Brazil occupies a unique position: it is not only a leader in commodity production, but also in the mitigation of carbon emissions from deforestation. Given the current rise in commodity prices, the country must be prepared to link the conservation of its forest stocks to the expansion of agriculture and ranching. This will only be possible by improving productivity. To achieve this, Brazil launched the “Low-Carbon Agriculture” Plan and a special line of credit: the ABC Program. However, the program has been slow in getting off the ground.
To understand why, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) conducted more than forty interviews with members of various producer, cooperative, association and industry groups, as well as the government. Through these interviews, we identified barriers to implementing sustainable practices, especially those related to the ABC Program. The results of these interviews are discussed in this report.