Brasília, June 2, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - From now on, family farmers from states in the Northern region of Brazil will be eligible for the line of rural microcredit made available through the National Program for the Strengthening of Family Farming (Pronaf). This type of credit, known as Pronaf B, is designed to combat rural poverty. A partnership between the Ministry of Agrarian Development, through its Secretariat of Family Farming, and the Bank of Amazônia (Basa) extended the scope of this type of microcredit, formerly limited to the Northeast region. As a result, thousand of rural producers whose annual earnings do not surpass US$ 636 (R$ 2 thousand) will be able to obtain up to US$ 318 (R$ 1 thousand) in credit to invest in their properties or the rural activities in which they are engaged.

The Secretariat of Family Farming estimates that around 10 thousand family farmers, people engaged in extractive activities, and fishermen in the Northern states will have access to these funds by the end of the current crop year, which closes in June. US$ 3.180 million (R$ 10 million) have already been set aside for this first phase of the Pronaf B in the states of the Amazon Basin.

"The partnership is assured for the next crop year, which begins in July. We hope that a significant number of farmers access this line of credit so that they can become more productive and earn more income," affirmed the national secretary of Family Farming of the Ministry of Agrarian Development, Valter Bianchini.

Translator: David Silberstein