Irrigation is an important ally of agriculture, especially in times of drought, such as that recorded in Rio Grande do Sul in the 2019/2020 harvest. Despite this, only 10% of Brazil’s agricultural area (about 6.7 million hectares) has the technology, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Of this total, 40% is in the South, 25% in the Southeast, 19% in the Northeast and 11% in the Midwest.

According to the commentator of Canal Rural and specialist in rural credit, Ivan Wedekin, last season, financing for agricultural irrigation totaled R $ 340 million, distributed in 525 projects, a drop of 24% compared to the previous season. In cattle ranching, 75 contracts were made, totaling R$ 21 million, a 98% increase. “The main reason for the drop was interest rates,” he said.

Therefore, for the 2020/2021 harvest, the government perfected Moderinfra, a program that finances irrigation. The credit line received R$ 1.5 billion to continue “developing irrigation so that it reduces risk and increases the efficiency of Brazilian agriculture.”

“The credit limit per producer is R$ 3.3 million, and can reach R$ 9.9 million in case of crowdfunding. The interest rate is 6% per year, in the harvest was 8%. The payment term is up to 10 years with 3 years of grace,” wedekin says.

Source: Rural Canal