São Paulo releases credit line for orange producers affected by Greening

With the aim of supporting rural producers in the fight against Greening, the Department of Agriculture and Supply of São Paulo (SP) announced, during the opening of the 49th Expocitros and the 45th Citrus Week, at the "Sylvio Moreira" Citriculture Center, in Agronomic Institute (IAC-Apta), in Cordeirópolis (SP), a line of credit from the Paulista Agribusiness Expansion Fund (FEAP) for farmers who had their orchards affected by Greening.

The announcement was made by the Secretary of Agriculture, Guilherme Piai, who highlighted the advantageous conditions for citrus growers in São Paulo. “São Paulo will not lose this battle against Greening. Let's keep the sector strong and a world leader. We opened this line of credit for those small producers who want to start their lives over and even start a new crop,” he said.

The line's conditions are advantageous to the São Paulo citrus grower, with 300 thousand reais available per producer, up to 96 months to pay, a grace period of 36 months and interest starting at 3% per year. To access the line, the producer must contact the House of Agriculture in his municipality.

The opening ceremony of the largest citrus fair in Latin America begins a four-day program, with more than 30 lectures, which will provide an exchange of information between experts, professionals and companies in the sector.

The fair, which brings together the biggest players in the national citrus industry, generates visibility for brands in the citrus sector, so that they can present their pesticides, fertilizers, seedlings and other inputs. The expectation is to receive 10 thousand visitors at the Citriculture Center "Sylvio Moreira", of the Agronomic Institute (IAC-Apta).

For Apta coordinator, Carlos Nabil Ghobril, the event is of utmost importance for the sector and the agency has several activities linked to citrus farming in practically all institutes. “For us, it is a very central activity. This Center has made great contributions to the success of citrus farming in the state and works very closely with the production sector. It is the path of applied research, aimed at meeting the needs of the sector", he highlighted.

Citriculture in São Paulo

The São Paulo citrus sector is of great importance, as SP is the world's largest orange producer, exporting US$ 2 billion per year, a market that generates US$ 15 billion, with 460 thousand hectares, 9.600 properties and generates 200 thousand jobs , according to Fundecitrus. SP produces 10,6 million tons of oranges and 1,2 million tons of lemons per year, according to IEA data.

The announcement of the new credit line was published by Revista Cultivar on May 29th. Click to read.