Brazilian Secretary of Agricultural Policy On the 2025/26 Agricultural Financing Plan

AgriBrasilis – Is there a possibility of increasing the resources of the Harvest Plan?

Guilherme Campos – An amount of US$ 92.88 billion was announced and scheduled for the 2025/2026 Harvest Plan, with US$ 74.70 billion allocated for working capital, marketing, and industrialization, and US$ 18.18 billion for investments in production systems, machinery, equipment, infrastructure, and other improvements. We are at the beginning of the harvest season, and the allocation of resources matches the expected use and application by farmers. However, during the season, if the need for additional funds becomes evident, there is the possibility of reallocating equalized resources between financing lines and between financial institutions, which would meet specific high-demand needs.

AgriBrasilis – What are the reasons behind the allegations of “make-up” in the total amount?

Guilherme Campos – Such a claim makes no sense, given that the composition of the Harvest Plan resources is as follows:

Of the US$ 92.88 billion announced for the 2025/2026 Harvest Plan, US$ 31.43 billion* (34% of the total) is controlled resources, with pre-set and fixed interest rates. Controlled resources are composed of Mandatory Resources from demand deposits (MCR 6-2), Constitutional Financing Funds (FCO + FNO + FNE), Funcafé resources, and equalized resources, which may come from Rural Savings requirements, Agribusiness Credit Bills (LCA) requirements, FAT funds, or ordinary BNDES resources, as well as own funds.

The allocation of equalized resources for medium and large farmers is US$ 20.48 billion (US$ 11.57 billion for working capital and US$ 8.92 billion for investment). These resources have interest rates subsidized by the National Treasury, which pays the difference between the funding cost, plus administrative and tax expenses and the charges paid by the rural credit borrower. In this context, the US$ 20.48 billion is leveraged by US$ 0.70 billion paid by the National Treasury.

As for free resources, these are divided into two basic categories: directed and undirected. Directed free resources are those that have a mandatory application in rural credit, but at free interest rates. These include mandatory applications of rural savings (currently 70% of rural savings funds) not equalized or not applied under the same conditions as Mandatory Resources, and requirements from LCA issuances (60% of issuance value), covering both rural credit operations (working capital, investment, marketing, and industrialization) and purchases of CPRs issued by farmers. In the 2025/2026 Harvest Plan, Directed Free Resources total US$ 54 billion, and Undirected Free Resources total US$ 4.86 billion.

It is important to note that Directed Free Resources have a legal obligation for application, under penalty of financial cost charges for Non-Compliance with Requirements (MCR 6-5), and therefore tend to have lower financial charges compared to undirected free resources. Thus, of the total free resources, only about 8% (US$ 4.86 billion) have no ties to government control.

*To these resources can be added US$ 2.59 billion from BNDES to be applied to investments with financial charges adjusted based on dollar exchange variation. Strictly speaking, according to the Rural Credit Manual, although these are not classified as Controlled Resources, they are part of negotiations with BNDES and will have lower charges than market rates.

AgriBrasilis – How can the Harvest Plan encourage more sustainable production?

Guilherme Campos – Sustainability is at the core of the Harvest Plan’s design, which provides programs and credit lines with favorable conditions for allocating resources to sustainable production systems and good agricultural practices. Programs finance organic systems, Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration, the use of bio-inputs, modernization of machinery and equipment, environmental and sanitary recovery of rural properties, as well as the recovery of degraded pasture areas, enabling production and productivity gains without the need to open new areas. Additionally, there is a bonus policy that offers a discount of up to one percentage point on working capital interest rates for farmers who adopt sustainable practices and comply with environmental legislation.

“…In the current scenario of climate change, this measure helps reorganize the borrower’s finances”

AgriBrasilis – What measures have been announced to facilitate debt renegotiation?

Guilherme Campos – The Rural Credit Manual now explicitly states that cash flow difficulties caused by the cumulative impact of crop losses due to adverse events in previous seasons, along with a temporary increase in debt to finance productive activities, may be grounds for renegotiating rural credit operations. In the current scenario of climate change, this measure helps reorganize the borrower’s finances.

AgriBrasilis – What is the importance of the new requirement on Agricultural Zoning for Climate Risk (Zarc)?

Guilherme Campos – The new requirement strengthens Zarc as a key tool for climate risk management, both for farmers and the Federal Government. By linking access to rural credit to Zarc’s recommendations, we are encouraging planting within ideal windows, mitigating losses from extreme weather events, and increasing production efficiency. For SPA, this allows better targeting of public policies, ensuring that resources reach those who adopt sustainable practices aligned with technical criteria. A concrete example is the Zarc Management Levels pilot project, which is allocating US$ 1.44 million in direct support to soybean farmers in Paraná who adopt ZARCNM, combining proper management with reduced climate risk and differentiated access to rural insurance.

AgriBrasilis – What other new features are in this edition of the Harvest Plan?

Guilherme Campos – National Support Program for Medium Farmers (Pronamp):

• Increase in the sub-requirement for demand deposit resources from 45% to 50%;

• Increase in the annual gross income eligibility limit from US$ 540,000 to US$ 630,000;

• Expansion of access to Funcafé: Farmers under Pronamp and Pronaf can also access Funcafé resources, providing greater financing possibilities for coffee production.
  These measures aim to broaden Pronamp’s access to official credit and strengthen the complementarity of capital markets in agricultural sector financing.

Agribusiness Credit Bill (LCA):

• Increase in the mandatory application of LCA resources from 50% to 60%;

• Reduction of the minimum maturity term from 9 months to 6 months.
  The shorter minimum term aims to align LCAs with the short-term dynamics of the market and encourage more investors to join the agricultural sector.

Directed Resources:

• Increase from 30% to 31.5% in the requirements for controlled resources from demand deposits;

• Increase from 65% to 70% in the requirements from Rural Savings.
  These increases help expand rural credit supply with favorable rates in a context of high interest rates and fiscal constraints.

Sustainability:

• Inclusion of financing for fire prevention and control items in the Renovagro Ambiental Program, which offers the most favorable financing conditions in the Harvest Plan;

• Extension of interest rate discounts for farmers implementing additional sustainability practices;

• Inclusion of financing for forest species seeds and seedlings, both native and exotic;

• Inclusion of financing for the implementation of cover crops.
  These measures strengthen RenovAgro, focusing on additional sustainability practices, integrated soil management, and fire control.

Sanitary Control and Environmental Compliance:

• Doubling of the financing limit for environmental and sanitary compliance to US$ 720,000 (individual credit) and US$ 2.16 million (collective credit) for various production chains, including poultry and swine;

• Expansion of farmers’ capacity to invest in structural adjustments, reinforcements, and innovations to meet sanitary and environmental compliance, as well as biosecurity, traceability, and sustainability actions.