the companies' public pledges to respect the land rights and resources of Indigenous peoples. The expansion of commercial farming onto Indigenous lands, which make up about 13% of Brazil's territory, has stirred division and violent conflicts in scores of communities, according to the federal police, the Catholic Church's Indigenous Missionary Council and the Brazilian government agency overseeing Indigenous affairs, FUNAI. Brazil's constitution set aside lands for the exclusive use of Indigenous communities while a 1973 law outlaws renting these lands or forming partnerships to grow commercial crops.