Almost 98% of Brazil’s farms do not comply with ‘soy moratorium’

Nearly 98% of farms blocked by Brazil’s “soy moratorium,” a corporate agreement aimed at banning cultivation in the Amazon rainforest, are unable to clear their land, Reuters reports, citing research from Abiove, an oilseed grower that monitors compliance with the agreement.

Under the two-decade-old moratorium, some of the world’s biggest grain traders, such as ADM, Bunge and Cargill, have pledged not to buy soybeans grown on land cleared after 2008. Brazilian farmers, who have stepped up their attacks on the moratorium in recent months, have long complained that the agreement discriminates against them by barring farmers from clearing more than 20% of land for commercial crops in the Amazon after 2008.

A new study by Abiove shows that only 50 of the 2,168 farms blocked by the moratorium in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soybean producer, have received permission from the government to clear their land. Nearly 98% of farmers have been denied the right to cultivate their land. Another 440 farms have cut down more forest than they were allowed to clear, according to data from the Mato Grosso moratorium.

The statement says the debate over the soy moratorium is not an environmental one, but rather a competitive one. “This moratorium has commercial overtones and deprives soy producers of the right to sell their products, establishing a rule that violates our laws and our national sovereignty.”

In 2024/25, Mato Grosso produced 51 million tons of soybeans, nearly a third of Brazil’s total production, with soybeans occupying 11.7 million hectares in the state, half of which are in the sensitive Amazon biome. The agreement currently blocks soybean farms covering 614,500 hectares, or 5.25% of Mato Grosso’s soybean production.

Farmer lobbies across the country continue to push for the moratorium to be lifted, arguing that it is hurting soybean producers. They have filed lawsuits against major agribusinesses (including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and others), demanding compensation for the land they have lost.

Tags: Brazil, soybean