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The report analyzes the impact of Brazilian cattle ranching on greenhouse gas emissions, specifically methane from enteric fermentation, which accounts for approximately 60% of national methane emissions. It proposes a four-axis framework for transformation: improving land use and pasture condition, increasing biological productivity through genetics and health, enhancing feed and manure management, and optimizing production system management. The document highlights that extensive ranching, predominant in the North and Midwest, often suffers from low productivity and is linked to deforestation. It recommends integrating methane reduction targets into the Agricultural Plan (Plano Safra), strengthening the link between rural credit and technical assistance, and improving supply chain traceability to decouple cattle growth from land expansion.

The research identifies significant regional and gender disparities in access to PRONAF credit in Brazil, finding that technical assistance (ATER) and cooperative membership are critical determinants of access. While the 2025/26 Agricultural Plan allocated R$ 78.2 billion to PRONAF, a previous study indicated that approximately 85% of smallholders lack credit access. Simulations show that expanding ATER would most effectively increase access in the North and Northeast, while strengthening cooperatives would be most impactful in the Southeast and Midwest. The report warns that declining federal investments in ATER—dropping to approximately R$ 26.48 million by October 2025—compromise the program's ability to build climate resilience among vulnerable smallholders.

The policy brief outlines recommendations for the 2024-2025 Plano Safra, focusing on restricting credit for properties linked to deforestation, creating incentives for sustainable practices aligned with the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, and improving credit access for small-scale farmers via Pronaf. It also suggests harmonizing social and environmental restrictions across rural insurance programs like PSR and Proagro to mitigate climate risks and promote low-carbon agriculture.

The document reveals that only 15% of Brazilian family farmers access credit, with resources heavily concentrated in the South region, larger family properties, and grain production. It argues that the current eligibility criteria, particularly the outdated 'fiscal module' system, create distortions that exclude the most vulnerable producers. The brief recommends revising these criteria and integrating sustainability requirements to support a transition to low-carbon agriculture.

The report finds that only 15% of Brazilian family farmers access credit, with resources heavily concentrated in the South region, larger properties, and grain production. It argues that the current eligibility criteria, particularly the outdated 'fiscal module' system, create distortions that exclude the most vulnerable producers. The authors recommend revising these criteria and integrating sustainability requirements to support a transition to low-carbon agriculture.

The document argues that Brazil's Plano Safra must align with climate goals by prioritizing low-carbon credit lines, improving rural insurance for climate resilience, and redirecting constitutional funds toward small-scale sustainable producers.

The report examines the gap between soybean production distribution and rural insurance coverage in Brazil, highlighting how climate change—manifesting as severe droughts, hail, and frost—has led to unprecedented insurance claim payments. Using LASSO machine learning models, researchers found that while insurance data is insufficient to predict losses in the North and Northeast regions, agricultural yield data from PAM/IBGE can effectively identify climate variables (precipitation, fire risk, and wind) that correlate with losses. The authors recommend expanding insurance supply to vulnerable regions like MATOPIBA, utilizing production history for pricing in underserved areas, and strengthening the reinsurance market and public-private funds to ensure insurer liquidity.

The policy brief examines the Constitutional Financing Funds (FCFs) in Brazil's North, Northeast, and Midwest regions. It finds that while FCFs are designed to support small producers and low-income areas, the criteria for 'priority' beneficiaries and geographies have become so broad that they encompass nearly all producers and most municipalities. This lack of strict targeting has led to a concentration of resources in higher-value contracts and a small number of municipalities, particularly in the Matopiba region. Despite this concentration, FCFs remain a critical source of credit for the most underdeveloped municipalities in the North and Northeast, where alternative financing is often unavailable.

The document examines how credit cooperatives in Brazil serve as an efficient tool for financial inclusion, particularly for small rural producers. It highlights that while overall rural credit declined by 14% between 2013/2014 and 2018/2019, cooperative credit grew by 51.3%, increasing its market share from 11% to 17.5%. The brief explains that cooperatives reduce transaction costs and information asymmetry due to their proximity to producers. Geographically, cooperative presence is strongest in the South, Midwest, and Southeast regions, while it remains scarce in the North and Northeast. The analysis also details the interbank relationship where commercial banks use cooperatives to meet mandatory rural credit application requirements. Finally, it outlines the tax and regulatory advantages cooperatives hold over traditional banks, such as exemptions from Income Tax and CSLL on cooperative acts.

The policy brief analyzes the Brazilian National Rural Credit System (SNCR), arguing that its complex structure—comprising numerous funding sources and programs with intricate eligibility criteria—creates significant disparities in financing. It highlights how geographic location, outdated farm size definitions (fiscal modules), and shifting revenue thresholds lead to inconsistent credit access for similar producers, potentially resulting in underinvestment and lower agricultural productivity.

The document analyzes the Brazilian rural credit system, highlighting that the availability of financing is often determined by the distribution of banks and cooperatives rather than local agricultural potential. It identifies significant geographic concentration in the South and Southeast regions and a complex web of funding sources and programs that lead to inconsistent credit conditions for producers.