The ABC Plan is a credit initiative that provides low-interest loans to farmers who want to implement sustainable agriculture practices. These include no-till agriculture, the restoration of degraded pasture, the planting of commercial forests, biological nitrogen fixation, treatment of animal wastes and the integration of crops, livestock and forest. The programme’s ambitious goals include rehabilitating 15 million hectares of degraded pastures and increasing the area under zero tillage from 25 million hectares to 33 million hectares by 2020. It also intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 160 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually, before 2020. Initial uptake was slow, with only 5 projects approved in the first year, representing USD 1.7 million in loans (Neate 2013). 1 However in 2014/2015, uptake has increased significantly, with over 25,000 contracts being approved. These projects represented loans worth a total value of more than USD 4 billion (Mello 2015). 2
Links
CCAFS Big Facts - The incentive system for low-carbon agriculture in Brazil: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/bigfacts/#theme=evidence-of-success&subtheme=policiesprograms&casestudy=policiesprogramsCs1
References
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1
Neate P. 2013. Climate-smart agriculture success stories from farming communities around the world. Wageningen, Netherlands: CCAFS; Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/24750/retrieve To ensure a food-secure future, farming must become climate resilient. Around the world, governments and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions while reducing agriculture’s climate footprint. These successful examples show the many ways climate-smart agriculture can take shape, and should serve as inspiration for future policies and investments. -
2
Mello FFC. 2015. ABC – National Plan for Low Carbon Emissions in Agriculture – Brazilian Experience. Presentation at Joint Conference of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and France.
http://www.ag4climate.org/programme/ag4climate-session-3-5-mello.pdf This resource is comprised of slides from a presentation concerning the Brazilian Government's plan for low carbon emissions in the agricultural sector.