Brazil agribusiness shifts toward fiduciary alienation for rural credit

Agricultural producers in Brazil are increasingly utilizing fiduciary alienation rather than traditional mortgages when seeking rural credit. Data from Banco do Brasil indicates that 70% of agribusiness operations in the 2025/26 harvest utilized fiduciary alienation.

Unlike a mortgage, where the producer remains the owner of the property with the land serving as a recorded guarantee, fiduciary alienation transfers fiduciary ownership to the creditor to secure the debt. While the producer typically maintains direct possession of the land, default can lead to the consolidation of property ownership by the creditor and subsequent auction of the asset.