Project strengthens water security in Patrocínio, Brazil

Cerrado das Águas approves strategic project for water security in Patrocínio-MG.

The Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA) project will be managed by Axia Energia and aims to revitalize the hydro-environment of the Feio stream basin, which is responsible for 100% of the water supply in Patrocínio, Minas Gerais.

By Cerrado das Águas

Patrocínio-MG, February 24, 2026. The Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA) approved, via the Ministry of the Environment, the project “Hydro-Environmental Revitalization and Agroecological Transition of the Feio Stream Basin,” a strategic initiative for the consolidation of the “Regenerative Landscape of the Cerrado Mineiro” corridor, with a total investment of R$ 11,474,430.00 planned for four years. The project is vital to ensure water security in Patrocínio, Brazil's largest coffee-producing municipality, whose urban area depends entirely on the supply from this basin to serve its more than 90,000 inhabitants.

The project design was the result of a strategic partnership between the Cerrado das Águas Consortium and Alfa Consultoria, represented by Albano Araújo. The proposal was developed with the support of biologist Érika Dhaiane Ferreira, who, with her knowledge of the Feio stream, provided crucial technical data for structuring the action plan in the basin. 

Approval was driven by CCA's track record in Córrego Feio since 2019, through the Conscious Producer Investment Program (PIPC) methodology, and by the relationship of trust built with producers in the region. “Through the PIPC, we support producers in the transition to regenerative agriculture, to improve natural resource management and soil care,” says Fabiane Sebaio, Executive Secretary of the Cerrado Consortium.

The central focus remains on water security and climate resilience in the Cerrado Mineiro territory, a region comprising 55 municipalities. The Strategic Plan to make the Cerrado Mineiro Region resilient to climate change is designed in a pre-competitive environment within a collaborative CCA platform, which brings together leading companies and institutions in the coffee production chain. In this space, member organizations engage in dialogue and outline the best guidelines to ensure water availability for both agricultural production and the population's supply. For this reason, the participation of an energy company such as Axia Energia in this movement to build the corridors of the “Regenerative Landscape of the Cerrado Mineiro” represents a significant advance in strengthening local ecosystem services. 

The proposal, already published in official channels, is under the management of Axia Energia. Cerrado das Águas continues to monitor the process, emphasizing that the effectiveness of implementation depends directly on alignment with the social capital and technical history already established in the basin. The partnership is timely, because while Axia plans to generate energy based on the water availability of the Feio Stream, the success of this operation is intrinsically linked to the continuity of conservation work with producers, where CCA already has a consolidated relationship. The expectation is that the executor will integrate with the platform's governance model, understanding that joint construction is the only way to ensure collective benefit, the sustainability of agricultural production, and energy generation. 

Goals and Impacts

The initiative provides for actions on more than 1,600 hectares, covering strategic areas such as riparian forests, springs, floodplains, wetlands, aquifer recharge zones, and consolidated productive areas. Among the main actions are: restoration of approximately 500 hectares of native vegetation; implementation of soil conservation practices on more than 1,000 hectares; regenerative transition on 100 hectares considered a priority for water resource protection; and installation of hydrometeorological stations and multiparametric probes to monitor water quality during the four years of implementation.

Results that strengthen the initiative

One of the project's distinguishing features is the high level of local engagement already consolidated by Cerrado das Águas. Since 2019, Cerrado das Águas has been operating in the basin through the PIPC - Conscious Producer Investment Program, which already monitors more than 4,046 hectares in transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture practices within the Cerrado Mineiro region. “By 2030, we aim to reach 20,000 hectares of crops in transition to regenerative agriculture. This program integrates soil conservation, water management, vegetation cover, and production efficiency,” says Fabiane.

Currently, the CCA is composed of 16 companies and institutions in the coffee chain, members who together devise strategies to address climate challenges in our territory. In 2025, the Consortium acted directly on 204 rural properties, distributed across four priority watersheds: Feio stream in Patrocínio, Ribeirão Grande in Serra do Salitre, Santo Inácio river in Coromandel, and Araras stream in Araguari, expanding its territorial scale and collective impact since the beginning of its activities. On the ecological restoration front, the CCA reached the milestone of 200 hectares in the process of restoration, with the planting of native species in Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves, strengthening essential ecosystem services, especially infiltration and water regulation.

“This important project demonstrates the know-how and technical expertise acquired by CCA. Our work in the Landscape, within a pre-competitive environment, makes us a benchmark in the development and implementation of important projects for Brazil. The Feio stream has a very special symbolism, as it was where it all began, and we continue to improve thanks to the engagement of our members, teams, and partner institutions that align with this purpose," says Marcelo Urtado, president of CCA.

By joining forces with CCA, Axia Energia reinforces its commitment to the revitalization of strategic watersheds, with a focus on water security, environmental conservation, and tackling climate change. The initiative contributes directly to the natural regulation of water flows, improving water quality, reducing conflicts over water use, and ensuring multiple uses of water, including human supply, agricultural production, and preservation of ecosystems and natural resources. The Hydro-Environmental Revitalization and Agroecological Transition Program of the Feio Stream Basin represents a replicable model of integrated water management at the landscape scale, showing that it is possible to combine conservation, production, and sustainable territorial development in the Cerrado Mineiro.

About Cerrado das Águas

The Cerrado das Águas Consortium is a collaborative platform that includes various sectors, such as companies, government, and civil society. The CCA is an initiative of the coffee production chain that seeks to build water resilience in the Cerrado Mineiro region through strategies that promote better land use, ensuring the continuity of coffee production in the region and mitigating the impact of climate change.

Through the Conscious Producer Investment Program (PIPC), the CCA team guides, supports, and encourages producers to implement strategies for the provision of ecosystem services, with a focus on improving the supply of water resources to all producers whose properties are adjacent to a given basin, making the region resilient to climate change. As a result, the CCA has 202 hectares of conserved native vegetation, 4,000 hectares of agricultural land in transition to regenerative agriculture, and 150,000 people benefiting from the program.  

The initiative's associate members include the following companies: Nescafé, Expocaccer, Nespresso, Lavazza, Cooxupé, Cofco International, Volcafe, NKG Stockler, Daterra, Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, CerVivo, Starbucks Farmer Support Center, JDE Peet's, EISA, X-Farm, and the Ernesto Illy Foundation. In addition, the platform has key partners such as the Municipal Government of Serra do Salitre and the Municipal Government of Coromandel.