The evolution of agricultural policy in Brazil.
| Macroeconomic conditions and policy |
- High inflation
- Controlled exchange rate
- High growth rate
- Increased government expenditures in farm policy |
- Uncontrolled inflation and low growth (stagflation)
- Heterodox plans
- Debt crisis
- Land as real asset
- Decreased government expenditures in farm policy |
- Control of inflation
- Volatile exchange rate
- High real interest rates
- Modest growth rate
- Privatization |
- Low inflation
- Structural reforms and fiscal balance
- Less volatile exchange rate
- Lower interest rates
- Sustained growth
- Investments in infrastructure |
| Agricultural policy goals |
- Food security |
- Deregulation
- Liberalization |
- Land reform programs
- Family farming and social inclusion |
- Competitiveness
- Sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) |
| Price support and government storage |
- Massive intervention: public agencies, government purchases and storage, price controls
- Commodity price support |
- Decreased intervention
- Agricultural commodity market deregulation |
- Modest and selective intervention |
- Modest and selective intervention |
| Rural credit |
- Government supply of credit financed by Treasury (SNCR)
- Negative real interest rates |
- Decreased government supply of credit
- Interest rates less subsidized |
- Credit lines targeted to family farms (PRONAF)
- Specific programs for investment credit (BNDES)
- Agricultural credit crisis and debt rescheduling |
- Crop insurance
- Private instruments for agricultural finance
- Targeted credit lines to family farms
- Credit cooperative development |
| Agricultural trade policy |
- Closed economy
- High tariffs
- Import Substitution model
- Export taxes on primary commodities |
- Unilateral openness to trade
- International integration (Mercosur)
- Elimination of export taxes |
- Aggressive policy against agricultural trade barriers
- WTO dispute panels
- Leadership in G-20
- Negotiation of regional agreements (FTAA, EU-Mercosur) |
- Aggressive trade policies: negotiations, litigations
- Increased emphasis on NTBs: technical, sanitary, and social barriers
- Conclusion of regional and bilateral trade agreements |
| Agricultural research and extension |
- High investment in public research (Embrapa, federal and state universities)
- Development of public extension service network |
- Leveling-off of public investment |
- Crisis of public research and extension services |
- Renewed public commitment to agricultural R&D, including GMOs
- Increased role of public-private partnerships
- Intellectual property rights |
| Social policies (family farms and land reform) |
- Minimal |
- Initial stage (Extraordinary Ministry of Land Reform) |
- Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA)
- Distributive programs: land reform, "Bolsa Família," rural retirement, PRONAF |
- Policy evaluation and monitoring
- Retarget programs to different types of family farms
- Farm cooperative development and modernization |