Agriculture Committee approves changes to Proagro

The Agriculture, Livestock, Supply and Rural Development Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved, this Wednesday (9), the substitute proposed by deputy Tião Medeiros (PP-PR) to Bill 220/2025, authored by deputy Heitor Schuch (PSB-RS), which proposes important changes to the rules of the Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (Proagro). One of the main points of the text is the prohibition of the use of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) as a criterion to restrict farmers' access to the benefit.

Tião Medeiros, the bill's rapporteur, criticized the use of the CAR—originally created for environmental purposes—as a control tool for granting compensation. He said this practice has caused "serious distortions" and particularly penalized small producers.

"The use of CAR to determine who can and cannot access Proagro is completely disconnected from the reality on the ground. The measure disregards fundamental aspects, such as the individuality of each rural enterprise and regional variations in climate events," he stated.

The approved text also prohibits the accumulation of loss records linked to the same CPF when the losses occur on different properties or farmed by more than one producer. Furthermore, it prohibits limiting access to Proagro in municipalities under emergency decrees recognized by the National Civil Defense.

"By preventing the cumulative use of CAR or CPF data to limit access to Proagro, we seek to ensure justice for farmers who work in diverse conditions and often face losses not due to mismanagement, but due to severe and unpredictable weather events," the rapporteur explained.

The bill even envisaged the creation of a specific fund for Proagro resources, but the proposal was withdrawn. According to Tião Medeiros, the measure would be ineffective: "The National Treasury's contributions to the program already occur only when producers' contributions are insufficient. Therefore, creating a fund would have no immediate practical impact."

The matter now goes to the Finance and Taxation and Constitution and Justice and Citizenship committees for analysis, on a conclusive basis.