The Impact of Brazil's ABC Program Credit on Pasture Recovery: Evidence from the Cerrado

The study finds that the ABC Recuperação credit line has had modest effects on pasture recovery in the Cerrado, with most severely degraded areas remaining unchanged. While some pasture was converted to crops, the program's contribution to the ABC Plan's 2020 target of recovering 15 million hectares of degraded pasture was estimated at only 0.9% to 2.5%. The report highlights that technical assistance is a critical factor for success and recommends improved monitoring and the integration of credit with risk management instruments.

• The overall impact of ABC Recuperação credit on pasture recovery is modest, with three-quarters of the financed polygon areas remaining unchanged four years after receiving credit.
• Credit provision did not significantly improve the most severely degraded pastures, which are classified as low quality.
• The credit line is associated with a small reduction in total pasture area, primarily through the conversion of medium and high-quality pastures into crops or crop-cattle mosaics.
• Technical assistance is a decisive factor for effectiveness; polygons with technical assistance saw a 6 percentage point reduction in degraded pasture area after four years, whereas those without it saw virtually no change.
• Evidence shows that areas declared for pasture recovery often experienced deforestation in the six years prior to receiving credit, though this trend slowed after the credit was issued.
• The ABC Recuperação credit's contribution to the ABC Plan's target of recovering 15 million hectares of degraded pasture by 2020 was estimated at between 0.9% and 2.5%.
• The effectiveness of the credit varies by soil type, with more significant impacts on recovery and conversion observed in areas where Plinthosols predominate, particularly in Mato Grosso, Tocantins, and Maranhão.
• A significant portion of the areas declared for credit did not actually consist of pasture at the time the credit was issued.

APA

Oliveira, W., Souza, P., & Assunção, J. (2024). The Impact of Brazil's ABC Program Credit on Pasture Recovery: Evidence from the Cerrado. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Report-The-Impact-of-Brazils-ABC-Program-Credit-on-Pasture-Recovery.pdf

Chicago

Oliveira, Wagner, Priscila Souza, and Juliano Assunção. The Impact of Brazil's ABC Program Credit on Pasture Recovery: Evidence from the Cerrado. Climate Policy Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Report-The-Impact-of-Brazils-ABC-Program-Credit-on-Pasture-Recovery.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Oliveira |first1=Wagner |last2=Souza |first2=Priscila |last3=Assunção |first3=Juliano |title=The Impact of Brazil's ABC Program Credit on Pasture Recovery: Evidence from the Cerrado |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Report-The-Impact-of-Brazils-ABC-Program-Credit-on-Pasture-Recovery.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{oliveira2024impact, author = {Oliveira, Wagner and Souza, Priscila and Assunção, Juliano}, title = {{The Impact of Brazil's ABC Program Credit on Pasture Recovery: Evidence from the Cerrado}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Report-The-Impact-of-Brazils-ABC-Program-Credit-on-Pasture-Recovery.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }