O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the financing of sustainable agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado, with a specific focus on the Matopiba region. It evaluates the effectiveness of subsidized rural credit and innovative blended finance mechanisms in aligning agricultural production with zero-deforestation and sustainability goals.

• Between the 2020/21 and 2023/24 agricultural years, subsidized rural credit for the Cerrado totaled R$ 198 billion, representing approximately 36% of Brazil's total rural credit. The Matopiba region received R$ 48.59 billion, concentrating over 32% of the volume of financing despite generating only about 14.5% of the agricultural production value.
• Sustainable subsidized credit is limited and highly concentrated, representing only 5.7% of total rural credit in the Cerrado from 2020/21 to 2023/24. Access is skewed toward large producers; for example, the RenovAgro and Programa ABC lines have average loan values of approximately R$ 1.2 million per installment, compared to R$ 700,000 to R$ 750,000 for other programs.
• There is significant geographic inequality in the distribution of sustainable credit. Only 40% of municipalities in the Cerrado biome recorded contracts under RenovAgro/Programa ABC, and 53% of municipalities had no sustainable credit contracts under the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Pronaf) during the analyzed period.
• The rural credit market in Matopiba is dominated by a few institutions, primarily Banco do Brasil, Banco do Nordeste, and Banco da Amazônia, who hold 85% to 90% of the subsidized credit volume. This concentration is even more severe in sustainable credit, where the leading institution holds an average market share of over 90% in municipalities where such credit is granted.
• Blended finance mechanisms show potential but face scale restrictions. The report analyzed nine instruments with values ranging from R$ 20 million to over R$ 1.5 billion. These instruments often use Agribusiness Receivables Certificates (CRAs) due to favorable tax treatment for international investors.
• Financial incentives alone are often insufficient to prevent deforestation because the immediate economic gains from land conversion are higher. Successful blended finance approaches must combine competitive pricing with risk mitigation (insurance/guarantees), simplified credit assessments, flexible contracts, and technical assistance.
• The report identifies several barriers to the success of sustainable financing, including a lack of a pipeline of bankable projects, the absence of a significant market premium for deforestation-free commodities, high and volatile Brazilian interest rates, and complex regulations for foreign investment.

APA

Afflalo, L., Assunção, J., Hoover, N., & Wallock, W. (2026). O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Relatorio-O-Financiamento-da-Agropecuaria-Sustentavel-no-Cerrado.pdf

Chicago

Afflalo, Lucas, Juliano Assunção, Natalie Hoover, and William Wallock. O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado. Climate Policy Initiative, 2026. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Relatorio-O-Financiamento-da-Agropecuaria-Sustentavel-no-Cerrado.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Afflalo |first1=Lucas |last2=Assunção |first2=Juliano |last3=Hoover |first3=Natalie |last4=Wallock |first4=William |title=O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=May 2026 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Relatorio-O-Financiamento-da-Agropecuaria-Sustentavel-no-Cerrado.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{afflalo2026financiamento, author = {Afflalo, Lucas and Assunção, Juliano and Hoover, Natalie and Wallock, William}, title = {{O Financiamento da Agropecuária Sustentável no Cerrado}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Relatorio-O-Financiamento-da-Agropecuaria-Sustentavel-no-Cerrado.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }