The attempt to reconcile livestock production, productive inclusion and deforestation reduction led the government of Par\u00e1 to launch, on Wednesday (17), in Xinguara, in the southeast of the State, the Cheque Pecu\u00e1ria program. The initiative provides for the release of financial resources so that small rural producers and family farmers advance in environmental regularization or adopt practices capable of increasing productivity without opening new areas.<\/p>\n
Aimed at the most vulnerable segment of the meat supply chain, the program seeks to address one of the main socio-environmental bottlenecks in Par\u00e1's livestock industry. According to the Institute for Forest and Agricultural Management and Certification (Imaflora), the incentive has the potential to engage a public historically more distant from environmental compliance policies and, at the same time, generate significant climate gains. "We calculated the potential climate contribution resulting from the adherence of this universe of producers to the measures targeted by the incentive, and the results are very positive," says Bruno Vello, Public Policy Coordinator at Imaflora.<\/p>\n
Focus on the weakest link in the chain.<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Photo: Freepik<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Livestock Check program can reach more than 70,000 small producers, responsible for approximately 3.1 million head of cattle, equivalent to 13.7% of the Par\u00e1 state herd. The target audience includes family farmers and ranchers with up to 100 head of cattle, concentrated mainly in the initial phases of the production chain, such as breeding and raising.<\/p>\n In the livestock farming structure, these producers occupy the base of the pyramid. While larger, integrated farms carry out all stages, from breeding to fattening, small producers are responsible for the production of calves and young animals, which then go to larger properties. When there are socio-environmental irregularities in this initial link, the problem tends to spread throughout the chain, including to slaughterhouses and buyer markets. "Since they have less technology, small producers usually release the cattle into the pasture until the moment they sell to an intermediary, who will redirect the cattle to a larger farm," explains Vello.<\/p>\n According to him, it is the medium and large farms that maintain a direct relationship with the meatpacking plants and need to prove environmental compliance. "Therefore, it is positive that the Livestock Check program focuses on small farms scattered throughout the state. It's a way to direct public money to guide local economies towards greater sustainability," he points out.<\/p>\n Resource with a defined destination<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n The program design allocates resources exclusively to two areas considered strategic for reducing deforestation. Each producer will be able to access up to R$ 20,000 to invest in so-called commercial requalification, which involves the recovery of areas illegally deforested after 2008, or in the adoption of good production practices.<\/p>\n Properties that overlap with protected areas or have records of slave-like labor are excluded from the program. According to experts, the logic is to differentiate between producers who are eligible for incentives to regularize their situation and those who should be the priority target of command-and-control policies.<\/p>\n Producers who are already compliant with regulations will be able to apply the resources to practices that increase competitiveness and bring environmental benefits. One example cited is rotational grazing management, a system in which the pasture is divided into paddocks and occupied alternately by cattle. This method allows for vegetation recovery, improves grass quality, and accelerates animal weight gain.<\/p>\n In addition to the productive impact, proper management favors root formation in the soil, increasing carbon sequestration. With animals slaughtered earlier, there is a reduction in enteric methane emissions, the main greenhouse gas associated with livestock farming in Brazil. "The concentration of livestock in a well-managed area reduces the pressure for new conversions of native vegetation into pasture," notes Vello.<\/p>\n Climate and productive potential<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Photo: Arnaldo Alves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Estimates from Imaflora, considering the participation of 100% of the eligible public in the Livestock Check program, indicate that the program could enable the sustainable management of approximately 360,000 hectares, equivalent to 14% of the target set in the ABC+ Par\u00e1 Plan. Furthermore, at least 432,000 hectares could be isolated for environmental restoration, which corresponds to 7.7% of the target in the State's Native Vegetation Restoration Plan.<\/p>\n In practice, the change in management would allow small producers to double production without expanding the area used. This would mean maintaining an estimated stock of 500 million tons of carbon in the soil. The scenario also indicates the potential for annual removal of 806,400 tons of carbon dioxide and a reduction of 48,400 tons of methane, with the possibility of early culling of up to 3 million head of cattle.<\/p>\n Commercial redevelopment initiatives also have significant impacts. According to the institute's calculations, forest restoration could result in the capture of 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, in addition to the continuous absorption of 11.11 tons per hectare per year in areas of secondary forests established on degraded pastures.<\/p>\n Incentive to overcome resistance<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n According to Vello, the program can help overcome the resistance of some small producers to environmental regularization. "This incentive can overcome resistance to environmental compliance from the segment of the public that tends to be more resistant to the idea and for whom the costs are more prohibitive," he states.<\/p>\n According to him, many producers associate regularization with high costs for forest restoration, the risk of market exclusion, and the loss of productive area. "Having a resource that allows them to regularize their situation and obtain production gains from it can be an incentive for change," he says.<\/p>\n The coordinator of Imaflora, however, points out that the Livestock Check program can still be improved, such as by including incentives for individual herd traceability. "Close monitoring will be necessary in the coming years to identify any bottlenecks, distortions, and opportunities to improve the program," he emphasizes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/opresenterural.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Captura-de-tela-2025-04-17-092801.jpg?resize=300%2C196&ssl=1\")
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