Determinats of acces to rural credit: a study based on a survey of agricultural production units (LUPA, in Portuguese) of the State of São Paulo

Este trabalho busca compreender e mensurar as características dos produtores rurais que ampliam a probabilidade para que o mesmo tenha acesso ao crédito rural. Utilizando os dados do Levantamento das Unidades Produtivas Agropecuárias (LUPA) do Estado de São Paulo (2006/2007), que abrange todas as UPAs pertencentes aos 645 municípios do estado, foi possível detalhar as características observáveis dos produtores e das propriedades que acessaram o crédito rural em 2007. Para tanto, foi utilizado o método de Árvores de Classificação e Regressão. As estimações realizadas para todas as UPAs de estado de São Paulo mostraram que a diferença de tamanho das unidades produtivas é o principal determinante para o acesso ao crédito. Quando se analisa o acesso ao crédito para unidades produtivas de pequena, média e grande extensão, algumas variáveis apresentam maior impacto no acesso ao crédito. Para as unidades de pequena extensão (até dez hectares), a diversificação de cultura, entre cultura temporária e perene, aumenta a probabilidade dos produtores acessarem o crédito. Para propriedades de média extensão (até quinhentos hectares), a presença de vínculos institucionais, seja cooperativa, sindicato ou associação, e melhorias em gestão (uso de computador, acesso á assistência técnica oficial), além da diversificação de cultura, elevam as probabilidades de acesso ao crédito. A análise mostra também que para unidades produtivas de grande extensão as variáveis que impactam a probabilidade de acesso ao crédito rural estão relacionadas a participação em instituições (cooperado e associado), além de variáveis relacionadas à melhoria de gestão, independentemente do tipo de cultura cultivada pela UPA.This paper aims to understand and measure the characteristics of farmers which enhance their likelihood of having access to rural credit. Using data from the Survey of Agricultural Production Units (LUPA, in portuguese) of São Paulo (2006/2007), which covers all 645 Agricultural Production Units belonging to municipalities in the state was possible to detail the observable characteristics and properties of the producers who have accessed rural credit in 2007. For this, we used the Classification and Regression Trees method. The estimates performed for all UPAs (in Portuguese) in the state of São Paulo showed that the difference in size of production units is the main determinant to access credit. When analyzing the access to credit for production units of small, medium and large extent, some variables have greater impact on access to credit. For units of small extent (up to ten hectares) the culture diversification between temporary and perennial crop, increases the likelihood of farmers to access credit. For production units of medium length (up to five hundred acres), the presence of institutional links, such as cooperative, union or association, and improvements in management (computer use, technical support officer access), and crop diversification, increase the likelihood of access to credit. The analysis also shows that for production units with large extent the variables that have more impact in the probability of access to rural credit are related to participation in institutions (cooperative and associate), and variables related to improvement management, regardless of the type of crop cultivated by UPA

Can credit help small family farming? Evidence from Brazil

sem informaçãoThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of a Brazilian rural credit program, The National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF), on small family farming production. Design/methodology/approach – The method is based on a quasi-exper802212230sem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçãoThe authors thank the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for providing access to restricted microdata from the 2006 Agricultural Census (Process Number IBGE 03605.001122/2015-97

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE: ASSESSING THE IMPACTS ON SMALL FARMERS IN THE BRAZILIAN SERTÃO

The Brazilian Sertão is the most populous semiarid region in the world, and faces the highest rates of poverty and food insecurity in Brazil. Irregular rainfall and climate variability make these social constraints even more difficult to be solved in the short term, since basic economic activities in the region, as dairy farming and subsistence agriculture, tend to be mainly affected by recurrent and prolonged droughts. This study analyzes the impacts of climate conditions on the agricultural production and how adaptative strategies may alleviate such effects. First, it analyzes the dynamics of climate variables between 1974 and 2013 in the semi-arid region of the State of Bahia, the largest and most populous State of Sertão. Secondly, based on a panel with climatic and production data, it assesses the ex-poste impacts of these climate variables on the agricultural production of the municipalities in the region. Thirdly, it estimates the relation between several adaptive strategies and the agricultural family farmers’ production, based on microdata of the Brazilian Agricultural Census for small farmers in the region. The study evaluates four main agricultural productions: milk, cattle, goat, sheep and corn. The final and general aim of this study is to discuss the effectiveness of strategies for small farmers which would create climate resilience and attenuate the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural production of this vulnerable region