Government wants to restructure the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil.
The goal is to "improve the region's coping with the drought period," said the Minister of Agrarian Development, Pepe Vargas, today (9); among other initiatives to support the region are the provision of seeds and the offer of a subsidized credit line for livestock recovery.
Lourenço Canuto
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia - The government is studying the implementation of a policy for productive restructuring in the semi-arid Northeast, aiming to "improve the region's coexistence with the drought period," announced today (9) the Minister of Agrarian Development, Pepe Vargas. Among other initiatives to support the region are the provision of seeds and the offer of a subsidized credit line for livestock recovery.
According to him, the program should be implemented "as soon as the rains arrive in the Semi-Arid region." To shape the policy, the minister informed that they are consulting with the governors of the Northeast, the state secretaries of Agriculture, entities linked to producers, such as the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), movements of small farmers, landless workers, universities, and research centers.
Pepe Vargas provided the information in an interview on the program Bom Dia, Ministro, produced by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, in partnership with Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC). According to him, a meeting will take place in a few days at Embrapa Semiárido, in Petrolina (PE), to discuss the productive restructuring policy with farmers.
According to the minister, "while the rain doesn't arrive," the implementation of emergency policies to mitigate the problems caused by the drought continues. Well drilling, construction of water supply dams, and the transfer of water between river basins are underway, an area in which the government is investing R$ 30 billion. According to Vargas, the São Francisco River diversion project alone has generated more than 4 jobs.
The minister said that the drought period in the Northeast has an 11-year cycle followed by two years of rainfall. According to him, the expectation is that 2014 will already be "a good year for farmers." The emergency measures underway to guarantee the harvest – such as the granting of Drought Relief Funds, operations with water trucks, and the offer of emergency credit lines for agriculture, commerce, and industry in the region – currently result from investments of R$ 2,75 billion, including debt renegotiation and the extension of payment installments.
Edited by: Juliana Andrade