Mapa and Central Bank warn about changes to Proagro rules

The National Monetary Council published, on April 02, the 4.796 Resolution/2020 aiming simplify communication procedures and proof of losses, as well as the calculation of coverage under the Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (Proagro), considering that there was a reduction in field technicians in the network responsible for proving losses due to the Covid-19 crisis. Furthermore, there are already more than 30 thousand loss reports (COPs) due to the occurrence of drought in corn and soybean crops, mainly concentrated in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In view of this, the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Agricultural Policy Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (SPA/MAPA) reinforce that farmers pay attention to the following Proagro regulations:

- Once losses have been reported to the Proagro agent, the availability or otherwise of the technician responsible for loss proof services will be informed by the Proagro agent to the producer.

- If the existence of a technician is informed, Proagro's normal rules are maintained, with the area being inspected in person and the release for harvesting is carried out by the Proagro agent.

- In exceptional cases of technician unavailability, informed by the financial agent due to mobility restrictions imposed by municipal, state or federal legislation, the rules set out in Resolution 4.796/2020 apply.

- Untimely announcements of losses made by the producer result in a summary loss of rights to Proagro.

 In addition, a text with “Questions and Answers” ​​with the most frequently asked questions was created by SPA/MAPA and BCB.

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1 – What motivated the adoption of exceptional measures in Proagro?

In many regions there is a severe drought that has generated a large number of reports of losses from producers in Proagro. Under normal conditions, a face-to-face visit by the technician responsible for proving losses before harvesting would be mandatory. With the crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the mobility restrictions imposed by municipal, state or federal legislation worsened the problem, reducing in-person visits by technicians.

2. How important is it to simplify Proagro’s procedures at this time of the Covid-19 crisis?

The measure allows producers to harvest in regions where there are mobility restrictions for technicians to carry out in-person inspections, avoiding worsening production losses. Furthermore, the measure simplifies the procedures for reporting and proving losses, as well as analyzing Proagro's coverage, through the use of instruments such as remote sensing, information from institutions that use satellites and other supervision and inspection instruments to prove the losses.

3. How do I consult Resolution No. 4.796/2020, which establishes emergency measures for reporting Proagro losses?

The resolution is available at Central Bank website. 

4. The exceptional measures issued in Resolution No. 4.796 will be applied until what date?

In principle, the measures will be valid until 30/06/2020.

5. What types of mandatory procedures will have exceptional and simplified conditions for carrying them out during the pandemic?

Communication of losses (COP), proof of losses by the technician in charge and also the analysis and judgment of the Proagro coverage request in cases where there was a proven restriction of mobility without the possibility of an in-person inspection by the technician.

6. What are the mandatory conditions that the producer must follow for operations classified as exceptional?

The producer will have to deliver the loss communication and the Term of Responsibility to the financial agent to be entitled to analysis of Proagro's coverage calculation. Anyone who has already submitted the communication by April 1st, and has received confirmation from the Proagro agent regarding the impossibility of sending a technician in charge to the rural property, can now carry out the harvest, and has until April 22nd to submit the Term of Responsibility. Other producers who participated in the COP from April 2nd onwards must submit, together with the communication of losses, the Term of Responsibility.

7. How will farmers report losses after April 2?

Through email, app or other means provided by the bank and/or cooperative, and they must also fill out a Term of Responsibility and deliver it along with the communication. After these procedures, if you receive information from the Proagro agent that you are in a region that will not have a face-to-face visit from the technician, you can now carry out the harvest.

8. Can COPs be carried out in a state of exceptionality in a region where there is no mobility restriction?

No. For regions where the expert can travel, all regular Proagro procedures must be observed.

9. How will the Proof of Loss Report (RCP) be presented by the technicians in charge?

In cases where it is possible to verify information regarding the RCP through remote sensing and other available information, the RCP must be presented normally. In cases where it is not possible to assess any information indirectly, the Bank/Cooperative may use a simplified model to present the RCP. This type of action depends on the beneficiary delivering a Term of Responsibility together with the communication of losses.

10. What is the recommendation regarding filling out the Term of Responsibility?

The information provided by the producer must be reliable in relation to what happened in the crop supported by Proagro. If an omission, inaccuracy or untruthfulness is found in the information provided by the beneficiary, another judgment summary must be drawn up based on the new information obtained and the beneficiary will be responsible for returning coverage amounts that have been received unduly, as well as being subject to investigation. of civil, administrative and criminal responsibilities.

 11. What recipes will be considered, given that there will be no technician visit in exceptional cases?

The average productivity per municipality for the crop in question published by Ematers or similar entities will be considered. If not available, data from IBGE or INMET will be used. And the market price will be considered to calculate the considered revenue. All this information will be monitored by the Central Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture.

12. Will invoices be necessary in exceptional cases?

Presentation of the invoice to the Proagro agent is not required, but the producer must always have it on hand for any checks that may occur during coverage analysis or inspection.

13. With whom can I check access to the simplified COP and the Term of Responsibility?

With the Proagro agent responsible for your inclusion in the program.