Agricultores Familiares da Caatinga e do Cerrado: Mapeamento para a Promoção de uma Transição Rural Justa no Brasil

The report analyzes the disparities between family farmers in Brazil's Caatinga and Cerrado biomes, highlighting that those in the Caatinga face higher levels of poverty, lower productivity, and more restricted access to technical assistance. It argues that a just rural transition requires personalized policies that integrate social dimensions—such as education and gender equity—with technological solutions to move from extractive to sustainable agricultural models.

• Family farmers represent 76.8% of all agricultural establishments in Brazil but occupy only 23% of the agricultural land. They are identified as the group most vulnerable to climate change due to limited access to financial resources for climate-smart technologies.
• There are significant productivity and economic differences between the two biomes: family farmers in the Cerrado have larger properties (average 36.2 hectares) and higher total production value compared to those in the Caatinga (average 14.3 hectares).
• The Caatinga biome exhibits extreme socio-economic vulnerability, with 53.5% of the population living on less than half a minimum wage and a poverty index of 22.8, significantly higher than the national average of 6.6.
• Access to technical assistance is insufficient in both regions, but particularly critical in the Caatinga, where only 8% of family farmers receive it, compared to 16.8% in the Cerrado.
• Gender and racial disparities are evident in land ownership; in the Caatinga, black farmers lead 71.2% of small establishments, and women lead 24.2%, yet both groups typically manage smaller land areas than their counterparts.
• Production methods differ by biome: Caatinga farmers rely heavily on cisterns (72%) and organic fertilizers, while Cerrado farmers have better access to perennial water sources and use chemical fertilizers in nearly 75% of cases.
• A large portion of family farmers in the Caatinga (68.3%) produce primarily for family consumption, whereas in the Cerrado, a higher percentage (56.5%) focus on commercialization.

APA

de Albuquerque, A., Assunção, J., Castro, P., Rashidy, N. H. E., & de Miranda, G. (2023). Agricultores Familiares da Caatinga e do Cerrado: Mapeamento para a Promoção de uma Transição Rural Justa no Brasil. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Agricultores-Familiares-da-Caatinga-e-do-Cerrado.pdf

Chicago

de Albuquerque, Amanda, Juliano Assunção, Pablo Castro, Natalie Hoover El Rashidy, and Giovanna de Miranda. Agricultores Familiares da Caatinga e do Cerrado: Mapeamento para a Promoção de uma Transição Rural Justa no Brasil. Climate Policy Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Agricultores-Familiares-da-Caatinga-e-do-Cerrado.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Albuquerque |first1=Amanda |last2=Assunção |first2=Juliano |last3=Castro |first3=Pablo |last4=Rashidy |first4=Natalie Hoover El |last5=de Miranda |first5=Giovanna |title=Agricultores Familiares da Caatinga e do Cerrado: Mapeamento para a Promoção de uma Transição Rural Justa no Brasil |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=February 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Agricultores-Familiares-da-Caatinga-e-do-Cerrado.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dealbuquerque2023agricultores, author = {de Albuquerque, Amanda and Assunção, Juliano and Castro, Pablo and Rashidy, Natalie Hoover El and de Miranda, Giovanna}, title = {{Agricultores Familiares da Caatinga e do Cerrado: Mapeamento para a Promoção de uma Transição Rural Justa no Brasil}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Agricultores-Familiares-da-Caatinga-e-do-Cerrado.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }