In Brazil, farmers in the Amazon and Atlantic forest areas are going sustainable

A project in Brazil aims to improve the quality of life of small and medium farmers in the Amazon and Atlantic forest areas – by making viable sustainable, low-carbon agriculture. Sustainable rural development in these areas could result in poverty reduction, the preservation of biodiversity, and the mitigation of the causes and effects of climate change. Estimates indicate that the project will reduce CO2 emissions in 8.6 tons during the next 20 years, including 5.5 million tons from deforestation, while improving the income levels of the beneficiary population and the reduction of poverty in rural areas.

The project supports investments made by rural producers to:

• Develop individual projects approved by rural credit institutions aimed at investments in sustainable production and environmental safeguards.
• Hire technical assistance services to support the development of a Rural Property Management Project which will include agricultural, environmental, and property planning.

In order to achieve the objectives of the project, funds will be disbursed under a Payment for Environmental Services scheme to producers who properly implement environmentally sustainable projects using the following technologies:

• Integrated agroforestry systems: with structural, functional and ecological basis; adoption of agricultural best practices;
• Rehabilitation of degraded forest and pastures areas;
• Commercial forest plantations;
• Sustainable management of remaining native forests.

The project also supports the creation of a network of demonstration units and training activities in the supported technologies for farmers and technical assistance staff.

Who can benefit from the project?

Producers whose property includes the following features:

• Be located in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes in one of the participating counties and states;
• Comply with environmental safeguards, or to be able to demonstrate the owner’s interest in obtaining said safeguards certification with the support of the submitted project; and
• To have a total area of ≤15 fiscal modules, depending on the producer type.

If the property complies with all the requirements and is therefore eligible to receive support, the owner must submit the following:

• To be the legal owner, tenant, or leaseholder of the property, or holder of the PNRA (National Technical Cooperation Agrarian Reform), or grantee of public areas;
• To accept the responsibility for the implementation of Demonstration/Multiplier Units of one or more technologies supported by the technical cooperation upon submission and approval of an individual project;
• To be a beneficiary of the Crédito Rural Oficial (Official Farm Credit) and to comply with the criteria established in one of the three types of producers (Type Ia, Type Ib, Type II), Table 1.
• The IDB will launch a public call for proposals in the participating Brazilian States which will include additional definitions and information about the available funding for the payment for environmental services. These resources will be variable and will depend on limits established according to the type of producer.

Who are the partners of the project?

The project is a result of the Technical Cooperation agreement signed between the Governments of Brazil and the United Kingdom. The project’s partners are the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA), beneficiary of the project; the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the executing agency; and the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as the funder.