Lula announces resumption of agrarian reform program focusing on women

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced, at the end of the 7th March of the Daisies, this Wednesday (16th) in Brasília, the resumption of the National Program for Agrarian Reform, with priority given to rural women, in the selection process of families benefited by the public policy.

This demand from daisies for democratization of access to land and guarantee of territorial rights is on the agenda of demands presented to the federal government in June of this year. The movement’s claims were voiced by around 100,000 women who attended the two-day march in the federal capital.

As the coordinator of the 7th Marcha das Margaridas, and secretary for Women of the National Confederation of Rural Workers, Farmers and Family Farmers (Contag), Mazé Morais, pointed out:

“This crowns the whole mobilization training process that we did at the base. There were many moments. Our agenda was built collectively, with the commission [da marcha] and with various partner organizations.”

Land reform

The new presidential decree on the selection of families that will benefit from the agrarian reform amends the previous legislation (Decree nº 9.311/2018). Under the new rule, the score for female heads of household increases from five to ten points.

The Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Márcio Macêdo, commented on the announcements. “Never before in the history of Brazil has there been such an intense response to the Marcha das Margaridas and the demands of women in our country.”

“I mean for women we are doubling the score of women, who will have ten points more than men to enter the agrarian reform program”,

highlighted the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira.

Emergency Land Reform Program

The Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture estimates that, in all, more than 45,700 families will benefit from the Emergency Agrarian Reform Program. There will be 5,711 new families settled and eight new settlements created. In addition, 40,000 families will have their situation regularized in settlements across the country.

In his speech, minister Paulo Teixeira highlighted the resumption of public policy interrupted in recent years.

“It had been eight years since no family had been settled in Brazil, because an agreement by the Court of Auditors blocked the agrarian reform program. And today, President Lula resumes the agrarian reform program.”

Credit and technical assistance

The federal government announced that the National Land Credit Program will benefit more than 1,500 families still without access to land. The program offers easy financing conditions to farmers with little or no land so that they can buy rural property.

The minister also highlighted the increase of R$ 13.5 million for technical assistance and rural extension to assist rural women and agroecology, which is agriculture focused on preserving natural resources, being socially fair and economically viable.

Productive Backyards

In the package of measures announced at the end of the Marcha das Margaridas, it is foreseen that the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture will create 10,000 productive backyards, with the objective of, firstly, guaranteeing food security by strengthening family production and, furthermore, benefiting women providing them with economic autonomy.

Through the Productive Backyards Program, family farmers will have access to inputs for planting, equipment and utensils necessary for structuring and managing backyards, in addition to technical assistance, cisterns and marketing. By 2026, the government plans 90,000 productive backyards throughout Brazil.

Documentation

The National Citizenship and Good Living Program for Rural Women will carry out joint efforts to document rural workers. The issuance of documentation is the first action for the subsequent land titling, access to credit and commercialization to take place.

Minister Paulo Teixeira highlighted the promotion of dignity and civil, political and social rights guaranteed to this public. “We will resume with the national rural worker documentation program so that this woman has the documents and, equally, has social security and labor benefits.”

Green Bag

Another decree resumes the Environmental Conservation Support Program, which provides for payments to low-income families living in areas to be environmentally protected. The payment per family, which was BRL 300, is now BRL 600.

The objective is to encourage conservation of the environment while, at the same time, promoting citizenship, improving living conditions and raising incomes.

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