Closing the Rural Credit Divide: Pathways to Increase PRONAF Access for Smallholders

This research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-RIO) examines barriers to accessing the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF) in Brazil. It identifies significant regional disparities in credit access, particularly favoring the South, and highlights technical assistance (ATER) and cooperative membership as critical determinants for expanding financial inclusion among smallholder farmers.

• PRONAF is the primary federal policy for smallholder farming in Brazil, providing subsidized credit to increase production, income, and sustainability. While the 2025/26 Agricultural Plan allocated R$ 78.2 billion to the program, a previous CPI/PUC-RIO study indicated that approximately 85% of smallholders still lack access to credit.
• There are stark regional disparities in PRONAF access. In the 2016/17 Agricultural Year, the average municipal share of smallholders accessing PRONAF in the South was approximately 21%, which is roughly five times higher than the 4% access rate in the North and significantly higher than the 5% in the Northeast.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2026). Closing the Rural Credit Divide: Pathways to Increase PRONAF Access for Smallholders. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/closing-the-rural-credit-divide-pathways-to-increase-pronaf-access-for-smallholders/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Closing the Rural Credit Divide: Pathways to Increase PRONAF Access for Smallholders. 2026. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/closing-the-rural-credit-divide-pathways-to-increase-pronaf-access-for-smallholders/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Closing the Rural Credit Divide: Pathways to Increase PRONAF Access for Smallholders |date=8 April 2026 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/closing-the-rural-credit-divide-pathways-to-increase-pronaf-access-for-smallholders/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2026closing, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Closing the Rural Credit Divide: Pathways to Increase PRONAF Access for Smallholders}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/closing-the-rural-credit-divide-pathways-to-increase-pronaf-access-for-smallholders/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }