Family farming access to credit and to technical assistance in Brazil

Abstract:

Rural credit and technical assistance are important agricultural policies adopted in Brazil, where family farming comprises 80% of the Brazilian farmers. However, how have the potentially classified persons as family farmers (PPCAF in Portuguese) in Brazil been granted with credit and technical assistance (TA)? This work analyzes these issues based on 2014 PNAD´s microdata. After organizing the data in tables and run logit model, the following unfolded: (1^st) Northeastern Brazilian citizens are predominant among the PPCAF, but not among the ones granted with Pronaf and TA; (2^nd) higher household income and formal schooling are linked to larger access to Pronaf and TA; (3^rd) the Northeastern and Northern PPCAF make greater use of public-provided TA, while the Southern and Midwestern PPCAF make more use of private-provided TA; (4^th) the logit models indicate that men, with lower schooling levels, and the Northeastern inhabitants are less likely to have access to TA than their opponents. There are personal and regional differences concerning the access to TA, which is necessary to be better addressed by economic policies.

Keywords:
family farming; technical assistance; rural credit; Pronaf; regional differences