Small farmers demand renegotiation of debts

Published in Portuguese on Wednesday 29/06/2011 – 11:24

The peasant workers of agriculture resumed on Wednesday the 29th the mobilizations surrounding the debt of rural families. In Porto Alegre the movements which are part of the Via Campesina and de FETRAF (National Federation of the Workers in Family Agriculture) occupied the courtyard of the Ministry of Finance’s building. Actions also took place in several cities in the inland Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, such as Erexim, Vacaria Iraí, Concórdia, Anita Garibaldi and Chapecó, among others.

Even with bad weather conditions the affected by dams participate of several demonstrations with the freeing of toll booths, public acts and debates about the list of demands, which reflects the need of renegotiating the debts with the federal government because many families can’t access the Pronaf (National Program of Strengthening Family Agriculture) because of their insolvency. In Rio Grande do Sul alone, the small farmers sum R$5 billion in overdue or due to expire debts. In Brazil, the value reaches R$30 billion. The situation is troubling, since Family agriculture is responsible for 70% of the food on Brazilian people’s table.

Negotiation

Fighting to guarantee actual inclusion of the small agricultors in the Plano Safra 2011, to be launched by the federal government next Friday, the social movements linked with the sector were in meeting on Monday (the 27th) for three with the minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency. Gilberto Carvalho, and representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Development. The main point is the renegotiation of the debts of the small agricultors with the Federal government.

“The meeting was good. Dialogue with the governments took place so that, until its release, the requirements become manageable and so that they can actually include the real rural movements”, told the director of Via Campesina, Plínio Simas, at the exit of the meeting.

According to official numbers of the federal government, the Plano Agrícola e Pecuário 2011/2011 (Agricultural and Livestock plan) will make R$ 16 billion for family agriculture. But in the access to credit the small farmers didn’t feel themselves included with what was defined in the program. “There has to be a guarantee that this plan meets all agricultors which need credit. And that means renegotiating the debts of the small agricultors”, explains Plínio.

The negotiation of the debts, estimated by the social movements to be 12% of Brazilian small farmers, was the main point of the long talk with the interlocutor of president Dilma Roussef. “Without renegotiating the debts, who will they offer Plano Safra to?”, questions

Simas. Until the eve of launching the Plano Safra 2011, the social movements expect to have their plea conceded.

Claims

The agricultors demand:

– Consolidation of the funding and investment debts of peasants and people settled by the Land Reform in one same contract;

– Lengthening of the term of payment to 15 years, with 2 years legal period of disobligation and zero interest;

– Discount of R$12 thousand per family, including emergency credit;

– Access to new financing.