Globo Rural | 24 September 2025
Government weighs degraded-land fund to lure foreign investors
By Camila Souza Ramos
The Brazilian federal government is studying a proposal to create an agribusiness investment fund (Fiagro) to attract foreign investors willing to become partners with farmers seeking to recover and convert degraded pastures, according to Carlos Ernesto Augustin, special adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture. He spoke to Valor on the sidelines of Vozes do Agro, an event hosted by Globo Rural and Valor.
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The proposal is part of the ministry’s broader strategy to draw capital and accelerate Caminho Verde Brasil, a program focused on restoring degraded areas. In addition to securing financing for land conversion, the government is now evaluating how to attract equity investment, which would eliminate financing costs for producers.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Salic, has already signaled potential interest in equity-based initiatives to speed up the recovery of degraded land in Brazil, though it is still assessing both the feasibility and timing of such an investment, according to sources.
The government also presented the equity-based recovery model to representatives from China’s Department of International Economic Relations during a meeting in Santos, São Paulo state, last Thursday (18).
The concept is to use the Fiagro structure to attract investors interested in the potential appreciation of farmland once degraded pastures are restored. Estimates suggest that soybean cropland today can be worth three times more than degraded pastureland.
The ministry is also considering strategic agreements with certain investors, including preferential purchase rights for the agricultural products grown on the rehabilitated lands, Mr. Augustin noted.