The Challenges in the Adoption of Sustainable Practices by Small Ranchers: The Case of ABC Cerrado

The study finds that while training alone is effective for larger ranchers (above 100 hectares), small ranchers require the addition of technical assistance to implement sustainable practices. This is attributed to constraints in education, credit access, and investment capacity among smaller producers. The authors recommend a cost-effective policy of providing universal training while targeting expensive technical assistance specifically to smallholders.

• Training alone is effective for larger ranchers (those with properties above 100 hectares), nearly doubling the share of restored pastureland and increasing the probability of adopting rotational grazing by 13 percentage points.
• For small-sized ranchers (100 hectares or less), training alone has no significant effect; however, combining training with technical assistance increases the proportion of recovered pastures by nearly ten percentage points and the probability of adopting rotational grazing by 14.4%.
• Technical assistance provides little additional benefit to larger producers who have already received training, as they possess the implementation capacity to adopt practices with training alone.
• The disparity in adoption rates is linked to financial and human capital constraints: larger ranchers are more likely to have equipment (79% vs 60% for small producers), higher education levels (31% with higher education vs 18% for small producers), and greater intention to seek rural credit (68% vs 54%).
• Technical assistance is significantly more expensive than training, costing R$ 5,700 per producer compared to R$ 1,100 for training.
• The ABC+ Plan (2021-2030) aims to recover 30 million hectares of degraded pastures to potentially reduce CO2 equivalent emissions by 113.7 million tons.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2022). The Challenges in the Adoption of Sustainable Practices by Small Ranchers: The Case of ABC Cerrado. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-challenges-in-the-adoption-of-sustainable-practices-by-small-ranchers-the-case-of-abc-cerrado/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. The Challenges in the Adoption of Sustainable Practices by Small Ranchers: The Case of ABC Cerrado. 2022. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-challenges-in-the-adoption-of-sustainable-practices-by-small-ranchers-the-case-of-abc-cerrado/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=The Challenges in the Adoption of Sustainable Practices by Small Ranchers: The Case of ABC Cerrado |date=29 November 2022 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-challenges-in-the-adoption-of-sustainable-practices-by-small-ranchers-the-case-of-abc-cerrado/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2022challenges, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{The Challenges in the Adoption of Sustainable Practices by Small Ranchers: The Case of ABC Cerrado}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-challenges-in-the-adoption-of-sustainable-practices-by-small-ranchers-the-case-of-abc-cerrado/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }