Participating organizations
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Context
The Brazilian Cerrado, located predominantly on Brazil’s Central Plateau, is the second-largest biome in the country, spanning over 198 million hectares. It harbors 30% of Brazil’s biodiversity and produces 25% of the world’s soy, making it a biodiversity and agricultural production powerhouse. Its cultivable area grew between 1985 and 2023, with significant negative impacts on local ecosystems. Nearly half of the Cerrado has been converted for agriculture, and fires exceed the ecosystem’s capacity to recover. A hotter, drier climate is destabilizing ecosystem services and farming systems, and increasing risks for local communities.1
hectares is the area of the Brazilian Cerrado
of Brazil's biodiversity is harbored by the Cerrado
of the world's soy is produced in the Cerrado
Key facts
Ambition of the project
REVERTE® was first developed in 2019 by leading agtech company Syngenta and global conservation organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Syngenta Group’s goal is for 1 million hectares of degraded soil to be recovered and turned into productive areas throughout Brazil by 2030. A significant portion of that will be in the Cerrado biome, where Syngenta partners with TNC. Reverte’s operations got off the ground in 2021, when Itaú BBA, a major Latin American bank, joined as the program’s financial partner. The organizations have designed the program to support row crop growers in the adoption of regenerative farming practices – including crop rotation, cover cropping and no-till farming – to restore the productive capacity of degraded lands. Through rehabilitation, Reverte delivers a win-win solution: expanding productive cultivation areas without further conversion while improving ecosystem health.
Syngenta’s sustainability team in Brazil fully manages and implements Reverte, in collaboration with the company’s commercial teams. The program has both a global Steering Committee, internal to Syngenta, and a local Steering Committee, with representation from TNC. Through strategic multi-stakeholder partnerships, the Reverte program addresses the complex challenges of modern agriculture by adopting solutions adapted to the local context, presenting a replicable model for sustainable agricultural development.
The program at a glance
Robust eligibility criteria
Growers wishing to enroll in Reverte are required to meet robust eligibility criteria developed by TNC, based on the organization’s Environmental Framework. These criteria require farmers to comply with environmental and labor legislation, respect the rights of Quilombola communities2 and Indigenous Peoples, respect land registration rules and adhere to strict no-deforestation rules:
Show no illegal deforestation after 22 July 2008 on all properties of the economic group
Have zero deforestation after 2018 on Reverte program property
The program’s zero-deforestation tolerance rules are more stringent than those regulated through the EU Deforestation Regulation, which imposes a 2020 cut-off date.
Bespoke agronomic advice
Eligible producers undergo a credit assessment by Itaú BBA and then engage a Syngenta-approved agronomic consultant who develops bespoke, tailor-made solutions for each farmer based on their needs and environmental conditions – with this support available for 10 years. A comprehensive guide for the recovery of degraded areas forms the backbone of the program’s methodology. Using this guide, agronomic consultants work closely with Reverte farmers, tailoring the guidelines to local conditions. This personalized approach ensures that the program’s strategies are adapted to the unique challenges and opportunities of each farm.
Agronomists also ensure compliance with Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) scientific guidelines and provide growers with agricultural technologies, fostering innovation in farming practices.
A strong business case
Reverte’s model is mutually beneficial for farmers and for business. Reverte’s financing structure – outlined below – is attractive for farmers as it provides preferential credit terms, consequently supporting them in the challenging early stages of the transition to more sustainable farming practices. The program also helps farmers mitigate the ever-increasing risks posed by climate change, thus building resilience. By promoting soil health, Reverte delivers an immediate productivity gain – 92% of farms monitored saw a yield increase between the first and second year of enrollment, with an average 9% increase. It also ensures farm productivity and stability in the long term.
“We assume significant risks, especially in the current context where mitigating certain risks, such as production risks often associated with climate factors, is challenging.”
– Reverte grower
Other program benefits include market access through alignment with international buyer sustainability demands, knowledge transfer through access to innovative technologies and participation in a community of forward-thinking farmers, and legal security through compliance with environmental legislation.
Similarly, Syngenta has reported increased market share and crop protection and biological product sales growth, improved relationships with growers, as well as enhanced institutional image.
Financing model
Itaú BBA offers both a long-term and a short-term credit line. This dual approach ensures that farmers have access to strategic, long-term investments and operational, short-term financing. Growers participating in the program receive a 10-year loan with a grace period of up to three years, during which they need only pay interest on the loan, with no principal repayments necessary. This patient capital approach is crucial for initiatives like Reverte, where the benefits of soil restoration may take several years to fully materialize.
Additionally, the program makes a short-term credit line available to farmers. By aligning the short-term credit with crop cycles, Itaú BBA links financing with farmers’ reality of agricultural cash flows and seasonality.
Credits: Syngenta
The credit limit is based on productive capacity and historical performance, incentivizes sustainable farming practices and rewards farmers who demonstrate consistent improvement in their operations. This approach manages risk for the bank and encourages farmers to adopt best practices in agriculture.
Table 2: Reverte’s financing stack
First loss guarantee, with percentage determined by Syngenta and Itaú based on each grower’s credit rating
Note: Rural product notes are a legal instrument specific to Brazilian agribusiness and governed under Brazilian law. They represent a promise of delivery of rural products, to be settled either physically (by delivery of the product) or financially (through a payment).
To de-risk Itaú’s credit lines, Syngenta offers a 13% first loss guarantee, whereby the company commits to partially absorbing initial losses incurred by the farmers, which limits Itaú’s risk exposure. Syngenta uses this innovative de-risking mechanism to catalyze private investments in agriculture. It could serve as a replicable instrument to unlock transition finance for regenerative agriculture. That the program has never had to make use of this first-loss guarantee speaks to Reverte’s success.
The collateral structure, using both real estate and CPRs, provides a balanced approach to risk management. Through CPRs, a financial instrument specific to Brazilian agribusiness, the program leverages local financial innovations to support sustainable agriculture. Farmers by and large settle CPRs used in the Reverte program financially rather than physically, an indication of the value farmers can receive for their crops on the market.
Overall, this financing structure represents a tailored approach to agricultural lending, designed to support the specific needs of the Reverte program and its participants. It demonstrates how financial institutions can play a crucial role in promoting sustainable agriculture by offering innovative, flexible and supportive financing solutions.
Additionally, in March 2025 the International Finance Corporation, IDB Invest and Itaú BBA announced a USD $250 million bond issuance, of which USD $75 million will go to the Reverte program for projects aimed at preserving biodiversity.
first loss guarantee is offered by Syngenta
bond issuance was announced in March 2025
will go to the Reverte program from the bond issuance
Monitoring, reporting and verification
A monitoring, reporting and verification system tracks Reverte’s progress. It combines remote sensing, satellite imagery, GIS technology and on-the-ground data collection. Reverte relies on three key scientific partners to gather this data:
Agrotools – providing the socio-environmental analysis tool for the program
Lapig – responsible for soil carbon studies
APSI – in charge of soil sampling and analysis for chemical, physical and biological properties
Table 3: Objectives and progress monitored per impact area
Endnotes
1 WBCSD (2025). Resilience for the Future: A Viable Pathway to Regenerative Landscapes in the Cerrado. Retrieved from: https://www.wbcsd.org/resources/resilience-for-the-future-a-viable-pathway-to-regenerative-landscapes-in-the-cerrado/.
2 Quilombolas are Afro-Brazilian communities first established by escaped slaves in Brazil. Brazil’s 1988 Constitution guaranteed quilombo communities the right to own their collective territories. Enforcing rights to their land is a huge challenge to this day.
