Government to increase funds for agriculture by 7%
Folha de S. Paulo
The Federal Government will provide R$ 107 billion (US$ 66.9 billion) for the costing, investment, storage and sale of agricultural products of the 2011/12 harvest, an increase of 7% compared to the previous harvest. The interest rates charged should not change despite the scenario of increase in the basic rate of interest, the Selic. "We have fought to preserve the rates we have to the maximum extent, and, with the increase of inflation, that is a real gain", said the Minister of Agriculture, Wagner Rossi. For the financing of family agriculture, the Government shall repeat the value of R$ 16 billion (US$ 10 billion) of last year.
Besides the record figures for the corporate agriculture, advanced yesterday by Rossi in São Paulo, the scope of the so-called harvest Plan is bigger this year. The new credit lines will cover new crops in the program, such as sugar cane and orange. In the sugar and alcohol sector, the purpose is to encourage the renewal of the plantations, after two consecutive years of fall in the productivity in a scenario of increasing demand - both for alcohol and sugar.
In the case of orange, a credit line should be created for the storage of juice to guarantee the supply in the internal market. "It is a sector that deserves attention; we want to increase the presence of orange juice in school meals", he said. Rossi said the Ministry also wants to fight the volatility in the prices of the juice and guarantee the interest of the farmer for the culture. "We want the farmer to have a minimum price", said Rossi, without revealing the details. The plan for the citrus culture, according to the Minister, should be wrapped up next week. The official announcement of the Harvest Plan is expected for the first half of June.
Cattle will also be covered with three new lines of credit, to renew pastures, purchase and maintenance of matrices (cows) in the field. To the Secretary of Agricultural Policy of the Ministry, José Carlos Vaz, the next harvest should not have a significant increase in area, but the production and income of the farmer will remain high. The tendency is that the volumes of soy, corn and sugarcane increase, encouraged by the prices charged. According to Vaz, cattle raising also features a favorable scenario, and poultry and swine are expected to recover. "Only rice needs a more structural intervention", said Vaz. The Secretary considers the support to the sale, by means of minimum prices, will feature lower demand this year because of the high commodity prices.