Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil

Brazil has implemented a series of public policies, most notably the ABC and ABC+ (RenovAgro) plans, to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience. While the original ABC Plan exceeded its 2010-2020 goals, the more ambitious ABC+ Plan aims to cover 72.68 million hectares by 2030. However, a significant gap remains in financing, with only 6.2% of rural credit in 2022/23 dedicated to low-carbon investments. Recent 2023 regulations have tightened credit access by requiring stricter environmental compliance across all biomes. The authors argue that achieving climate goals requires increased rural credit and improved monitoring and verification of technology adoption.

• The original Low-Carbon Agriculture (ABC) Plan, launched in 2011, exceeded its targets between 2010 and 2020, covering 54 million ha of agricultural land and treating 38 million m3 of animal waste, which resulted in a reduction of 193.67 million Mg CO2eq.
• The ABC+ Plan (renamed RenovAgro in July 2023) sets more ambitious targets for 2030, aiming to reach 72.68 million hectares. Specific goals include recovering 30 million ha of degraded pasture, implementing 10 million ha of integrated systems, and increasing no-till planting on 12.58 million ha.
• There is a disparity between the total rural credit available and the amount dedicated to low-carbon agriculture. In the 2022/23 crop year, only BRL 6 billion (6.2%) of the BRL 97 billion in rural credit was dedicated to low-carbon investments, with BRL 3.9 billion of that coming from ABC+/RenovAgro.
• New regulations implemented in 2023 have made accessing rural credit more difficult by tightening socio-environmental requirements. Credit is now denied if there is a cancelled or suspended Rural Environmental Registry, if environmental embargoes exist in any biome, or if the property is in non-designated Public Forest Type B without specific ownership titles.
• A critical weakness in Brazil's current framework is the lack of verification for the results of financed interventions, such as no-till implementation and pasture recovery, despite the role of financial institutions in monitoring and reporting.

APA

Harfuch, L., Lima, R. C. A., & Lobo, G. D. (2024). Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/low-carbon-agriculture-brazil

Chicago

Harfuch, Leila, Rodrigo C. A. Lima, and Gustavo Dantas Lobo. Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/low-carbon-agriculture-brazil.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harfuch |first1=Leila |last2=Lima |first2=Rodrigo C. A. |last3=Lobo |first3=Gustavo Dantas |title=Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2 December 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/low-carbon-agriculture-brazil |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harfuch2024challenges, author = {Harfuch, Leila and Lima, Rodrigo C. A. and Lobo, Gustavo Dantas}, title = {{Challenges to Fostering Low-Carbon Agriculture Through Public Policies and Support in Brazil}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/low-carbon-agriculture-brazil}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }