Producers contracted R$156,6 billion in credit in the last nine months

The 2019/2020 Harvest Plan financing contracted by rural producers, between July 2019 and April this year, totaled R$ 156,6 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the same period of the last harvest.

The numbers are part of Agricultural Financing Balance Sheet for the 2019/2020 Crop released this Friday (8) by Mapa's Agricultural Policy Secretariat (SPA), based on data from the Central Bank's Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System (Sicor).

Of the funding applications (total of R$ 86,5 billion, increase of 12%), R$ 20,2 billion were contracted by medium rural producers (Pronamp - National Support Program for Medium Producers), an increase of 40% in compared to the previous harvest, with almost 136 thousand contracts. Family farmers (Pronaf - National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture) contracted R$ 12 billion (16%), with 417,5 thousand contracts.

Investment contracts totaled R$42 billion in the period analyzed, an increase of 19%. Medium producers contracted R$2,2 billion (108%), with 18,2 thousand contracts. Financing for small farmers totaled R$11,1 billion, an increase of 17%, with 783 thousand contracts. Among the investment programs, Pronamp (+108%), the Technological Innovation Incentive Program - Inovagro (+66%) and the ABC Program (+47%) stood out.

The director of Credit and Information at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Wilson Vaz de Araújo, highlights the growth in credit for investment contracted by medium producers. “This performance, among other factors, resulted from the possibility for medium producers to have exclusive access to investment credits, granted with mandatory resources from demand deposits. And the scope of Pronamp was expanded, by incorporating a greater number of medium-sized producers who benefited, with an increase in the number of funding contracts of 19%, while for other, non-family producers, there was a reduction of 29%”, he said.

Financing for commercialization decreased by 14%, with R$18 billion and 19,2 thousand contracts. The industrialization line totaled almost R$10 billion (68% increase) and 974 contracts.

“The growth in hiring in different types of financing (funding, investment, industrialization) and by all categories of producers (small, medium, large and cooperatives), despite the recognized difficulties faced by certain production chains, such as flowers and fish, translates into an indication of confidence and positive expectations for those directly or indirectly involved in the agricultural production process. Agriculture continues forward”, highlights the director.