Spring 11 MASTER.indd - Thunderbird Magazine

iofuel revolution
of Italian immigrants who manages São Francisco
Mill near Ribeirão Preto.
Balbo took control of the family sugar plantation
in the early 1990s and quickly shook things
up. Instead of growing with pesticides and fertilizers,
he adopted organic farming methods.
Instead of crop burning, he invested in expensive
machinery that could handle the thick undergrowth.
And instead of laying off workers, he
retrained them for new jobs.
Family stakeholders and industry observers
thought Balbo was crazy, but he persevered.
“I was a kid who used to chase birds and go
fishing in the rivers,” Balbo says. “That love of
nature has stuck with me since the beginning.”
When he started working on the family plantation,
he saw the environmental damage from
the chemicals and the burning. He searched for
more sustainable solutions and then quietly began
winning converts to his ideas.
“I started changing small things and then bigger
things,” Balbo says. “Whoever wants to conquer
the world should start with a tennis ball.”
Balbo acknowledges he did not know what
would happen when he switched to organic
farming. He literally bet the family business on
one idea: “Whatever you give to the Earth, she
will repay you.”
Production dropped 10 percent in the 1990s,
and Balbo spent many restless nights worrying
about the consequences. Then things began to
change. The soil healed, wildlife returned, and
sugarcane yields started climbing to new highs.
“Suddenly the system we implemented started
bringing back results,” Balbo says. “Now we
have lots of studies proving that in all respects
— environmental and economic — this kind of
production is much better than conventional.”
The same people who called Balbo crazy now
call him visionary.
“I am most proud that my uncles and father
were humble enough to allow the second generation
of the company to promote this change,”
Balbo says.
His eyes light up as he shares the story with
his Thunderbird guests, as they visit his plantation
Jan. 11, 2011. His PowerPoint presentation
includes dozens of his own photographs, and
Balbo describes each one with the fervor of a
preacher delivering a sermon.
“I have more slides if you want to stay longer,”
he tells the students after nearly two hours.
Several days later, when Zerio gathers his students
together one final time in their hotel lobby
in Rio de Janeiro, the group describes the São
Francisco Mill visit as a course highlight. Zerio
agrees. “That was outstanding,” he says. “You
saw the future of the industry.”
Many questions remain as Brazil’s biofuel experiment
reaches maturity. Barriers to international
trade largely keep Brazilian ethanol out
of the United States and other markets, but the
potential for growth is immense. Competition
from Petrobras and other oil companies will
add pressure as Brazil taps into newfound oil reserves.
And growth in developing countries will
create uncertainty in global commodity markets.
“Brazil’s ethanol program has had major ups
and downs,” Zerio says. “But over time the program
has been consolidated. Today it practically
has transformed the country, and the future
looks good.”
“Whatever
you give
to the
Earth, she
will repay
you.”
A worker leaves the São Francisco Mill on
Jan. 11, 2011, near Ribeirão Preto. The plantation,
operated by Grupo Balbo, grows sugarcane without
pesticides and other chemicals.
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