Bolsa Juventude Rural publishes a list of 495 students benefiting from the program

According to the Secretariat of Rural Development, Fisheries and Cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul, the program includes 495 rural young people, some of them in alternating pedagogy. The scholarship consists of R$200 per month for each student, for 10 months, through the State Fund to Support the Development of Small Rural Establishments (Feaper). The State government will invest around R$1 million in the program.

Aimed at students in the 2nd and 3rd year of high school at state public schools or non-profit institutions, the Bolsa Juventude Rural received applications from almost 800 young people. “The program aims to provide opportunities and conditions for access and permanence in high school and the implementation of sustainable productive projects, encouraging succession on family rural properties”, states the secretary of SDR, Tarcisio Minetto. “The stay of young people in the countryside contributes greatly to the development of rural areas.”

The majority of applications for the program involved young people in the 2nd year of high school, but only 200 were qualified. “The number of qualified candidates exceeded the number of scholarships made available”, explains the director of Family Farming and Agroindustry, José Alexandre Rodrigues. Candidates were classified based on the income presented in the Pronaf Aptitude Declaration (DAP), as provided for in the program notice. For 3rd year students, 295 young people were qualified.

To compete for the Rural Youth Grant, students needed to meet requirements such as being between 15 and 29 years old, having an active DAP and low gross family income.