MELHORAR A PRODUTIVIDADE AGRÍCOLA BRASILEIRA É UM PASSO IMPORTANTE PARA A MITIGAÇÃO DAS MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) argues that increasing agricultural productivity in Brazil is a viable strategy for mitigating climate change and reducing deforestation. By analyzing four historical drivers of productivity, the document demonstrates that technological innovation and policy improvements can shift agricultural expansion away from forests and toward underutilized pasture lands.

• Brazil's agricultural land use is characterized by significant inefficiency, with a large portion of deforested land underutilized, particularly as low-productivity pastures. In 2006, only 18% of the country's agricultural lands were responsible for 63% of total production.
• The adaptation of soybean crops to the Cerrado region during the 1970s showed that technological innovation can reduce deforestation. In municipalities with high potential for soybean production, the expansion of cultivated areas occurred primarily by replacing pastures, resulting in lower deforestation compared to municipalities with low soybean aptitude.
• Rural electrification between 1960 and 2000 generally reduced deforestation in Brazil, although the effect varied by region. In consolidated agricultural areas, productivity gains from electricity reduced deforestation, while in frontier regions where rural properties occupied a small fraction of the municipality, it increased deforestation.
• The expansion of sugarcane plants in Mato Grosso do Sul between 2005 and 2012 led to a more than 300% increase in sugarcane cultivation area, mostly by replacing pastures. This expansion generated economic growth—including a 30% increase in typical municipal GDP—and reduced deforestation by an average of 6,300 hectares per municipality after three years.
• In the Tapajós Basin between 2002 and 2012, an increase in the relative price of crops compared to beef encouraged farmers to convert pastures into cultivated land. Because crops require higher investments and more skilled labor, this shift reduced the demand for new land and preserved forests, preventing the deforestation of an estimated 530,000 hectares.
• The 2012 Forest Code is identified as a key policy tool to catalyze agricultural modernization. By mandating Legal Reserves (between 20% and 80% of property area) and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), the law incentivizes productivity gains over land expansion, which can improve international market access and create a virtuous cycle of revenue and conservation.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2017). MELHORAR A PRODUTIVIDADE AGRÍCOLA BRASILEIRA É UM PASSO IMPORTANTE PARA A MITIGAÇÃO DAS MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Melhorar-produtividade-agricola-brasileira-passo-importante-para-mitigacao-mudancas-climaticas.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. MELHORAR A PRODUTIVIDADE AGRÍCOLA BRASILEIRA É UM PASSO IMPORTANTE PARA A MITIGAÇÃO DAS MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS. 2017. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Melhorar-produtividade-agricola-brasileira-passo-importante-para-mitigacao-mudancas-climaticas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=MELHORAR A PRODUTIVIDADE AGRÍCOLA BRASILEIRA É UM PASSO IMPORTANTE PARA A MITIGAÇÃO DAS MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS |date=April 2017 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Melhorar-produtividade-agricola-brasileira-passo-importante-para-mitigacao-mudancas-climaticas.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2017melhorar, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{MELHORAR A PRODUTIVIDADE AGRÍCOLA BRASILEIRA É UM PASSO IMPORTANTE PARA A MITIGAÇÃO DAS MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Melhorar-produtividade-agricola-brasileira-passo-importante-para-mitigacao-mudancas-climaticas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }