Responsible Commodities Facility - Deforestation and Conversion Free: Finance for soy production in the Cerrado, Brazil (RCF-DCF Project)

The RCF-DCF Project is a USD 425 million initiative designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil's Cerrado by providing low-interest crop finance to soy farmers who commit to deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) production. Managed by Sustainable Investment Management Limited (SIM), the project utilizes a Luxembourg-based RCF Impact Fund and co-investment vehicles to issue 'green' Certificados de Recebíveis do Agronegócio (CRAs) backed by Cédulas de Produto Rural (CPRs). The project aims to protect 379,949 hectares of native vegetation and avoid approximately 25.58 million tCO2eq over its 20-year lifespan. It targets medium-sized farms and prioritizes female-owned operations to promote gender equality in the agribusiness sector.

• The RCF-DCF Project aims to avoid approximately 25,580,079 tCO2eq over its total lifespan by incentivizing soy farmers in the Cerrado to avoid clearing native vegetation.
• The project will protect 379,949 hectares of Cerrado native vegetation, with 45,232 hectares being beyond the legal requirements mandated by the Brazilian Forest Code.
• The total financing for the project is USD 425 million, consisting of a USD 85 million loan from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and USD 340 million in co-financing from public and private sectors.
• The financial structure employs a blended finance model where GCF's junior equity position de-risks the investment to attract senior and mezzanine notes from commercial banks and impact investors.
• The project utilizes 'green' Certificados de Recebíveis do Agronegócio (CRAs), which are securitization transactions backed by Cédulas de Produto Rural (CPR) loans for farmers committing to DCF soy production.
• To be eligible for financing, farms must have cleared native vegetation before 1 January 2020, maintain a Protection-Production Ratio (PPR) of at least 40% in Cerrado areas inside the Legal Amazon and 25% outside, and comply with the Brazilian Forest Code.
• The project targets a total of 1,000 farms and aims for 50% of the financed farming groups to have at least one female owner to address the underrepresentation of women in the soy sector.
• The project addresses a market failure where the Brazilian Forest Code allows up to 80% of native vegetation to be cleared on private land in the Cerrado, providing insufficient economic incentives for farmers to preserve forests.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). Responsible Commodities Facility - Deforestation and Conversion Free: Finance for soy production in the Cerrado, Brazil (RCF-DCF Project). https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp301.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Responsible Commodities Facility - Deforestation and Conversion Free: Finance for soy production in the Cerrado, Brazil (RCF-DCF Project). 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp301.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Responsible Commodities Facility - Deforestation and Conversion Free: Finance for soy production in the Cerrado, Brazil (RCF-DCF Project) |date=17 April 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp301.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026responsible, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Responsible Commodities Facility - Deforestation and Conversion Free: Finance for soy production in the Cerrado, Brazil (RCF-DCF Project)}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp301.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }