Supporting Brazilian soy farmers committed to deforestation-free production
The Cerrado savanna in Brazil is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. However, the region is increasingly threatened as farmers clear forests to make room for agriculture. Rabobank is therefore participating in the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF). This is an innovative program that financially supports Brazilian soy farmers to grow soy without deforestation.
Why is this necessary?
The Cerrado savanna has enormous biodiversity, with many species of plants, animals and insects. But due to growing global demand for soy, trees and plants are being cleared to make space for soy cultivation. This threatens not only nature, but also the climate. The RCF aims to prevent nature loss in this region while helping farmers grow crops responsibly.
What does the RCF do?
The Responsible Commodities Facility provides Brazilian soy farmers in the Cerrado with favorable loans, linked to strict environmental conditions. Participating farmers are not allowed to clear forests or remove native vegetation such as wild shrubs and grasses. In fact, they must preserve more natural habitat than required under Brazilian law.
The program uses a ‘blended finance’ approach. This means businesses and governments work together to enable financing. This allows farmers to get loans at lower interest rates than usual. For the 2025/2026 growing season, the program has 60 million available. With this funding, approximately 280 farming businesses will receive loans. Together they will produce 240,000 tons of soy and preserve around 90,000 hectares of native vegetation. From 2026 onwards, the soy will be tracked using modern technology. At three points in the supply chain it will be verified and proven that the soy was grown without clearing forests.
Global collaboration
The RCF is a partnership of several organizations. Important partners include British supermarket chains such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, the British government, the AGRI3 Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The financing works as follows: Rabobank and IDB contribute the largest share, AGRI3 a smaller share and the British partners the smallest share.
However, the British partners take the greatest risk. If farmers cannot repay, the first losses are theirs. Do the losses increase? Then they fall to AGRI3. If the losses grow even larger, they fall to Rabobank and IDB. By structuring it this way, farmers can receive favorable loans. The farmers repay the loans with revenue from their soy harvest and through contracts with international grain traders.
An independent environmental committee monitors compliance with all environmental and social conditions.
Rabobank’s role
More than 70% of the farmers supported by RCF are already customers of Rabobank Brazil. This creates a strong connection between Rabobank’s European and South American networks.
Rabobank is also co-founder of the AGRI3 Fund. This fund works to raise $1 billion for projects that protect forests, support sustainable agriculture, and help rural communities.
For Rabobank, participation in the RCF aligns perfectly with our mission to promote sustainable agriculture and protect nature in special areas like the Cerrado. We aim to prevent deforestation together with farmers and preserve more nature than legally required.
Read more about RCF on RCF Rabobank Brazil - Rabobank.