Brasília, 6/25/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The government inaugurated its Harvest Plan for Family Farming 2003/2004 with an original ceremony. Farmers from around the country were connected to the Palacio do Planalto through an audio system. Thus, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heard farmers from Sananduva (RS), Petrolina (PE) and Ouro Preto do Oeste (RO), and the farmers heard speeches by the president and minister of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto.

According to Lula, the record amount of credit made available for this harvest, R$5.4 billion, was a victory of social movements. The challenge now, he said, is to get the money to those who need it in a timely fashion. "I know that planting time for some farmers has come and gone and they do not have money," said the president.

An innovation in the plan is the Pronaf Card, which will make life easier for farmers by reducing red tape when they renew credit. At the ceremony, five farmers received the first cards. "This is the beginning of a new relationship," said minister Rossetto.

President Lula underscored the special attention women and youths were getting in the new Pronaf, which now has Pronaf Women and Pronaf Youth subdivisions. Lula also emphasized the importance of family farming from a national sovereignty point of view. He said that by keeping people where they were born, giving them jobs there, improving their lives and protecting the environment, the country was occupying its land correctly. (AB)