AT LEAST 101 agribusiness financing operations lost access to subsidies in 2026 after the financial institutions responsible for releasing the funds identified socio-environmental liabilities in the financed projects, according to data from Brazil’s Central Bank.

As reported by Repórter Brasil, illegal deforestation and the use of conditions analogous to slavery are among the practices for which beneficiaries were held accountable in inspections carried out by Brazil’s federal environmental agency and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Under Brazilian law, “conditions analogous to slavery” is a legal classification covering forced labor, exhausting working hours, degrading working or living conditions, and debt bondage or other restrictions on workers’ freedom of movement. 

As a result, approximately R$50 million (approximately USD 9.7 million) obtained by farmers and companies through these contracts will no longer benefit from advantages such as easier access to public funds, tax incentives, and lower interest rates.

Data on the so-called “disclassified” operations – the technical term used for financing agreements that no longer comply with rural credit regulations and therefore lose access to federal incentive policies – are now available on the Central Bank’s website. The disclosure follows a request made by Repórter Brasil to the Central Bank in May 2025 through Brazil’s Access to Information Law.

At the time, the institution said it did not have segmented data on disqualifications motivated by socio-environmental restrictions. Private and state-owned banks that provide rural credit are responsible for monitoring environmental and labor practices on the financed farms, as well as categorizing cases of disqualification according to the reasons defined by the Central Bank.

“Given the relevance of the issue, we will review the list of reasons in due course in order to specify these occurrences,” the Central Bank said at the time. Contacted again, the institution said that a category covering these cases was effectively created in August last year.

Since January 2025, Central Bank rules have required rural credit contracts to include the possibility of disqualification of financing if, during the term of the agreement, breaches of environmental and labor obligations are identified on the rural property.

Among these breaches is the imposition of environmental embargoes on properties – an administrative sanction that suspends productive activities in areas where Brazil’s federal environmental agency has identified irregularities such as illegal deforestation.

The rules also prohibit the continuation of credit for employers included in the Dirty List, the federal government’s official registry of individuals and companies held administratively responsible for subjecting workers to conditions analogous to slavery.