Bunge, Santander Brasil and TNC to offer soy farmers long-term loans to expand production without clearing native habitat in the Brazilian Cerrado

Today Bunge S.A., a subsidiary of Bunge Limited, Banco Santander Brasil and The Nature Conservancy announced they have jointly developed a first-of-its-kind financing mechanism for soy farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado.

White Plains, NY; São Paulo, Brazil; Arlington, VA – August 29, 2018 – Today Bunge S.A., a subsidiary of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) (“Bunge”), Banco Santander Brasil S.A. (B3: SANB11) (“Santander Brasil”) and The Nature Conservancy (“TNC”) announced they have jointly developed a first-of-its-kind financing mechanism for soy farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The program is designed to promote agricultural production without further deforestation or conversion of native vegetation, by providing long-term loans to farmers willing to commit to this approach. Most of the loans currently available to soy farmers are for less than a year to finance their annual crop costs. This new mechanism will offer loans of up to 10 years, recognizing that investments in land acquisition and preparation have a long-term payback.