Brazil - Government reduce carbon emissions from agriculture

Brazil launches US$1.1 billion credit line for low carbon agriculture

Government expects to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture activities by up to 176 million tons by 2020

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture announced on June 7 that it will provide an initial credit line of R$ 2 billion (US$ 1.1 bn) over the next ten years to finance rural agriculture activities that use technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Low Carbon Agriculture Program (ABC) aims to reduce carbon equivalent emissions from Brazilian agriculture by up to 176 million tons by the year 2020.

The investment is intended to encourage the increased use of sustainable practices in the Brazilian agricultural sector, considered the fastest-growing in the world, according to a report released June 15 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  The FAO-OECD Agricultural Outlook noted that Brazilian production is expected to grow by over 40 percent from 2010-2019, compared to production rates from the base period 2007-2009.

One of the sustainable practices to be funded by the ABC program is the no-tillage system, which dispenses with the traditional, intensive use of soil grids and plows by instead sowing directly over the straw left from the previous harvest. The procedure preserves nutrients in the soil, thus increasing crop yields. Through the ABC program, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to expand the use of this technique to cover a land area of 33 million hectares, up from the current 25 million hectares. This increase would  reduce emissions by 16-20 million tons of CO₂ equivalent over the ten-year period.

A system integrating Crop-Livestock-Forestry also ensures carbon retention in the soil, allowing farmers to alternate from pasture to agriculture to forestry across the same piece of land, thus restoring the soil and increasing income. The program aims to increase the system´s use in Brazil  by 4 million hectares over the next decade, while reducing CO₂ equivalent emissions by 18-22 million tons over the same period.

Brazilian farmers often plant commercial forests to supplement their income, and the Ministry of Agriculture has set a target to increase Brazil’s planted forest area from 6 million to 9 million hectares by 2020. This will result in a reduction of approximately 8-10 million tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions over ten years.

“Brazil is a leader in using efficient, productive systems that respect the environment. This is evidenced by the expansion of grain production in Brazil by almost 24 million tons since 2003, while the planted area grew by only 3.6 million hectares,” said Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Wagner Rossi.

Produsa and Propflora Programs for Sustainable Production

In addition to ABC Program, the Ministry of Agriculture has established other financing lines for sustainable rural production as part of the Agricultural and Livestock Plan 2010/2011: Produsa and Propflora.

Worth R$ 1 billion (US$ 558 million), the Sustainable Agriculture Program (Produsa) involves financing the cultivation of palm planted in degraded areas. The program for Commercial Planting and Forest Recovery (Propflora) will finance the restoration of legal reserve and permanent preservation forest areas under an investment of R$ 150 million (US$ 83 million) .

Domestic Action to Tackle Climate Change

The ABC program announced by the Ministry of Agriculture is consistent with Brazil’s National Plan on Climate Change, a set of integrated programs to curb emissions generated by the Brazilian economy and to reduce Amazon deforestation by 80 percent by 2020, compared to 1996 – 2005 average deforestation levels. In December 2009, Brazil approved its National Policy on Climate Change, which established goals to cut projected emissions between 36.1 percent and 38.9 percent by 2020.

Low Carbon Agriculture Targets: 2010-2020

About SECOM:

The Secretariat for Social Communication (SECOM) of the Presidency of Brazil is responsible for coordinating the Public Relations activities for the government of Brazil.  The official government website is available at https://red002.mail.emea.microsoftonline.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=a48125bc173944f080fc959cbfc3bfcf&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.brasil.gov.br.

 

Source: newsroom - meattradenewsdaily.co.uk

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