Tests will start on May 11, 2026 in Barcarena (PA), Uruçuí (PI), Rio Verde (GO), Corumbá (MS), Irati (PR) and Viamão (RS)

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) will start, in May, the second pilot test of the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture, a test and preparation phase to ensure quality and coverage of the survey that will be conducted all over the country. Six Brazilian cities in four Major Regions will receive the teams.

The pilot tests – with a first one held  in December 2025 – are useful to test and improve data collection instruments, operational procedures and logistical capacity in different agricultural contexts, aiming at a more precise and efficient and effective Census operation. 

The launch will take place on May 8, 2026, at 11 am, in an online session, as one of the Census preparation and dissemination actions. The event starts with a talk by the president of the IBGE, Marcio Pochmann, the director of Surveys, Gustavo Junger da Silva, and of the coordinator-general of Census Operations, Fernando Damasco, followed by a presentation about the technical and operational project for the 2nd pilot test, by Vando da Paz Nascimento, coordinator of Agricultural Statistics, the technical manager of the Census of Agriculture, Juliana Souza de Queiroz, and Marta Antunes, manager of Traditional People and Communities and Specific Population Groups.

The operation will take place on May 11 and 22, 2026 in Barcarena (PA), Uruçuí (PI), Rio Verde (GO), Corumbá (MS), Irati (PR) and Viamão (RS), cities chosen forthe tests. In the first test, conducted in December, the selected cities were Juazeiro and Sobradinho, Bahia, Bacabal, in Maranhão, Alfenas and Grão Mogol, in Minas Gerais and Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro. So, representatives of all the Major Regions will have participated in the tests.

Besides validating traditional methodologies, the pilot test presenta an innovation: the inclusion of agrifood systems of traditional peoples and communities. For the first tiem, these groups will be portrayed in detail, thus ensuring their representation in the national statistical survey. 

The IBGE prepared materials to be distributed among the teams, such as leaflets, posters, fans, car stickers, message slips and also artwork for the event. In March, the Institute promoted workshops about the Census in the six cities where the pilot tests will take place. 

Selected municipalities

Located in the metropolitan area of Belém, Barcarena (PA) was chosen for having, in the latest Census of Agriculture, a great diversity of activities. The permanent crop of acai is predominat in the municipality, but livestock and wild crop harvesting of Brazil nuts, bacuri and bacaba area also found in Barcarena, which will enable tests in different modes of production.

In Piauí, the choice of Uruçuí was the agricultural expansion of this municipality in the southwest of the state. Also the complex production logistics was taken into consideration.

One of the biggest municipalities in Goiás, the city of Rio Verde will represent the Cerrado biome in the 2nd pilot test. The Census team considered the fact that this municipality has a heavily mechanized agribusiness, with major establishments and agroindustrial  chains, large-scale production, intensive use of technology, inputs, machinery and equipment. Aspects related to the management of agricultural establishments were also taken into consideration.

Representing Pantanal, Corumbá (MS), was also chosen by major establishments, however, with a predominance of livestock. The seasonal nature of  sazonalidade river floods in Pantanal, an environmentally sensitive area, causes productivity in the area to be variable, which was also an aspect of this choice. 

The presence of traditional peoples and municipalities in Irati drove the choice of municipality to be selected  for the second pilot test. The faxinalenses, traditional communities with a unique production system, stand out in the area.

Finally, Viamão (RS), located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, another municipality with a presence of traditional communities, was chosen due to its peri-urban nature and fraagmented estblishments, among which irrigated rice stands out. The idea is to test, in the city of Pampa, the identification of agricultural establishments in areas under urban pressure, besides concepts of territory limiys, use of soil and pluriactivity and impacts of losses due to climate-related reasons.

Data collection for the 12th Census of Agriculture is scheduled for the months of March-September 2027. However, other preparation steps will be put into practice before, such as the census rehearsal, in November 2026 and registry update for data collection, between October this year and February 2027.

With the motto “Together we will harvest the largest data crop in Brazil”, the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture is expected to visit about 5 million agricultural establishments, in the 5,571 municipalities in the country, generate approximately  35 thousand temporary positions and updated a detailed portrait of essential activities that produce wealth, labor and income.

Additional information on the Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture can be found on the official page of the survey.