Farsul calls for broad securitization of rural debt.

The Rio Grande do Sul State Agriculture Federation (Farsul) defended this Thursday (May 21st) a set of 12 points considered structural for the securitization of rural debt under discussion in the National Congress. In a public letter, the entity, proponent of measures in Bill 5.122, points out that the stock of distressed debts in the Rio Grande do Sul countryside reaches R$ 171 billion and could double in 12 months.

Among the key requirements are an interest rate ceiling equivalent to the Central Bank's neutral rate (currently 8,5% per year), a minimum repayment term of 15 years, and a real grace period before the first installment. According to the organization, double-digit interest rates make any sustainable securitization unfeasible, and shorter terms result in installments that compromise the producer's cash flow.

Farsul also argues that the measure should cover debts outside the financial system, contracted with grain cooperatives, input resellers, and cereal companies, and that it should include so-called "knockout" operations, in which producers took out new credit to pay off previous debts. According to the Federation, the cutoff date for eligibility should be set at least at April 30, 2026, including renegotiations under Provisional Measure 1.314, which total more than R$ 39 billion in unrestricted funds.

Funding and the climate crisis

Regarding the financing of the measure, Farsul states that it has no preference for a specific source, but demands that it be structural in nature. The Pre-Salt Social Fund is identified as suitable for this purpose. "Superlative announcements with resources that do not materialize are not public policy — they are expectation management," the document states.

The Federation, about to celebrate its 100th anniversary — it was founded in 1927 — justifies its 12 pillars as the result of "decades of technical monitoring" and says that each of them "has been tested in previous crises." The current debt, according to the text, stems from "unprecedented climate crises" that have hit Rio Grande do Sul in recent years, with successive episodes of drought and floods.

The organization states that it remains "open to dialogue and negotiation" and makes direct appeals to parliamentarians — "we are on the verge of a definitive solution; we count on and need you" — and to society. "The countryside does not ask for privilege; it asks for conditions," the letter says.