Project to refinance debts of farmers in RS advances

The Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that grants a discount to rural producers to pay off or renegotiate debts if they have suffered losses due to the floods of April this year in Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Those who lost 30% or more of their income from agricultural activities will be covered. The proposal will now go to the Senate.

The text provides for the granting of the discount even without validation of the declared losses if their analysis is not carried out by the competent body by December 31, 2024. According to Congressman Zucco, rapporteur of the project, the losses in the agricultural sector were R$3,1 billion, with direct impacts on strategic crops such as rice, soybeans and wheat, in addition to serious damage to the productive infrastructure and livestock farming.

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The issue has already been regulated by Decree 12.138/24, which sets the maximum discount amounts and other details for farmers to access. The largest discounts will be decided by the special analysis committee, which will handle requests for discounts on individual, group or collective operations contracted for financing, industrialization or investment if the losses have been equal to or greater than 60% due to landslides or destruction by the force of flood waters.

The board will also analyze requests from agricultural production cooperatives in these three credit modalities if the loss was equal to or greater than 30%.

If approved by the analysis committee, the discounts, per borrower, will be up to R$10 for cooperative members and up to R$120 for others, as defined in the decree.

However, the committee may decide on smaller discounts and there will be a discount limit of up to 50% of the installments in the case of cooperative members. After the discount is defined, the remainder of loans for financing and industrialization may be renegotiated for payment in up to four years, with the first installment due next year, maintaining the discounts and bonuses provided for in the original contract.

Investment operations will have an extended term of up to 12 months after the expected expiration date of the contracts, while maintaining the original conditions.

Exceptionally, the discount granted in 2024 by the commission may cover investment credit installments maturing in 2025, but within the maximum limits per borrower.

Other differentiated discount amounts may be granted by a municipal council depending on the type of credit obtained, but all beneficiaries must follow the eligibility requirements defined in the text. 

Delay in help

Congressman Afonso Hamm recalled that, with the end of the agricultural calendar, the deadline for planting new crops is coming to an end. "This aid is coming a little late, but there is still time to save the planting of this harvest and give dignity to farmers in Rio Grande do Sul," he emphasized. 

According to Congressman Bibo Nunes, support for farmers in Rio Grande do Sul is coming late. "We have been neglected," he said.

He defended the approval of PEC 44/23, which reserves 5% of the amounts of individual amendments from parliamentarians and group amendments for this purpose, to assist the transfer. The PEC has already passed the Chamber of Deputies and is being analyzed in the Senate.