Press Releases
Announcement of a Letter of Intent of the Recovery of Degraded Pasture with the Federative Republic of Brazil
March 26, 2025
On March 26, at the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace, a letter of intent of the recovery of degraded pasture which is signed by Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr. ETO Taku, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, H.E. Mr. Carlos FAVARO, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of the Federative Republic of Brazil and H.E. Mr. Paulo TEIXEIRA, Minister for Agrarian Development and Family Farming of the Federative Republic of Brazil, was announced.
- Given the increase in food demand due to the growth of the world's population, in Brazil, one of the world's leading agricultural countries, deforestation to convert forests into agricultural land was promoted in order to increase agricultural production. In light of this situation, in December 2023 the Brazilian government announced the National Program for the Conversion of Degraded Pastures into Sustainable Agricultural and Forestry Production Systems (PNCPD), and initiatives to convert degraded pastures (pastures and farmland whose soil has deteriorated due to inadequate land management, overgrazing, etc.) into farmland have been promoted as one of the measures to prevent deforestation and secure farmland.
- In addition, Brazil will host the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), scheduled for November 2025, and has set a target of achieving net zero deforestation by 2030, positioning environmental and climate change measures through addressing deforestation as one of its most urgent and important issues.
- This letter of intent expresses the commitment of Japan and Brazil to cooperate in the recovery of degraded pasture, in collaboration with the private sector and research institutions. Specifically, Japanese companies, Nikkei (Japanese descendants) agricultural cooperatives in Brazil, and the governments of Japan and Brazil will work together to conduct demonstration surveys at model farms in Brazil to recover degraded pasture without cutting down new forests, using soil conditioners and bio-stimulants (materials that enhance plant stress tolerance, etc.) supplied by Japanese companies. Moreover, there will be an exchange of information and experience related to the recovery of degraded pasture, as well as Public-private collaboration on climate change mitigation in the agricultural and livestock sectors. It is expected that this project will help to ensure the improvement of both agricultural productivity and sustainability.
- Furthermore, in “Strategic and Global Partnership Action Plan Japan-Brazil (2025-2030)” announced on the 26th of this month, Mr. ISHIBA Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan and H.E. Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil expressed their intention to develop measures to address environmental and climate change issues, including through “Co-creation for common agenda initiative.” This letter of intent was announced as part of this initiative.