In June, the Ministry of Agriculture published the 2020/2021 Safra Plan, which is an agricultural financing model that includes important indications from the sustainable and low carbon agriculture point of view. The ABC Environmental Line, defined by the resources for the realization of forestry restoration, had an increase of R$ 408 million in relation to the previous year, in addition to a reduction in interest rates – which before varied between 5.25 and 7% and now vary between 4.5 and 6%.
Inovagro, a credit line destined for investments in the incorporation of innovative technologies in rural properties, which contributes to the adoption of best practices in agriculture and an increase in productivity, received an increase of R$ 500 million in comparison to 2019, with an interest rate that fell from 7% to 6%.
The grantees Agroicone, CPI and Coalizão Brazil’s were instrumental to these changes by providing technical support and advocacy in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Economy and public banks.
“The 2020/2021 Safra Plan has brought important improvements to reduce emissions from Brazilian agriculture and to accelerate the adoption of more modern and sustainable technologies in the field. The new version of the Plan has also brought about the possibility of financing the acquisition of Environmental Reserve Quotas (CRAs), which signals the interest of the Federal Government in advancing with the implementation of this instrument. The CRAs are one of the main innovations of the Forestry Code and their implementation will allow the value to be recognized of the owners who maintained forests and other forms of native vegetation in their properties, as well as accelerating the environmental regularization of those who still have liabilities,” assesses Gabriel Lui, the coordinator of the Land Use and Food Systems portfolio at iCS.
READ MORE: Rural Credit Advances Make Way to Additional In-Field Sustainability
Watch the launch ceremony of the 2020/21 Safra Plan in its entirety, broadcast by the Ministry of Agriculture and TV Brasil, on June 17, 2020.
