Off the wire
• Roundup: Canadian stock market rebounds over optimism about Greece deal  • China, U.S. to kick off annual high-level talks on deepening ties  • Roundup: U.S. stocks end higher amid hopeful signs from Greece talks  • Israeli Druze attack military vehicle carrying Syrian refugees, killing one  • Interview: Confucius Institutes aim for sustainable development  • Clashes erupt during Ethiopian-Israeli protest in Tel Aviv  • Roundup: Italy praises EU operation launch, urges more efforts in migrant crisis  • Chicago soybeans, wheat up on short covering  • Roundup: Strengthening China-U.S. talks to provide more opportunities for Chinese firms  • Slovakia to provide financial humanitarian aid to flood-hit Georgia  
You are here: 　 Home

Brazil unveils record investment in family farming program

Xinhua, June 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Brazil's government on Monday unveiled a record investment in small family farms.

The state earmarked 28.9 billion reals (9.38 billion U.S. dollars) for the 2015-2016 season of the Family Farming Harvest Plan, the highest amount ever, according to Agriculture Minister Patrus Ananias.

The figure represents a 20 percent increase over the previous season.

"In 2002 the amount invested was 2.3 billion reals, and the figures have been on the rise ever since," said Ananias.

Brazil's ruling Workers' Party (PT) came to power in 2003.

The financing, which enables family farms to take out loans at 0.5 to 5.5 percent interest, aims to boost food production and generate more income in rural areas.

"We are here to launch a plan that is not only economically and socially strategic, but also democratically strategic. Betting on a rural middle class is something that can only bring Brazil a better-quality democratic society," President Dilma Rousseff said at the launch of the plan.

Ananias stressed that the government increased resources and maintained low interest rates for small and medium-sized farms despite fiscal belt-tightening, which underscores its "commitment to those who work to produce food for Brazilian families." Endite