O preço da terra está barato demais pra ignorar, dizem estes gestores

Buri, a new Brazilian farmland investment manager, has assembled R$180 million in land contributions and investor capital to acquire distressed agricultural properties at discounts of 30% to 40% off 2022 valuations, per Brazil Journal. The fund is targeting a first-phase target of around R$500 million, against a total authorized capital of R$5 billion, with a five-year investment window.

The vehicle was founded by Olivier Colas, a former vice president at Kepler Weber, and Eça Correia, a former KPMG executive. Their strategy is twofold: buy productive farmland that has hit the market through debt enforcement proceedings, and acquire degraded properties that can be converted to cropland — a process that takes three to five years but is expected to generate higher returns. Property selection is handled by NMPO, a land advisory firm run by two former Macquarie executives, Stephen Pout and Juliano Vorraber. The fund's anchor asset is a farm contributed by Agrícola São Luiz (ASL), a grain producer from Mato Grosso owned by the Martelli family and a Buri partner; ASL will lease back and operate the land while the sale window remains closed. Two additional farms are described as being in advanced negotiation, according to Brazil Journal.

The distressed-asset opportunity stems from a sharp deterioration in Brazil's agribusiness sector. Gross soybean margins on owned land fell 48% this crop season to R$1,219 per hectare, Colas told Brazil Journal, squeezed by high interest rates, elevated production costs, and weak commodity prices. Brazil's agribusiness sector recorded nearly 2,000 bankruptcy filings last year, a 56% increase over the prior year; in the first quarter of this year, the 474 filings already ran 22% above the same period in 2025. Over 80 farms have already been offered to Buri's managers, with roughly 95,000 hectares currently under analysis or in negotiation.

The fund's initial geographic focus is Mato Grosso, where a double-cropping season, reliable rainfall, and market liquidity make properties more attractive. Buri favors plots between 1,000 and 3,000 hectares, which the managers consider easier to resell. "Our view is that now is the moment to buy land at a heavily discounted price and wait for the market to normalize," Colas said, as quoted by Brazil Journal.

The long-term thesis rests on rising global food demand. The USDA projects global soy demand will grow by 75 million tonnes over the next decade — more than Argentina's entire projected annual output of 50 million tonnes this year. Accounting for expected productivity gains, that would require roughly 20 million additional hectares of cultivation, with Brazil potentially supplying 12 million of them, Colas argued. Historical price data supports the land-appreciation case: average Brazilian farmland prices rose 308% between 2002 and 2013, with the Center-West region gaining 444%; between 2019 and 2024, agricultural land appreciated 113%, per Brazil Journal.

Correia said the fund will deploy capital methodically as opportunities arise. "The authorized capital is R$5 billion, but we have a five-year investment period. So we'll do this parsimoniously, as opportunities emerge," he told Brazil Journal, adding that an initial fund size around R$500 million is his near-term expectation. Each property acquisition is evaluated on soil quality, productivity, climate, logistics, and the specific circumstances driving the sale — such as debt levels or succession disputes.