In recent years, Brazil has sought to consolidate its position as a global leader in sustainable agriculture, promoting initiatives aimed at efficient production with less environmental impact. With the Global CSA Conference taking place in Brasília in November 2025 and the subsequent COP30 in Belém, the country is at a crucial moment to demonstrate its ability to align discourse and practice. But to what extent will this conference effectively contribute to the transformation of Brazilian and global agriculture?
The central proposal of the conference is to generate tangible solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on agriculture and promote partnerships that guarantee global food security. Through initiatives such as “deal making”, the aim is to establish concrete commitments between public and private sector actors to finance and scale projects that bring real impact. However, there is a major challenge: turning these agreements into measurable results and not just well-crafted promises. The proposal of the Brazilian government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is that this conference will pave the way for COP30 to become the “implementation COP”.
The concept of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is not new. Coined in 2010, it aims to increase agricultural productivity, reduce emissions and strengthen the resilience of production systems in the context of climate change. In Brazil, we are encouraging sustainable practices in what we call Low Carbon Agriculture (Agricultura de Baixa Emissão de Carbono), supported by public policies such as the ABC+ Plan (Plano ABC+). However, the adoption of these practices still faces significant barriers that extend from cultural and political resistance to lack of adequate funding. Thus, the conference needs to go beyond simply disseminating knowledge and ensure the implementation of solutions for a more resilient agricultural system on a large scale.
The conference will take place right before COP30 from November 5 to 7 at the University of Brasilia. Academic papers will be presented and various debates will take place in the presence of public authorities, researchers and representatives of the agricultural sector, from producers to agribusiness companies and their representatives. Academics and others are invited to submit their abstracts until the 31st of May to be considered as content for the conference program. It will be an opportunity to demonstrate that Brazilian scientific data can be promoted at conferences with a high global impact.
As host of COP30, Brazil will have the opportunity at this conference to demonstrate that its environmental policies are in line with international commitments to reduce emissions and protect biomes, and that agriculture has been a sector that has collaborated effectively towards these goals. Although there already are efforts to improve policies, reality shows that there is still a long way to go to ensure that these programs are effective at a national scale.
The conference also seeks to identify solutions to critical issues such as soil management, next generation crops, sustainable livestock and green financing. These issues are directly related to the central theme chosen for the COP30 action agenda in agriculture: Land Restoration for Food Security. The question is: will there really be a long-term commitment from economic and political actors to turn the conference proposals into public policies and structural incentives?
The innovative approach proposed by the event focuses on generating “deals” that seek concrete commitments, including on financing and project implementation. However, for this to work, it is essential that there is solid post-conference monitoring and supervision of compliance to these commitments. Without this, we run the risk of seeing yet another conference full of good ideas, but with little real impact.
Another reason why this conference will be held at this time is the new version of the Brazilian Climate Plan (Plano Clima do Brasil), aligned with the new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which should feature a significant contribution from the agricultural sector in reducing emissions by 2035 and 2050. The transition to more resilient, low-carbon agriculture will only be successful if there are policies that guarantee the adoption of science-based solutions, training and access to efficient financial mechanisms for this sector.
COP30 in Belém should be the moment when Brazil reaffirms its commitment to an agroecological and low-carbon transition, consolidating a model that combines productivity with sustainability. The Global CSA Conference could be an important step in this direction, but only if there is a real commitment on the part of its participants to turn speeches into concrete practices.
Therefore, the central question remains: will this conference be a real catalyst for structural changes in global and Brazilian agriculture? Can the experiences that have already been adopted in Brazil really be internationally recognized and contribute towards achieving global goals? Can we serve as an inspiration to other countries?
It will be up to Brazil and its scientists, as well as the global audience, to set an example and ensure that the opportunities generated by the conference are not lost in the discourse, but result in real progress for the agricultural sector and the planet.
