For Sicredi, a credit union with more than 7 million members and present throughout Brazil, credit for family farming is an important sustainability tool. After all, it contributes to income generation, social development in communities and food security.
Furthermore, the sector is one of the main contributors to food production in Brazil and globally, with the potential for implementing sustainable practices in production and reducing environmental impacts.
Sicredi’s agribusiness strategy experts, Daniela dos Santos da Silva and Rebecca de Albuquerque Grandmaison, emphasize that Sicredi’s support for sustainable agriculture is directly related to the preservation of forests and biodiversity. According to them, “sustainable agribusiness is a clear example of the triple bottom line, as it involves the environment, society and the economy.”
How Sicredi supports family farming
Currently, Sicredi is the second institution with the largest amount of rural credit released in Brazil. It provides support at all stages of the production chain, offering solutions with socio-environmental attributes to its rural producer associates.
In 2022, Sicredi made over US$2.05 billion available to family farming through Pronaf (acronym in Portuguese for National Program for the Strengthening of Family Farming), with credit products that allow financing for planting and crop maintenance, as well as investments in machinery, implements, rural improvements, infrastructure for solar energy, among other things.
The amount of credit released by the program in 2022 was 30% higher than in 2021. In total, 153,000 credit operations were carried out through Pronaf in 2022. The expectation is to increase that number by the end of 2023.
In the first semester of this year alone, family farming received a disbursement of US$419.5 million, totaling 32,000 credit concession operations, a growth of 49% compared to the first semester of 2022. By September 2023, Sicredi counted 598,152 associates that benefited from Pronaf – it is worth noting that, according to the rules of the Pronaf Eligibility Statement (DAP, in Portuguese), each associate represents a family.
Sicredi also provides credit for energy transition, including products for the installation of solar panels on rural properties. These products already have a portfolio of over US$25.6 million offered to rural producers.
Other Initiatives
The agribusiness strategy experts at Sicredi also mention that, in addition to Pronaf, the cooperative is involved in a series of other products focused on the green economy. For example: Renovagro, FCO, FNO, lines for renewable energy, among others.
Renovagro is the Financing Program for Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems, aimed at practices that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts.
There are also funds such as FCO and FNO, which are credit funds provided by the Brazilian Federal Constitution, aimed at promoting the economic and social development of the Midwest and North regions of the country, respectively.
Another very important aspect for Sicredi is the energy transition. The premise is to increasingly encourage the use of renewable sources with specific credit products.
The Virtuous Cycle of Cooperativism
The conclusion is clear: the presence of a cooperative in a community generates income and prosperity for its inhabitants. Sicredi states that its cooperatives, spreaded throughout Brazil, stimulate the local economy by expanding access to financial and non-financial services for the local population – thus permeating the Principles of Intercooperation and Concern for the Community.
“Because of our cooperative nature, funds raised in one place turn into credit for other associates in the same location, creating a virtuous cycle that stimulates investments in the cooperative, inclusion of a larger number of people in the financial system, and the strengthening of our associates’ businesses,” say Daniela dos Santos da Silva and Rebecca de Albuquerque Grandmaison, both agribusiness strategy experts at Sicredi.
Therefore, support for family farming goes beyond the rural environment. Once the small producer gains financial stability, they increase their purchasing power and start spending in other consumer goods. This boosts trade and keeps the economy turning.
For the future, Sicredi’s expectation is to increase support for sustainable family farming, always keeping a close eye on identifying the next opportunities to contribute to this cause.
