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The technological revolution in agribusiness has changed how producers manage inputs and productivity. Technical approaches such as agricultural robotics and real-time monitoring are already part of the daily routine of large producers, bringing economic and environmental gains.
According to the head of sustainability for Rabobank in South America, Taciano Custódio, precision livestock farming goes beyond applying technology aimed at soil health, plant health and animal production. It also involves understanding and optimizing land use on rural properties. The analysis was presented in a Minerva Foods panel at COP30, held in Belém/PA in November 2025.
Visão integrada nas propriedades rurais
The executive presented Rabobank Brazil’s strategy, which classifies properties into three categories, the first being farms with a surplus of native vegetation — that is, those that preserve more area than required by Brazilian law. For these properties, Custódio cited instruments such as the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF), a fund focused on financing the harvest that considers criteria like the surplus of legal reserve and production without conversion of new areas. He also mentioned blended funds that offer commercial credit with attractive terms and revenue-generation opportunities, strengthening the value of natural capital arising from the surplus of native vegetation.
Properties undergoing regularization that show a deficit in legal reserve — that is, below what the law requires — need to compensate or restore native vegetation. To serve these properties, Custódio suggests using long-term credit lines with longer grace periods, specifically developed to finance the purchase and/or compensation of native areas and ecological restoration, valuing nature as an asset on the balance sheet. In this context, Rabobank Brazil offers lines that can reach up to 20 years, demonstrating innovation in the financial sector.
Finally, farms with low productivity or operating on degraded land have the opportunity to access blended finance, which combines multiple sources of capital, as well as credit lines with terms compatible with soil restoration and financing aimed at sustainable intensification. In this way, low-efficiency operations can improve productivity without resorting to territorial expansion, decoupling production gains from the opening of new areas.
The categorization of farms, therefore, is directly linked to the analysis of land cover and use, considering both the amount of native vegetation preserved and the degradation conditions of productive areas. This integrated perspective reinforces that contemporary livestock farming is not limited to animal management alone, but also involves responsible management of the property’s natural resources.
Viewing soil and vegetation as strategic assets broadens the sustainability outlook, positioning the farm within a global scenario where balanced environmental and productive practices are increasingly valued.
Estratégias de controle e monitoramento
Once properly categorized, farms should make use of specific mechanisms to ensure control and monitoring of livestock activities. “Technology, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. They are not competing things; we believe we can do both at the same time,” said Vanessa Bernardes, from Solinftec.
Solutions involving specialized hardware and robotics, according to Vanessa, can produce productivity gains and environmental benefits simultaneously. Through continuous collection of real-time data, agribusiness assumes a new role in farm management, enabling more precise decisions that minimize potential environmental impacts.
AI-powered robots allow precise monitoring of everything that happens in the field. Thus, the use of inputs is reduced and farm management is reshaped, highlighting the need to digitalize properties for sustainable development.
Therefore, it is not a choice between productivity and conservation: when well applied, these technologies become complementary, enabling species management with greater control.
Processo de transição para a pecuária de precisão
According to data from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Catalytic Capital for the Agricultural Transition (CCAT) fund — or Fundo Catalítico para a Transição Agrícola, in a loose translation — has already launched with an anchor contribution of US$50 million and aims to mobilize US$1 billion in investments over the agricultural transition agenda.
Instruments such as subordinated debt, guarantees and concessional capital will be used by the fund to provide liquidity and security for investors and producers seeking long-term credit. In general, the process of pasture recovery takes between 7 and 10 years to generate returns. Initially, the focus will be on biomes such as the Amazon and Cerrado, potentially expanding to other areas depending on the fund’s performance.
Governo e iniciativa privada operam em conjunto
Richard Smith, executive director of the Produce, Conserve and Include Institute (PCI Institute), explained the institutional nature of the initiative: “It is a state project, not a government project; even with political change, the strategy continued to be implemented.”
Put simply, the private body’s objective is to promote productivity and inclusion within agribusiness, specifically through actions in Mato Grosso (MT). This institutionalization — by decree and, later, as a non-profit private entity with government representation on the board — is precisely what allows the continuity of actions despite changes in governments.
According to an IDH publication, the initiative involved the Chief of Staff of Mato Grosso, Fábio Garcia, together with the former director of IDH Brazil, Daniela Mariuzzo, in October 2024 in Cuiabá. Both signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which consolidates the commitment to support and direct investments to the PCI Institute.
The institutionalization process reduces the risk of discontinuity in complex territorial public policies that require decades to deliver results. Through institutes with shared governance, the PCI is able to attract partners, funds and market projects that demand institutional predictability for long-term investments.
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