Rural credit advances 10% and reaches R$ 404 billion.

Agricultural credit for businesses totaled R$ 404 billion in contracts between July 2025 and March 2026, a 10% increase compared to the R$ 368 billion recorded in the same period of the previous harvest. The data is from the Rural Credit Bulletin of the 2025/2026 Harvest Plan, prepared by the Department of Financing Policy for the Agricultural Sector, of the Secretariat of Agricultural Policy, based on information from the Central Bank.

Of the total amount contracted, R$ 387 billion has already been effectively granted, meaning it has been released into the producers' accounts, representing a 5% increase compared to the previous year.

The issuance of Rural Product Certificates stood out during the period, with an increase of 38% and a volume of R$ 183,1 billion. As this instrument is mainly used to finance the harvest, its addition to traditional financing credit raised the resources allocated to the activity to R$ 303,1 billion, an increase of 13% compared to the 2024/2025 harvest.

According to the Secretariat of Agricultural Policy, the increase in contracts and concessions reflects the solidity of the agricultural financing system, even in a scenario of greater selectivity on the part of producers and financial institutions.

Performance by purpose

Analysis by type reveals distinct behaviors among the credit lines. Industrialization showed the greatest proportional growth, with a 74% increase in contracts, totaling R$ 28,1 billion, and a 64% increase in loans granted, reaching R$ 26,4 billion. This trend indicates an increase in demand for financing geared towards agro-industrial processing.

Conversely, traditional credit lines registered a decline. Operating loans fell 11% in new contracts, totaling R$ 120 billion, and 15% in new loans, totaling R$ 114,3 billion. Investment loans decreased 16% in new contracts, to R$ 45,5 billion, and 30% in new loans, totaling R$ 37,6 billion. Sales also showed a decline, of 10% in new contracts and 16% in new loans.

According to the report, the reduction in investment operations is associated with the sector's caution in the face of the current interest rate level, in a context of expectations of a decline in the Selic rate by the end of 2026.

Among the official programs, only Prodecoop registered growth, with a 20% increase and R$ 900 million granted. The others showed a decline, although at a more moderate pace than in the previous survey.

The total number of contracts signed fell by 24%, from 534.351 to 408.353 transactions. Pronamp accounted for 156.485 contracts, while other producers totaled 127.615 transactions. Transactions with CPR (Rural Product Certificates) totaled 125.310 contracts.

In terms of regional distribution, the South region leads in the number of transactions, while the Southeast region concentrates the largest financial volumes.

funding sources

Controlled sources of rural credit totaled R$ 106,5 billion in disbursements, a 7% decrease. Among these, Mandatory Resources grew by 19%, reaching R$ 42,8 billion. Controlled Agribusiness Credit Notes registered strong expansion, with a 3.564% increase and a volume of R$ 26,9 billion. Controlled Rural Savings totaled R$ 7,5 billion, while Constitutional Funds reached R$ 14,5 billion.

Meanwhile, uncontrolled sources totaled R$ 97,3 billion. LCAs accounted for R$ 47,8 billion, and Free Rural Savings totaled R$ 44,4 billion, with a growth of 39%. Free BNDES loans decreased by 11%, totaling R$ 4,4 billion.

Implementation of the Harvest Plan

By March 2026, R$ 43,4 billion of the R$ 113,4 billion budgeted in equalizable resources had been granted, representing 38% of the total. 62% remains available for contracting.

In operating expenses, R$ 24,7 billion was released out of a total programmed R$ 63 billion. In investment, R$ 18,4 billion was granted compared to the R$ 49,5 billion planned. In marketing, the amount invested totals R$ 307 million, out of a total of R$ 845 million.

Among financial institutions, Banco do Brasil leads in execution, with R$ 7,1 billion in operating expenses and R$ 7 billion in investments. Sicoob has executed 59% of the volume programmed for operating expenses and 69% for investments, while Cresol has already reached 100% of its projected operating expense targets.

There is still R$ 21,7 billion in credit already contracted, but not yet released to producers.

Synthesis and perspectives

The data indicate that rural credit continues its growth trajectory in total volume, driven mainly by the expansion of CPRs (Rural Product Certificates) and the growth of financing for industrialization. At the same time, the contraction in traditional credit lines signals greater caution on the part of producers in the face of a high interest rate environment.

With 62% of the equalizable resources still available, the report indicates significant room for growth in contracting until the end of the 2025/2026 Harvest Plan.