Brazil will need about 10 billion reais (US$5.9 billion) in additional loans to help its farmers meet carbon reduction targets, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes said on Monday.

Currently, the Brazilian government's Agricultural and Livestock Plan provides 107.5 billion reais (US$63.2 billion)of agricultural loans.

The government ordered that the agricultural sector must reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4.9 percent to 6.1 percent by 2020.

Stephanes said the government had to provide more farmers with resources to implement technology for greenhouse gas reduction, which is already available in Brazil but on a limited scale.

In addition, the government will spend 1 billion reais annually (US$588 million) to offer preferential interest rates for producers and 500 million reais (US$294 million) to revive rural technical assistance system.

Brazil announced on Friday its commitment to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1 percent to 38.9 percent by 2020.

The goal will be presented in the United Nations conference on climate change to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2009)