Minister visits rural producers affected by drought in RS and SC to define relief measures

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, began a trip last Wednesday (12/01), through the areas of the center-south of the country affected by drought. In the morning, the minister was in Santo Ângelo, in Rio Grande do Sul; and in the afternoon, in Chapecó, Santa Catarina. The team of technicians from the Ministry, Conab, Embrapa and representatives from the Central Bank, Banco do Brasil and the Ministry of Economy are part of the delegation.

In the localities, the team visited rural properties affected by the drought and met with local producer leaders, as well as mayors and parliamentarians representing the states.

“We came to take a closer look, talk to producers and state leaders to carry out the on-site survey and take to Brasília the necessary information that will help us define short, medium and long-term actions. We also need to think about the winter harvest, know its viability and evaluate the possibility of other safer crops as an alternative”, declared Tereza Cristina.

According to data from Emater/RS, due to the drought in Rio Grande do Sul, producers had difficulty in sowing soybeans, since, at the end of last year, planting reached 93% of the area.

In Santo Ângelo, the minister spoke with producer Dirceu Segatto, who reported having already lost half of his soybean crop due to the drought. According to him, there was a loss in the corn plantation and the cost of replanting practically doubled.

In Santa Catarina, according to the Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Company of Santa Catarina (EPAGRI), the western region of the state presented 20% to 40% of the historical average rainfall for the month of December. And the rains in September and October were not enough to recover the aquifers, with water storage in the soil being insufficient to maintain the springs in adequate conditions. Producer Wolmir Meneghatti, from Chapecó (SC), told the ministerial delegation that he is already facing the third year of corn crop failure due to the lack of rain.

The president of Embrapa, Celso Moretti, who is part of the delegation, said that research already shows that it is possible to diversify second-crop crops, with the adoption of winter cereal crops, such as wheat, triticale, canola, rye, oats and barley, as a way of recovering losses with other crops, in addition to the adoption of technologies, such as building dams to reserve and conserve water on properties during dry periods. Embrapa Trigo and Embrapa Swine and Poultry have studies that show that corn can very well be replaced, mainly by wheat and triticale, without affecting the nutritional quality in the composition of feed for pigs and poultry.

Since the end of last year, when the first impacts of the dry period were identified in the regions, Mapa's technical team has been in the field to assess the situation of crops. The minister reinforced that the Conab inspections were brought forward by a week for an updated survey on the intensity and breadth of the impact on agricultural production, measuring the levels of losses by culture and region. The idea is to speed up the process of inspection and release of affected crops.

“What we cannot do is have people leaving production. We are concerned about resolving it in time to minimize problems. We won’t be able to solve everything, but we can provide some paths if we do it quickly and now”, highlighted the minister.

Rural Insurance Coverage

In order to alleviate the situation for producers, Mapa's Secretary of Agricultural Policy, Guilherme Bastos, highlights the preponderant role of the Rural Insurance Premium Subsidy Program (PSR) and the contracting of rural insurance by rural producers. 

"We have a big challenge in the Secretariat of Agricultural Policy. The first emergency we took was exactly to take note of the situation. Check the insurance situation, check how financial institutions were receiving any requests for renegotiation. We are working with the Federal Government to provide some type of comfort at this first moment", he said, adding "that rural producers need to contract climate risk mitigators, such as rural insurance, given that climate adversities, such as drought, excessive rain, frost and hail are cyclical and occur in different regions and crops every year, including in years with record harvests". 

A preliminary survey by the Mapa Agricultural Policy Secretariat with the main rural credit financial institutions indicates significant coverage of risk mitigators for medium and small soybean and corn producers, with Proagro and Seguro Rural in states affected by the drought.

In relation to the main affected crops, in Rio Grande do Sul, the soybean area is 41% insured and the corn area is 55%. In Santa Catarina, the outlook is 31% coverage for soybeans and 42% for corn.

Furthermore, in general, producers included in the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (Pronaf) have funding, as a legal obligation, with 100% contracting Proagro or Rural Insurance. Pronamp's medium producers had 79% to 95% of their rural credit operations covered by insurance or Proagro, depending on the crop, state and financial institution.

This rate reduces to 40% to 60% in the case of other producers (large operations and producers). In producer funding operations, other than Pronaf and with a value of up to R$ 335 thousand, it is mandatory to take out a guarantee via Proagro or, instead, rural insurance.

In 2021, the rural insurance coverage provided by Mapa was a record high. Mapa invested R$1,181 billion. Since 2018, investment and the insured area in the country have tripled.

According to the minister, the goal is to increase rural insurance subsidy resources in the next Harvest Plan, which will allow for an increase in the number of rural producers served. “If you provide insurance reaching more people, putting more people under this umbrella, it is better for the producer, who pays his debt and starts again, and for the government, who does not have to carry the debt for years”.

In relation to rural credit, Mapa is studying additional credit support for producers in municipalities where the state of emergency has been recognized by the Federal Government. There is now the possibility of support without the need for authorization from the Central Bank, including in relation to debts relating to investment credit operations contracted with resources from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), as provided for in the Rural Credit Manual (MCR) .