Historical series Itaú BBA launches another line of financing for ESG practices in agriculture and disburses R$80 million to Grupo Roncador
The new modality aims to encourage the development of sustainable practices, contributing to the growth of low-carbon agriculture.
São Paulo, April 19, 2024 – Itaú BBA has financed R$80 million through a Rural Product Note, “Cobertura”, issued by Grupo Roncador (Roncador Group), considered one of Brazil’s leading agricultural groups. The modality, which is part of Itaú BBA’s ESG Agro product range, is designed to finance annual crops, covering the normal expenses of the production cycle, and has the criterion of adopting cover crops in the off-season.
“Through a simple line, available as both a Rural Product Note and Rural Credit, we encourage the adoption of one of the main practices of regenerative agriculture and associate our credit with a lower emission activity,” explains Pedro Fernandes, Agribusiness Director at Itaú BBA.
Grupo Roncador integrates high-tech regenerative livestock and agriculture and the benefits can be seen in the constant improvement of the soil, forest conservation, fauna diversity, increased food production and the evolution of the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance.
The ESG modalities of Agro Products are part of Itaú BBA’s strategy of supporting the transition to low-emission agriculture, encouraging good practices, and providing scalable solutions in line with the institutional commitment to reduce financed emissions. Currently, Itaú BBA’s ESG Agro product shelf has five thematic modalities: (1) Bio-inputs – Commercialization, (2) Bio-inputs – Use, (3) Certifications, (4) Solar Energy, (5) Coverage. In addition, the bank’s strategy includes support for programs that encourage the adoption of good production practices and contribute to the sustainable development of the sector.
For eligibility for Itaú BBA’s ESG Agro product lines and maintenance of ESG-rated operations, in addition to the criteria of each modality, additional socio-environmental criteria are considered to those of the bank’s conventional operations.
Since 2021, connected to the Net Zero commitment, the bank has been building agenda range of ESG products for Agribusiness and positioning itself as a bank supporting the transition to a low greenhouse gas emission economy. The adoption of low-emission agricultural technologies and practices results in significant gains in productivity and system resilience, which makes the process even more opportune from the point of view of both the producer and the bank.