RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said today, June 28, that the government expects the 2021/2022 crop to exceed 300 million tons, which will confirm the country’s “inescapable vocation” of being the world’s granary. According to the president, this is due to a modern and sophisticated financing system led by Banco do Brasil (BBAS3).
The statement was made during Banco do Brasil’s announcement that R$135 (US$27) billion in credits will be available for the 2021/2022 crop.
The amount is 17% higher than the volume invested in the preceding harvest.
“Brazilian agriculture did not stop during the pandemic. It produced even more, due to the will and courage of our farmers. The field, by not stopping, guaranteed not only our food security, but food for over 1 billion people worldwide,” the president said.
Corroborating Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Tereza Cristina’s expectations, Bolsonaro said his government is pursuing the challenge of expanding the grain crop to 300 million tons, a challenge that is even more surprising considering the fact that this record must be broken amid a pandemic scenario.
“The pandemic has shown the world Brazil’s vocation of being the granary to feed the world’s population. This vocation is unavoidable, and it is undeniable that Banco do Brasil sustained this,” he said. “This was possible with modernization and sophistication and financing [of the sector],” he added.
The R$135 billion in credit the bank will offer will have interest rates ranging from 3% to 4.5% per year for small rural producers, under the National Program for the Strengthening of Family Farming (PRONAF).
For medium-sized rural producers linked to the National Program of Support for Medium-sized Rural Producers (PRONAMP), interest rates will stand at 5.5% a year, and at up to 7.5% a year for large producers.