The analysis in this report follows from previous studies on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the expansion of monocropping of commodity crops and agrofuels, with special attention on the new mechanisms that national and transnational corporations are using to exploit farmland as a financial asset.

The surge in land prices in MATOPIBA has made it an area of particular interest to land speculators. These speculators are able to acquire the land at low prices through a process where farms are established on “terras devolutas” or public lands of common use2, often through an illegal practice known as grilagem3. The process is causing deforestation of much of the native Cerrado biome. Once farms are converted to commodity production, the price of the land tends to rise.

Finally, this research report enable to observe the process of land speculation.

Read the report here.