Southern Minas Gerais leads Funcafé hiring in the 2024 Harvest

The South of Minas Gerais is responsible for more than a third of all credit contracts in the Funcafé line in the current 2024/2025 Harvest made available by the Development Bank of Minas Gerais (BDMG), totaling R$230 million. This data reinforces the relevance of the region for coffee production in Minas Gerais, a sector in which it is a national leader. This week, the bank's president, Gabriel Viégas Neto, was in the region, where Coffee Connect took place, an event held in Varginha that brings together producers and businesspeople from the sector.

Since the 2018/2019 harvest year, BDMG has disbursed 100% of Funcafé's resources and, in the last decade, more than R$2 billion in credits have been released for Marketing, Acquisition and Working Capital in coffee production.

Among the cooperatives in Minas Gerais that sought credit from BDMG is MinaSul, which received a visit from the bank's delegation this week at its headquarters in Varginha.

The cooperative has almost 10 members and producers from 250 municipalities in Minas Gerais and has BDMG as its second largest partner in terms of fundraising. Since 2017, R$338,7 million in credits have been contracted by MinaSul.

“Coffee is currently the biggest exporter of agricultural products from the state. Therefore, the bank’s support in offering financing is of fundamental importance to producers. Our growing presence demonstrates this,” reinforces the bank’s president.

Between January and October this year, the grain accounted for 44% of Minas Gerais agribusiness exports, according to the State Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Seapa-MG).

Coffee training

Also in the South of Minas, in Três Pontas, the last module of the free training on regenerative agriculture with a focus on coffee growing, carried out by BDMG in partnership with Embrapa Cerrados, will be held this Saturday (30/11).

The course, which lasted three months and received more than a thousand applicants, aims to promote regenerative and decarbonizing agriculture in the state and contribute to the competitiveness of Minas Gerais' agribusiness. Among the participants in the training, almost 40% of them are from cities in the south of the state.

BDMG's performance

BDMG also has a strong presence in the South region among micro and small business owners. From January to October this year, the bank increased financing for small businesses in the region by 20%, reaching R$40 million in credits released. In the same period in 2023, it was R$32,5 million.

“The increase in the search for credit shows that Minas Gerais businesspeople are looking for credit to invest and expand their businesses, supporting regional development and job creation in the state,” adds Viégas Neto.

Financing to city halls in the region also grew and reached R$63,7 million from January to October 2024, to 48 cities. In the same period in 2023, it was R$46 million, an increase of almost 40%.

With this funding, city governments are increasingly developing projects to benefit the population that lives there, bringing quality of life to the people of Minas Gerais.