Brazil's farm sector braces for the global spotlight

Brazil's powerful agriculture industry plans to show off a green image at the upcoming COP30 summit - despite its massive climate footprint.

- DAYANNE SOUSA DANIEL CARVALHO

Ranchers herd cattle on a farm in Xinguara, Para state, Brazil.

(BLOOMBERG)

The highest-emitting sector of the economy, it is also the main driver of deforestation. But at the United Nations-sponsored summit, its message will be that Brazil is a leader in innovative, sustainable agriculture. COP30 will run from Monday to Nov 21.

The farm lobby and its government backers are honing this message in the face of international pressure that threatens the country's key exports. The EU has passed a law requiring proof that imported Brazilian crops weren't grown on deforested land (the law hasn't yet been implemented). And the US recently launched a probe into Brazil's trade practices, citing deforestation as a concern.

A commodities giant, Brazil supplies beef, soybeans, sugar and coffee to markets from China to Europe. The agriculture supply chain accounts for about a quarter of the country's GDP. That economic heft means the industry shapes the country's political debate more than any other - even more than oil and gas. Some 60% of Brazil's lawmakers are members of the congressional agriculture caucus.

Next month, the world's largest climate event will welcome thousands of high-level visitors to the Amazonian city of Belém - and open the industry to more scrutiny.

"It could be something very negative for us," said Pedro Lupion, head of the agriculture caucus.

The summit could become a "trap" for agribusiness if it doesn't highlight "good examples and good practices," Brazil's Secretary of Agricultural Policy Guilherme Campos said in September.

Brazilian government bodies that support the sector are working to do that. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and Embrapa, a government-backed agriculture research group,