ABC Plan : ten years of success and a brand new sustainable agriculture production

Abstract

Sustainability. It is not an abstract concept. It's a goal we're pursuing through day-to-day actions and public policies that put Brazil in the spotlight when it comes to agricultural strategies to produce more and more with fewer resources. The focus on sustainability and food security makes the Low-Carbon Agriculture Plan a global benchmark, unique in its scope, breadth and reach. The ABC Plan - Ten years of success and a new sustainable form of agricultural production is a book that provides a historical record of a decade of transformation in Brazil towards sustainable, low-carbon agriculture. In this publication, we portray the fundamental role of the Sectoral Plan for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change for the Consolidation of a Low-Carbon Economy in Agriculture, the ABC Plan. In these 10 years, the ABC Plan has fostered a portfolio of technologies with a solid technical and scientific basis, which also take into account economic, environmental and social aspects. It also plays a fundamental role in raising awareness in the agricultural sector about the importance of the climate agenda and environmental sustainability, consolidating an optimistic and innovative vision in relation to tackling climate change. As it is operated throughout the country, it involves the effective management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock together with regional actors, resulting in the structuring of a capillary governance network integrated into the national policy. The ABC Plan relies on the engagement of civil society and the support of the federal government, which are fundamental to making it possible to incorporate financing models based on the technical elements of production systems. The actions proposed under the ABC Plan have boosted innovation in the field, highlighted the importance of national science and the transfer of knowledge, and placed Brazil in the climate discussions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), making our country one of its main protagonists. For the next decade, we have set goals to expand the scope of our actions and, to this end, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is working to promote the actions of the Sectoral Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change and Low-Carbon Emissions in Agriculture and Livestock (ABC+ Plan), establishing national and international partnerships to build a base of reliable information, which helps to make the Safra Plan more robust to guarantee credit to farmers, outlining and implementing effective public policies. It is in this direction that we at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, based on the 10-year history of the ABC Plan that we are presenting here, continue to work to increase the leading role of Brazilian agribusiness, solidifying the present and envisioning a future where everyone wins with the outcomes.