Union announces aid of R$ 430 million to the State

The federal government will release R$ 430 million to face the drought in Rio Grande do Sul. Of this amount, approximately R$ 300 million is proposed for credit to farmers. The announcement was made earlier this Wednesday evening (22nd) by the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira, through his Twitter account.

Teixeira stated that there is a serious problem of feeding people and animals in the region and that the drought needs to be continuously treated. According to him, a credit of R$ 6,000 will be granted to 40,000 farmers in the region. The money for the credit, according to his points, is in the MDA budget or is left over from the Safra Plan. In addition, for family farming, the minister mentioned a second installment of the so-called “installation credit”, of R$ 5,200, to serve 10,000 families.

Teixeira arrives in the State today, accompanied by the ministers of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, Wellington Dias; and the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Paulo Pimenta. The group will also include former state deputy Edgar Pretto, nominated for the presidency of the National Supply Company (Conab), and the executive secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Irajá Lacerda.

The group will visit settlement areas in Hulha Negra, in the Campanha region, one of the most affected by the drought. During the stay in RS, the ministerial delegation should give details of the measures to be adopted in a press conference scheduled for 4:30 pm, in Bagé.

Although without knowing the federal government’s plan in depth, state deputy Elton Weber (PSB), who has been directly involved in the struggle of family farmers, assessed the announcement as positive.

“It comes in line with what we expected. It is an important value, but it will be necessary to verify where and how it will be used. If it will be enough, we do not know, but it is a start”.

The president of the Federation of Agricultural Workers in the State (Fetag), Carlos Joel da Silva, recognized the government’s effort, but while traveling to Hulha Negra he said that the resources will be insufficient.

“The whole announcement is important for the families contemplated, but these resources are insufficient. We need to see the government meet all the demand requested by Fetag. Palliative actions will not solve the problem. The problem of drought is much more serious, it cannot be solved with BRL 430 million.”

In the Campaign, ministers will see dry dams and pasture, cracked soil, lost crops and thin or dead animals. A devastating scenario that should give the dimension of the problem.

The Piratini Palace confirmed that there will be a delegation from the State government accompanying the itinerary, but had not defined the nominata until the close of this edition.

The Legislative Assembly will be represented by deputy Luiz Fernando Mainardi, leader of the PT bench, in addition to other state and federal parliamentarians of the party. The president of the Federation of Associations of Municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul, Paulo Salerno traveled this Wednesday to Bagé to monitor the ministerial agenda. He takes “the best of expectations, because the arrival of the ministers already represents the interest in seeing the situation up close”. Salerno hopes for the acceptance of the requests forwarded by the entity.

At 1pm, the group will visit two land reform plots in the Meia Água settlement, in the community of Nossa Senhora de Fátima, in Hulha Negra. In one of them, they will see the impacts of the drought on the dairy basin, where the family had an 80% drop in production, as they were unable to plant pasture and corn for silage. In the other, the entourage will see a crop that lost 100% of corn production.

Under these conditions, 2,250 thousand families live, spread over 58 settlements in the municipalities of Aceguá, Candiota, Hulha Negra and Pedras Altas. The region is one of the most affected in this season of water scarcity.

“In mid-February we had rain here. In some places it was 40 millimeters. In others, a few kilometers away, only five millimeters. Those who, like us and many family farmers, depend on homemade production face enormous difficulties”, says Ildo Pereira, leader of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) who lives in the Meia Água settlement.

The site, created in 2001, is home to 83 families settled by the agrarian reform.

Pereira arrived in the region with his parents as a child, in 1989, the year in which there was one of the worst droughts in the history of the region. But according to him, this summer the situation is even more serious. In the 25-hectare area where he lives, the family keeps a small herd of dairy cows. But the productivity of the wombs dropped by about 80% due to the lack of water, food and excessive heat.

The communities await the official release of financial resources in the order of R$ 6,000 per family to purchase water and food for human and animal consumption, in addition to corn for supplementing poultry, pigs and cattle, via Conab. Settlers and family farmers are also looking forward to the opening of low-interest financing lines so that they can reinvest in properties and restructure after almost half a decade of being punished by the weather.

The official announcement of the measures by the ministers should take place from 2 pm. Although without official confirmation, the actions should even go through ensuring the supply of water for human and animal consumption, in addition to credit for farmers.

The hammer for the itinerary of the ministerial trip was beaten last Friday (17), during a virtual meeting between deputies from the state and federal benches of the PT with Minister Paulo Teixeira. On that occasion, other locations were proposed, but the Campaign’s suggestion by Edegar Pretto ended up being chosen for being one of the most affected areas in the State, including problems resulting from the advance of mining. The situation worsens during periods of drought, reducing reservoirs for human and animal consumption.