agriculture receives little support compared to competitors

President Lula (PT) announces this Tuesday (27) the Crop Plan 2023-24, with the expectation of record volume to subsidize the equalization of interest on loans that finance the sector that has contributed most to the growth of the Brazilian GDP. As reported by the People’s GazetteLula must take advantage of a scenario of probable decrease in future interest rates to “do more with the same money” and, thus, claim that he has surpassed the numbers of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

Most Brazilian producers, however, do not benefit directly from the Plano Safra interest rates, which meet approximately one third of the need. Many finance their activities with their own resources or through barter operations (exchange) with input suppliers and trading companies, or even resorting to conventional bank loans.

A survey by the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) two years ago showed that 38% of producers had never accessed any type of rural credit. Among the difficulties, the excess of bureaucracy, the requirement of several guarantees, the delay in releasing credit and the lack of information.

Brazilians are the least likely to receive direct government assistance

To the difficulties in accessing credit lines with controlled interest rates, still much greater than Brazil’s main competitors, is added the fact that our agriculture is among those that least receive direct aid from the government.

A survey by the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea/Esalq/USP) shows that the participation of Direct Support to Rural Producers (PSE) in Brazil corresponded to 1.35% of gross agricultural revenue (RBA) in the period between 2015 and 2020 In comparison, in the European Union this ratio was 19.33%, in China 12.17%, in the United States 11.03% and, in Russia, 6.68%, in the same period.

“In general, the budget of these economies to create subsidies is greater than ours because they have more income, they are richer. It is noteworthy that, even with a smaller coverage and operating in less favorable conditions, the producer learned to move the boat in these adverse conditions”, says Felippe Serigati, professor at the School of Economics of São Paulo at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EESP).