Report Recommendations

• 1. International investors and policymakers need to approach sustainable agriculture and food systems as part of an integrated solution for forest management that prioritizes delivering scalable and inclusive economic alternatives.

  Despite its abundance of natural resources, the Amazon sub-region ranks at the bottom of global and national human development indexes , and long-term reductions in deforestation rates depend in no small measure on improving socio-economic baselines.

• 2. Local technical and managerial capacity-building to support the implementation of more sustainable and innovative agricultural, cattle raising, and forestry practices is critical.

  Key areas of focus must include education, technical training programs, extension services, and participatory research, as well as programs to facilitate information-sharing among farmers. There is significant potential for the strengthening and amplifying of the Brazil-U.S. cooperation in this area, including cooperation between the Brazilian public agricultural research corporation Embrapa, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

• 3. Funders and policymakers need to address the limited funding streams available to small-scale entrepreneurs and farmers to change behaviors, including the simplification and facilitation of the access to rural credit and small business loans.

  Potential reform of Brazil’s rural credit program could become a channel for attracting private capital to finance sustainable agricultural practices, particularly if leading Brazilian financial institutions help coordinate capital flow and assist with small-scale lending risk mitigation.