São Paulo reaches 100 validated environmental registrations

The State of São Paulo leads the agenda for territorial conservation in the national agricultural sector, preserving 25% of its territory, above the 20% required by the Brazilian Forest Code. This significant result is the result of hard work, together with rural producers from São Paulo, to validate the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR).

With an efficient CAR, SP already has more than 432 thousand active registrations, of which 81 thousand are validated in the system and another 20 thousand are in the validation process. By the end of the year, more than 100 thousand registrations will be validated, reaching the first goal of the Government of São Paulo.

The 100th registration was delivered by the governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, and by the secretary of Agriculture and Supply, Guilherme Piai, in a ceremony at the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, to the producer Manoel Rainho Júnior, from Fazenda Miralua, located in Marabá Paulista, in the western region of the state. 

“Only SP has reached the milestone of 100 validated CARs. We are an agro-environmental powerhouse, our forest reserves are growing, 25% of our properties have validated CARs. By 2026, all 400 rural properties in São Paulo will have their environmental registration validated,” said Governor Tarcisio de Freitas.

Rainho's family is dedicated to beef cattle farming, in all its phases, from breeding, rearing and fattening, and has a herd of approximately 5 animals. Manoel and his family's properties recently reached the milestone of 500 native seedlings planted in areas designated for the preservation and recovery of native vegetation, 250 of which were at Fazenda Miralua, in partnership with organizations dedicated to the biome, such as SOS Mata Atlântica.

For Rainho, administrator of Miralua and an agricultural engineer by training, environmental regularization is an aspect that not only brings financial benefits through the appreciation of agricultural products, but also guarantees the producer the full sustainability of their production. “When we joined the São Paulo regularization program, we saw that the advantage of being environmentally up to date positively affects all sectors of production on our property, from the quality of the water in the streams to the management of the livestock,” highlights Rainho.

Registration with the CAR is the first step towards obtaining environmental regularization of a property, and a structure and qualified professionals were needed to speed up the process of registering properties of small rural producers. According to Luis Gustavo Ferreira, regional action coordinator, approximately 80% of the registrations made had to be modified due to some filling error. “We will validate 100% of the CARs in SP by 2026. With dynamic analysis and artificial intelligence, SP will be the first in Brazil to implement the Brazilian forest code. Our product is very valuable and our agriculture is the most sustainable in the world,” said Guilherme Piai, Secretary of Agriculture and Supply of São Paulo.

It is worth remembering that the CAR facilitates access to credit and incentives. For rural landowners, registration is a requirement to access various financing and agricultural credit programs offered by both the federal and state governments. This includes credit lines for adopting sustainable practices, recovering degraded areas, and maintaining preservation areas.

The 2024/25 Harvest Plan benefited producers with regularized registration, with a reduction in interest rates for pasture recovery and rewards for rural producers who adopt agricultural practices considered more sustainable. Producers with approved CAR received a 0,5% discount, and other good sustainability practices also benefited with an additional 0,5%. Therefore, 1% less interest for producers who have sustainable practices.

The CAR allows for the monitoring of native vegetation areas, which helps identify deforested areas or those undergoing degradation, facilitating monitoring and prevention of environmental crimes. In the state of São Paulo, this control is essential, especially in regions with high biodiversity and threats of illegal deforestation.

By gathering detailed information on native vegetation, land use and preservation areas, the CAR is a strategic tool for planning public policies aimed at environmental conservation. It assists the São Paulo government in defining priority areas for ecological restoration, management actions and conservation of water resources.

In short, the CAR is an essential tool for sustainable development in the state of São Paulo. It offers a path to environmental regularization, while enabling access to incentives, participation in recovery programs, and support for more efficient and transparent environmental management.