6 Peculiarities of Rural Credit in the Amazon: New Research Shows Credit Restrictions and Extensive Land Use in Agriculture

The document identifies six peculiarities of rural credit in the Amazon, noting that credit is heavily skewed toward cattle production, which is closely linked to illegal deforestation. It highlights that producers in the Amazon have less access to credit than those in other Brazilian regions, face low competition due to the dominance of public banks (Banco do Brasil and Banco da Amazônia), and operate with a less business-oriented approach. The brief argues that aligning credit access with Forest Code compliance and utilizing initiatives like the Green Credit Bureau (Bureau Verde) are essential to reducing deforestation and increasing agricultural productivity.

• Rural credit in the Amazon is disproportionately directed toward cattle farming compared to the rest of Brazil; in the 2019/20 agricultural year, 57% of the credit volume in the Amazon biome was for cattle production, whereas only 32% was used for this activity elsewhere in the country.
• Producers in the Amazon face significant credit restrictions and underrepresentation in national credit statistics. While the region hosted 13% of all Brazilian rural producers in 2017, the value of rural credit operations in the biome's municipalities was only 7.2% of the national total in the 2016/17 agricultural year.
• Agricultural activities in the Amazon are less business-oriented than in other Brazilian regions, characterized by low investment in trade and industry. In the 2019/20 agricultural year, credit for companies in the biome accounted for only 4.8% of the region's total, compared to 26% in the rest of Brazil.
• The rural credit market in the Amazon suffers from low competition and a heavy reliance on public banks. Banco do Brasil and Banco da Amazônia were the primary credit sources for 78% of municipalities in the region during the 2019/20 agricultural year.
• Funding sources for rural credit in the Amazon have shifted; the Northern Constitutional Fund (FNO), which provided 49% of rural credit in the 2000/01 agricultural year, fell to 17% by 2019/20. Meanwhile, private investments via Agriculture Credit Notes (LCA) grew from 0.1% in 2014/15 to 12% in 2019/20.
• The National Program for Family Farming (PRONAF) is more prominent in the Amazon than the National Program to Support Medium-Sized Rural Producers (PRONAMP). In 2019/20, PRONAF operations accounted for 17% of total credit in the Amazon, while PRONAMP accounted for 10%.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). 6 Peculiarities of Rural Credit in the Amazon: New Research Shows Credit Restrictions and Extensive Land Use in Agriculture. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/6-peculiarities-of-rural-credit-in-the-amazon-new-research-shows-credit-restrictions-and-extensive-land-use-in-agriculture/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. 6 Peculiarities of Rural Credit in the Amazon: New Research Shows Credit Restrictions and Extensive Land Use in Agriculture. 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/6-peculiarities-of-rural-credit-in-the-amazon-new-research-shows-credit-restrictions-and-extensive-land-use-in-agriculture/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=6 Peculiarities of Rural Credit in the Amazon: New Research Shows Credit Restrictions and Extensive Land Use in Agriculture |date=3 May 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/6-peculiarities-of-rural-credit-in-the-amazon-new-research-shows-credit-restrictions-and-extensive-land-use-in-agriculture/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021peculiarities, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{6 Peculiarities of Rural Credit in the Amazon: New Research Shows Credit Restrictions and Extensive Land Use in Agriculture}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/6-peculiarities-of-rural-credit-in-the-amazon-new-research-shows-credit-restrictions-and-extensive-land-use-in-agriculture/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }