Montes del Plata and the Tiatucura group of the Tres Árboles area (located northeast of the Río Negro department) signed an agreement for producers to let their cattle graze on one of the company`s properties. The agreement is set in the context of the Productive Integration Program (PIP) that promotes the coexistence of forestry alongside agricultural and livestock activities.

Agro-forestry and Management System Deputy Manager Ralph Schmidt-Liermann explained that the agreement was possible thanks to the company`s interest in being in contact with the communities where it operates. "Being aware of the area`s realities enabled us to detect the needs of the Tiatucura producer group," said Schmidt-Liermann. It was then detected that the producers could be provided with a solution that meets PIP guidelines and work was performed to establish the agreement, he added. 

The Tiatucura group is made up of eight local rural workers who needed more land to complete the livestock cycle. Once the agreement is signed, the producers will be able to use one of Montes del Plata`s territories for rearing their livestock.

"We are a group of cattle raisers in need of land and this program ensures that we can continue producing," stated Ifraín Méndez of the Tiatucura group. Before forming the group, the producers raised their livestock on the side of the road or on their employer`s properties. In 2007 they created the Tiatucura group and later in 2009 the National Colonization Institute granted them a piece of property, yet its size did not allow for the completion of the productive cycle.

Corina Valdez, Regional Administrative Head for the Tacuarembó branch of the National Colonization Institute, said the organization aims to tend to the needs of small scale producers and these agreements remedy the Institute`s lack of available fields. She also noted that there is a growing trend in the Institute to grant properties to groups and that these agreements strengthen these groups. Likewise, Valdez noted that the Montes del Plata agreement enables residents to carry out their productive activity close to their homes and places of work. "It`s very important that people remain in the area," she said.