Government of São Paulo releases R$5 million for sweet potato and cassava producers affected by drought

The São Paulo government, through the São Paulo Department of Agriculture and Supply, announced this week an emergency credit line of R$5 million for sweet potato and cassava producers affected by the drought in the State of São Paulo.

The announcement was made by the Secretary of Agriculture, Guilherme Piai, who represented the governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, during the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of Batatec, the largest sweet potato technology fair in the country, which takes place in Presidente Prudente, western region of the state.

“The decision on this R$5 million credit line is another instrument for us to repay what São Paulo producers do for our State. The São Paulo government has spared no effort to support rural women and men. In April, we released R$100 million for rural insurance, positioning SP as the only state in Brazil that subsidizes rural insurance”, said the secretary, during the opening ceremony.

The municipalities covered by the credit were defined based on a Civil Defense survey, with the aim of optimizing the application of resources. The line, with a ceiling of R$25 per producer and interest of 3% per year, will be released through the São Paulo Agribusiness Expansion Fund (Feap), linked to SAA.

São Paulo produces around 182 thousand tons of sweet potatoes, in an area of ​​more than 10 thousand hectares. With a yield 26% higher than the Brazilian average, the State has the status of the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the country. The main producing regions are: Presidente Prudente, Araçatuba, Tupã, Jaboticabal and Dracena.

During Batatec, technicians from the Agronomic Institute (IAC-Apta) and Apta Regional, linked to the Department of Agriculture, will give lectures and exhibitions of sweet potato varieties, resulting from improvement programs, developed by research bodies, aiming to root crop biofortification.

Biofortification is the process used to increase the nutritional content of micronutrients, such as specific vitamins and minerals, of the edible portions of plants used as food, which can be done through conventional plant breeding techniques or biotechnology.

Cati's Seeds and Seedlings Department, in partnership with IAC, also makes these cultivars of healthy, disease-free seedlings available, which are being sold during the event in Presidente Prudente, which takes place from the 18th to the 21st of July.

According to the researcher at the Agronomic Institute (IAC-Apta), Valdemir Antônio Peressin, the Department of Agriculture invested in a broad sweet potato breeding program, aiming to biofortify the crop.

“Using conventional genetic improvement techniques, two biofortified cultivars were launched [IAC 134 AL01 and IAC Ametista], four conventional cultivars [IAC Santa Elisa, IAC Clara, IAC Lavínia and IAC Prudentina] and five ornamental cultivars [IAC Claudia, IAC Katherine, IAC Mara, IAC Mônica and IAC Yoka]”, highlights Peressin.

The work, developed in partnership with Apta Regional de Presidente Prudente, is related to rapid multiplication to produce seedlings with high health from small stem segments. “From a few virus-free branches it is possible to produce a large quantity of healthy plants”, explains researcher Amarílis Rós.

Research also seeks to find varieties with greater productivity, adequate flavor, pulp and skin with a color that attracts the consumer, as well as materials with different shapes and colors for specific market niches, such as colored pulp for potato chips, which maintain their color after frying. .

Sweet potatoes - an agricultural crop rich in nutrients and culinary versatility - play a fundamental role in the Presidente Prudente region, standing out as the main producer in São Paulo and one of the largest in the country.