Since soybean planting was introduced in the north of Tocantins state, the Kraho People and small producers in the region have been living tension and uncertainty. A region, renown for its sources of rivers that form one of Amazonia's three water basins, with a variety of fruit and wild animals, is being transformed into a real desert. Environmental impact studies warn that in a short time this region, one of the world's greatest biodiversity, could become inhospitable and has already caused serious problems for the Kraho People, who traditionally live from the collection of fruits, hunting and fishing.

The arrival of big producers from the south of Brazil and from other countries occurs at a frightening rate. Squatters and small agriculturists that have for more than 70 years used resources in a non-predatory manner are being pressured to abandon their rural life to live on the periphery of big cities so that they will no longer be victims of the pesticides and fertilizers used in soybean farming.

Through a video-denouncement, the Centre for Indigenous Work, small property owners, Kraho People and local associations want to bring to the public's attention the urgent necessity to place this issue under discussion. The continuance of small property owners in the areas surrounding the Kraho Territory is of extreme importance for the survival of the Kraho. It is these small producers that form a natural protective corridor and promote the use, management and extraction of natural resources in a responsible manner. Through development projects in the area, during years of joint work that are creating alternative economies and the generation of employment and income for indigenous persons and small producers, contributing to the conservation of that environment and for the construction of a new model of development.

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