Brazil and Japan sign Cooperation Memorandum for the recovery of degraded areas

At the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Brazil from May 3rd to 4th, 2024, accompanied by a significant business delegation. The leaders celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the Strategic and Global Partnership, established in 2014, emphasizing the deep friendship and strong human connections between the two nations.  

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Cerrado Development Program (PRODECER) in 2024, both nations acknowledged Japan's longstanding development cooperation with Brazil through PRODECER. They expressed their commitment to enhancing cooperation to ensure food security, forest conservation, and sustainable development by recovering degraded areas and promoting sustainable agricultural and forestry production systems.  

To this end, Brazil and Japan welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation, with Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Fávaro representing Brazil, joined by Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture Paulo Teixeira, Embrapa President Silvia Massruhá, and JICA President Akihiko Tanaka. 

Japan will be the first country to contribute to the National Program for the Conversion of Degraded Pastures into Sustainable Agricultural and Forestry Production Systems (PNCPD), a major initiative of Mapa. The program aims to convert up to 40 million hectares of low-productivity pastures into agricultural areas over ten years. This could effectively double Brazil's food production area without deforestation or encroachment on native vegetation.  

Minister Fávaro emphasized the importance of the initiative, highlighting its focus on sustainability. He stressed that the collaboration would increase food production without encroaching on preserved areas and transform degraded areas into productive ones. He expressed confidence that the signatories would continue to invest in Brazilian agriculture.   

NEXT STEPS  

Following the signing of the cooperation memorandum, the collaboration with JICA will advance on two fronts: Financial Cooperation, offering financing for agricultural producers to convert degraded pastures into Sustainable Agricultural and Forestry Production Systems; and Technical Cooperation, which involves defining regions and properties for program development, conducting research, development, and innovation, analyzing degraded pastures and risk factors, and providing relevant technologies. 

JICA will determine the amounts, with interest rates between 1.7 and 2.4% in Japanese yen, repayment periods of 15 to 40 years, and grace periods of 5 to 10 years. 

PARTNERSHIP  

Brazil and Japan expressed interest in expanding trade in agricultural and fisheries products, aiming to intensify dialogue and cooperation in these areas. They noted the high complementarity and significant exchange in the economic-commercial sphere. 

Japan, as the world's fourth-largest economy, is a major investor in Brazil, with investments totaling US$ 28.5 billion. These investments span various sectors, including agribusiness, urban infrastructure, environmental protection, disaster risk reduction, technical cooperation and innovation. 

AGRICULTURAL TRADE  

In 2023, Japan ranked fourth among the main destinations for Brazilian agribusiness exports, totaling US$ 4.136 billion. Key products included cereals, flours, preparations (US$ 1.47 billion); meats (US$ 1.11 billion); and soy/soy products (US$ 574.2 million). 

Press Information 
imprensa@agro.gov.br