Política de Crédito Rural no Brasil

The report analyzes Brazil's rural credit system, highlighting its complexity and fragmentation. It provides empirical evidence that rural credit, particularly when directed at small farmers, increases land and labor productivity and reduces deforestation by promoting the conversion of degraded pastures into cropland. The document argues for simplifying the credit system, increasing private sector participation, and strengthening the link between credit access and compliance with the Forest Code to ensure sustainable agricultural growth.

• Brazil has the potential to nearly double its total agricultural production and increase cattle herds by 70% without further deforestation by converting degraded pastures to cropland and increasing productivity.
• The impact of rural credit on land use varies by producer size; while credit for small farmers (via Pronaf) increases forest area and reduces pasture, credit for large producers is associated with an increase in both cropland and pasture, leading to deforestation.
• The Brazilian rural credit system is highly complex and fragmented, with 16 sources of funds and 12 programs for the 2020/21 agricultural year, creating inefficiencies and artificial variations in credit access based on geography, property size, and income.
• Credit distribution is heavily concentrated in a few public institutions, with Banco do Brasil alone responsible for 43% of all credit provided in the 2019/20 agricultural year.
• The use of the 'fiscal module' (módulo fiscal) to determine eligibility for programs like Pronaf is outdated and causes distortions, as the module size varies from 5 to 110 hectares between municipalities.
• The ABC Program, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, has had limited success, with total loans never reaching the available amount and a downward trend in resources from 2014/15 to 2018/19.
• Linking credit to environmental compliance is an effective conservation tool; for example, CMN Resolution 3.545/2008, which conditioned credit on environmental rules, led to a 15% reduction in deforestation in the Amazon between 2008 and 2011.
• Recent policy shifts in the 2020/21 Plano Safra include a 10% increase in credit limits for producers with a validated Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), with the Central Bank signaling a potential increase to 20% for sustainable producers.

APA

Souza, P., Herschmann, S., & Assunção, J. (2020). Política de Crédito Rural no Brasil. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REL-Politica-de-Credito-Rural-no-Brasil.pdf

Chicago

Souza, Priscila, Stela Herschmann, and Juliano Assunção. Política de Crédito Rural no Brasil. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REL-Politica-de-Credito-Rural-no-Brasil.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Souza |first1=Priscila |last2=Herschmann |first2=Stela |last3=Assunção |first3=Juliano |title=Política de Crédito Rural no Brasil |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REL-Politica-de-Credito-Rural-no-Brasil.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{souza2020poltica, author = {Souza, Priscila and Herschmann, Stela and Assunção, Juliano}, title = {{Política de Crédito Rural no Brasil}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/REL-Politica-de-Credito-Rural-no-Brasil.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }