RS: Drought Emergency Credit helps to resume production in rural settlement communities

Drought Emergency Credit aims to resume production in the communities of rural settlements in Rio Grande do Sul, points out the director of the Department of Agrarian, Fishing, Aquaculture, Indigenous and Quilombola Development (Ddapa), Maurício Neuhaus. Seven State Settlement Projects (PE), from five cities in the interior of the state, will be contemplated until Thursday (22). It is expected to serve 136 families in the following municipalities: Ijuí, Erval Seco, Palmeira das Missões, Capão Bonito do Sul and Guabiju.

“This Drought Emergency Credit for agrarian reform settlements, in fact, is a second installment of the Incra Installation Credit, which is a resource destined for agrarian reform settlements in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Both federal settlements and state settlements”, explains Neuhaus.

For this, the Union approved an amount of BRL 5,200 per family through Decree 11,433/2023. The money will be given to farmers who are in good standing and live in settlements in municipalities affected by the drought between December 1, 2022 and March 10, 2023, recognized by the federal government.

“Families will receive this R$ 5,200 for withdrawal at Banco do Brasil branches, and they have a period of up to two years to pay 10% of that amount, with interest of 0.5% per year. About a return of BRL 600 after the deadline”, informs the director.

The Secretariat for Rural Development (SDR) and the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) are working together to collect signatures on the contracts.

It is no longer necessary to renew the Term of Concession of Use (TCU) to receive payment, but it is essential that farmers update their registration data. If there are problems with the name at the Federal Revenue, farmers will not be able to sign the contract until the data is corrected. Those who have already updated their information must inform the SDR before the contract can be issued. The data can be corrected at branches of Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Correios or at the Federal Revenue Service itself.

drought effects

According to Neuhaus, Rio Grande do Sul suffers from drought for the third consecutive year. Therefore, losses were accumulated, mainly for food producers.

Economist César Bergo explains that Emergency Credit is necessary for producers. “There is this tradition in the country, with regard to combating drought in other states. So, particularly, what is intended is to create a working group that indicates ways to prevent and mitigate these effects of the drought, as well as actions that can reduce these socioeconomic impacts.”

Bergo points out that since 2018, the installation of settlement projects and the acquisition of goods and essential items for small-scale producers is expected, but that should only be put into practice in the future. Thus, with Emergency Credit, people will already have resources to get around the current situation.