PRODUCTIVITY FOR CATTLE RANCHING IN BRAZIL

This white paper examines the inverse relationship between pastureland size and cattle productivity in Brazil. It finds that higher land prices and better access to capital incentivize ranchers to intensify production or switch to crops, thereby reducing the need for forest clearing. The authors recommend policies that combat illegal deforestation, remove bottlenecks to agricultural modernization, and improve credit access to promote sustainable beef production.

• Brazil's cattle ranching productivity is currently very low, with approximately one head of cattle per hectare of pastureland as of 2018. However, implementing better land management could double productivity, and combining land management with improved cattle management (breeding and feeding) could increase productivity by a factor of 2.5.
• There is a strong negative correlation between the share of farmland used for pastures and cattle productivity. In a typical municipality, reducing the share of pastures by half leads to a 20% increase in cattle ranching revenues per hectare and an increase of 0.25 in the number of heads per hectare.
• Land values are a significant driver of cattle productivity; higher land prices correlate with smaller pasture sizes and higher productivity. Land values explain at least one-third of the inverse relationship between the share of farmland devoted to cattle and its productivity.

APA

ASSUNÇÃO, J., & BRAGANÇA, A. (2019). PRODUCTIVITY FOR CATTLE RANCHING IN BRAZIL. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WhitePaper_Pecuaria_EN_112019_final-1.pdf

Chicago

ASSUNÇÃO, JULIANO, and ARTHUR BRAGANÇA. PRODUCTIVITY FOR CATTLE RANCHING IN BRAZIL. Climate Policy Initiative, 2019. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WhitePaper_Pecuaria_EN_112019_final-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=ASSUNÇÃO |first1=JULIANO |last2=BRAGANÇA |first2=ARTHUR |title=PRODUCTIVITY FOR CATTLE RANCHING IN BRAZIL |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2019 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WhitePaper_Pecuaria_EN_112019_final-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assuno2019productivity, author = {ASSUNÇÃO, JULIANO and BRAGANÇA, ARTHUR}, title = {{PRODUCTIVITY FOR CATTLE RANCHING IN BRAZIL}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WhitePaper_Pecuaria_EN_112019_final-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }