São Paulo – The Federal Government is trying to mobilise Brazilian farmers regarding the need for low greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural activities. The work is through the Low Carbon Agriculture programme, which was established last year by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to orchestrate actions in the area and help Brazil comply with greenhouse gas emission reductions agreed to at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15), in Kopenhagen, in 2009.
According to the coordinator of the Strategic Management Advisory at the Ministry of Agriculture, Derli Dossa, at the moment, the ministry is taking the program to states, trying to mobilise local governments to show interest in it. In some, it is already promoting theme meetings, with farmers, aided by organisations like the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Emater, the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) and the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag).
The objective is to show farmers that they have a 2 billion Brazilian real (US$ 1.2 billion) line of credit available for implementation of projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Dossa, as it considers carbon equivalent, the target involves six kinds of gasses, among them carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. The objective of the Low Carbon Agriculture programme is to stunt the emission of 165 million tonnes equivalent of CO2 in 12 years.
The US$ 1.2 billion, made available through the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), started reaching farmers between November and December 2010. The grace period is three years and payment may be made in up to 12 years. Interest rates are 5.5% a year. The ministry is developing the work for promotion of the program so that producers may know of the availability of these funds so that they may formulate projects to use them.
The ABC programme makes funds available for six areas, chosen as the focus for greenhouse gas reductions in agriculture. One of them is the recovery of degraded areas, in which the target is to recover 15 million hectares. In terms of direct plantation, the objective is for 8 million hectares to be cultivated. There is also to be integration of crop and livestock activities, the biological fixing of nutrients in the soil, the plantation of forests and the use of animal droppings for fertilizing and generation of biogas.
According to Dossa, Brazil is currently the world’s 14th main greenhouse gas issuer – the first being China – and the 79th in terms of per capita emissions. "We are in a reasonably good position," said the coordinator. According to him, the country stands out for its work for reduction of greenhouse gas and the Low Carbon Agriculture programme has already been presented to other regions, like Argentina, Canada and Europe.
*Translated by Mark Ament
