# Unlocking catalytic capital at scale to accelerate the global transition to deforestation-free agriculture

IFACC Catalytic Capital Briefing Paper, 2026


### A new briefing paper from the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC) sets out how catalytic capital can unlock billions in commercial finance and accelerate the transition to deforestation- and conversion-free agriculture.


# Key Report Findings

Sustainable agriculture solutions already exist. The challenge is financing them at the speed and scale required.Farmers are ready to adopt these solutions: 48% of Brazilian producers cite finance as a barrier to regenerative practices, versus just 12% who question the practices themselves.In Brazil, an estimated $2bn in catalytic capital could unlock $8bn in commercial finance by 2030.The paper sets out five priority actions for governments, development finance institutions, investors and agricultural companies to move catalytic capital from isolated deals to market-wide scale.

[Download the IFACC Catalytic Capital Briefing Paper](https://weforum.box.com/s/cido45uqe7uou91161oa1tb7ca5woalm)


### Sustainable agriculture solutions exist, but scaling is a challenge

Agriculture is central to the climate and nature challenge and its solution. It already drives nearly 90% of tropical deforestation and global food demand is expected to rise around 50% by 2050. The problem is no longer a lack of viable solutions. Across Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, proven approaches are increasing productivity, resilience and farmer incomes without further deforestation. By December 2025, IFACC-aligned financial products had mobilized nearly US$1 billion, supporting more than 668,000 hectares of deforestation- and conversion-free production, agroforestry, restoration and conservation. But these solutions still operate at the margins. The challenge now is moving from proof to scale.


### Case studies: Market-tested models that are already delivering

Financial models are already demonstrating how catalytic and commercial capital can work together to finance sustainable agriculture solutions: Reverte Programme: Long-term financing to convert degraded pasture into productive regenerative soy systems. US$231 million was deployed between 2022 and 2025, transitioning more than 145,000 hectares of degraded land. Belterra & Impact Earth Fund: A blended-finance approach supporting agroforestry systems combining cocoa, fruit and native species. The model reports four times higher income per hectare than traditional livestock systems.Food & Forest Initiative: Private capital combined with philanthropic first-loss funding to reach smallholders and cooperatives in the Amazon bioeconomy, with more than 5,000 beneficiaries reached.


### The financing gap: Why the current system is not delivering

Despite evidence that sustainable agriculture models can work, conventional financing structures can prevent them from reaching scale. The IFACC paper identifies three key barriers: Short-term capital: Agricultural loans are often 12 months or less, while sustainable transitions can take five to ten years to generate returns. Barriers to access finance: Collateral requirements, credit-scoring models and ticket sizes can exclude small and medium-sized producers from finance. Finance models that favour the status quo: Traditional financial models often overlook environmental risks and the value of natural capital, favouring short-term production over long-term sustainability.


### The missing lever: What is catalytic capital?

Catalytic capital is risk-tolerant, impact-driven investment designed to unlock wider commercial participation. Through guarantees, first-loss capital, concessional finance and other mechanisms, it can absorb risk, improve lending terms and attract commercial investment into sustainable agriculture. The demand is clear: in a 2025 survey 48% of more than 1,350 Brazilian producers identified finance as a barrier to adopting regenerative practices, compared with just 12% who questioned the practices themselves. An estimated US$2 billion in catalytic capital in Brazil by 2030 could unlock US$8 billion in commercial finance. By absorbing early-stage risk and building a track record, catalytic capital can help establish a market that can ultimately attract commercial investment without catalytic support.


### Roadmap to accelerate change: Five pathways to unlock catalytic capital at scale

The IFACC briefing paper sets out five priority pathways for governments, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, investors, banks, philanthropies and agricultural supply-chain companies: Governments in key producing regions, together with MDBs — commit and deploy large-scale domestic catalytic capital facilities. Investment banks and DFIs, with institutional investors — structure mechanisms such as collateralized sustainability-linked loan obligations.A network of country and regional subordinate debt funds — incubated to provide catalytic capital to producer transition finance. Governments and other sources of catalytic finance — send a clear investment-positive political signal through official development finance. Agricultural supply chain companies — take de-risking positions to increase business and supply chain resilience.


### The ambition is not simply to increase sustainable finance, but to change the market so that deforestation-free agriculture moves from the exception to the rule.

[Download the paper](https://weforum.box.com/s/cido45uqe7uou91161oa1tb7ca5woalm)


## About IFACC

The Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC) works with producers, companies, banks and investors to overcome barriers to scaling investment and catalyze finance towards the transition to deforestation- and conversion-free agriculture.The initiative is led by The Nature Conservancy, Tropical Forest Alliance and the United Nations Environment Programme.