Family Farming in Brazil: Inequalities in Credit Access

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes inequalities in access to rural credit for family farmers in Brazil. It finds that while the National Plan for Family Farming (PRONAF) receives significant government subsidies, credit access is highly concentrated among larger properties, specific geographic regions (primarily the South), and grain production, leaving the most vulnerable small-scale producers underserved.

• Access to rural credit among family farmers is limited and highly unequal, with only 15% of family farmers accessing credit. Access is skewed toward larger properties: 20% of producers with properties between 10 and 100 hectares obtain credit, compared to only 10% of those with properties up to four hectares.
• There are stark regional disparities in credit access and funding. In the South, 29% of family farmers access credit, whereas only 9% do so in the North. Furthermore, the average amount per hectare for PRONAF contracts in the South (R$ 1,451) is eighteen times higher than in the North (R$ 83).
• PRONAF funding is concentrated in specific crops, particularly grains. Corn, wheat, and soy receive the most financing, with PRONAF credit accounting for over 40% of their sales value. Conversely, PRONAF accounts for less than 10% of the sales value for crops typical of family farming, such as açaí, cocoa, orange, pineapple, sugarcane, banana, and manioc.
• While PRONAF represents a high volume of contracts, it accounts for a small portion of total rural credit value. In 2022, PRONAF contracts made up 73% of all rural credit contracts but only 14% of the total volume of resources, indicating significantly lower financing levels compared to corporate farming.
• The 'fiscal module'—a unit of area used to determine PRONAF eligibility—is outdated and creates distortions. Established in the 1980s, these modules range from five to 110 hectares and fail to reflect current productivity and technological changes, meaning producers with identical land sizes may be categorized differently based on their municipality.
• The 2023/2024 Brazilian Agricultural Plan allocates R$ 13.6 billion in total credit subsidies, with R$ 8.5 billion (62%) designated exclusively for PRONAF, while corporate farming receives R$ 5.1 billion in subsidies.

APA

Souza, P., & de Albuquerque, A. (2023). Family Farming in Brazil: Inequalities in Credit Access. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Family-Farming-in-Brazil.pdf

Chicago

Souza, Priscila, and Amanda de Albuquerque. Family Farming in Brazil: Inequalities in Credit Access. Climate Policy Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Family-Farming-in-Brazil.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Souza |first1=Priscila |last2=de Albuquerque |first2=Amanda |title=Family Farming in Brazil: Inequalities in Credit Access |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Family-Farming-in-Brazil.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{souza2023family, author = {Souza, Priscila and de Albuquerque, Amanda}, title = {{Family Farming in Brazil: Inequalities in Credit Access}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Family-Farming-in-Brazil.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }