Políticas de crédito rural e as particularidades do Pronaf: impactos sofridos mediante as transformações econômicas recentes no Brasil

Abstract

The rural credit concession is one of the main public policies directed to the agricultural sector, being considered a relevant instrument for the Brazilian socioeconomic development process. However, rural credit policies are directly affected by economic instabilities. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the impacts of recent economic transformations on the availability and access to rural credit (1994-2017) and PRONAF (2013-2017) in Brazil. The methodological procedures involved the accomplishment of bibliographical and documentary research, besides the descriptive statistical analysis. The results of the research show that the increase in production costs, market uncertainties and climate risk justify the support and expansion of rural credit resources for the costing, investment and commercialization of Brazilian agricultural production. In the post implementation period of the Real Plan, the volume of financial resources allocated to rural credit in Brazil increased by more than 180%. The number of contracts signed grew more than 62%. On the other hand, despite the volume of resources mobilized by PRONAF to show growth, the number of contracts signed decreased, demonstrating a strong concentration in the allocation of these resources. Moreover, credit lines for family farmers were diversified and consolidated. Thus, it can be inferred that the positive performance of agricultural activities in Brazil has been influenced by the dynamics of the agricultural policy, which is expansionary in relation to rural credit supply.