12th Census of Agriculture
This Monday (11), IBGE launches the second pilot test of the 12º Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture
May 11, 2026 09h00 AM | Last Updated: May 11, 2026 11h14 AM
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) begins today the 2nd pilot test of the 12th Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture, another preparatory and testing stage to guarantee the quality and scope of the survey that will be carried out across the country. Six cities, from four Brazilian Major Regions, will host the teams.
The operation takes place in the cities of Barcarena (PA), Uruçuí (PI), Rio Verde (GO), Corumbá (MS), Irati (PR) and Viamão (RS), cities chosen for this stage of testing. You can follow the days of activities on the News Agency, Census Official Website and on our social media: Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook.
In addition to validating traditional methodologies, the pilot test brings a historical innovation: the inclusion of productive agri-food systems of traditional peoples and communities. For the first time ever, these groups will be portrayed in detail, ensuring their representation in the national statistical survey.
Located in the metropolitan area of Belém, Barcarena (PA) was chosen because it showed a high diversity of activities in the last Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture. Permanent açaí farming is predominant in the municipality, but livestock farming and plant extraction of chestnuts, bacuri and bacaba are also found in Barcarena, which will enable collection tests in different production modalities.
In Piauí, what motivated the choice of Uruçuí was the agricultural expansion recorded in the municipality of southwest Piauí. Moreover, the complexity of production logistics was taken into account when choosing the city.
One of the largest municipalities in Goiás, the city of Rio Verde will be the representative of the Cerrado biome in the 2nd Pilot Test. The Census team took into account the fact that the municipality has a highly mechanized business agriculture, with large establishments and mechanized agro-industrial chains, large-scale production, intensive use of technology, inputs, machines and equipment. Aspects linked to the business management of agricultural establishments were also taken into consideration.
Representative of the Pantanal, Corumbá (MS), was also chosen by large establishments, however, with a predominance of livestock farming. The seasonality of floods in the Pantanal, an environmentally sensitive area, means that productivity in the region is variable, which was also taken into account in the choice.
The presence of traditional peoples and communities in Irati made the municipality in Paraná to be selected for the second pilot test. The Faxinalenses, traditional communities that have a differentiated agro-productive system, are prominent in the region.
Finally, Viamão (RS), in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, another municipality with the presence of traditional communities, was chosen due to its peri-urban character and the presence of family farming and fragmented establishments, with emphasis on the production of irrigated rice. The idea is to test, in the city representing the Pampa, the identification of agricultural establishments in areas under urban pressure, in addition to concepts of territorial limit, land use and pluriactivity and the impacts of losses due to climatic reasons.
The data collection phase of the 12th Census of Agriculture is scheduled for the months of March to September 2027. Beforehand, other preparatory steps will be put into practice, such as the experimental census, in November 2026, and registration updating 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 should visit around 5 million agricultural establishments, in the Brazilian 5,571 municipalities, generate approximately 35 thousand temporary jobs and update the detailed portrait of essential activities, which produce food, wealth, work and income.
