Many producers face hindrances because they do not qualify for banks’ rules

01/12/2023

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Wellington Dias and Paulo Teixeira — Foto: Divulgação/Roberta Aline/MDS

The ministers of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, and of Social Development, Wellington Dias, discussed on Wednesday measures to facilitate the funding of production in family farming and reduce hunger in rural areas. One action being studied is the creation of a guarantee fund to reduce red tape in the access of small producers to farm loans.

According to Mr. Teixeira, many farmers have a hard time tapping Crop Plan’s main lines the because they do not fit the conditions defined by the banking industry.

“We have found that typical lines of credit, like Pronaf, often does not reach the poorest and becomes elitist. This happens because many have bad credit with the banking system. We intend to review the Pronaf and think about a guarantee fund for loans to small farmers,” said the minister.

In a note, Mr. Dias said: “With a guarantee fund, we could facilitate access to credit with low interest rates and in a way it can be integrated to development and environment.”

At the meeting, the ministers also discussed ways to expand the Food Acquisition Program (PAA). In it, the federal government, through the National Supply Company (Conab), buys food from small producers and delivers it to schools, community restaurants, and social projects.

Another initiative under analysis is the updating of the Federal Unified Registration, of the Social Development Ministry. The idea is to identify people in vulnerable situations who need the government’s social policies in rural areas.

“The accuracy of this tool helps us, for example, to detect how many low-income people live in the countryside and what their main needs are,” said Mr. Dias.

*By Rafael Walendorff — Brasília

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/