Brazil announces new public loans to strengthen the agricultural sector

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced new public credit lines to strengthen the agricultural sector in the country, which is one of the world’s largest food producers.

Lula visited an agricultural fair in Luis Eduardo Magalhães, in the interior of Bahia, where the Ministry of Agriculture informed about the new lines of credit, totaling about US$2.46 billion.

The funds made available by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and other public sector entities will be used to finance investments in renewable energy, irrigation works, and silo construction, among other purposes.

The Head of State valued the agricultural sector’s contribution to the Brazilian economy, which has a growing participation, estimated at around 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In the first quarter of this year, Brazilian agriculture registered a 21.6% growth compared to the last three months of 2022, according to official data.

The President asked for an end to the rivalry between small and big agricultural producers and sustained that both are necessary, complement each other, and help the country and “produce the food that Brazil and part of the world consumes.

Lula also said that the development of the countryside boosts other sectors because “when agriculture does well, the industry also does well and sells more machinery,” so “the State will continue to finance” small and large producers.

With information from Lusa

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