Brasília – The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, launched the “Rice for the People” program on Wednesday (16) to stimulate rice production and stockpiling. Approximately BRL 1 billion [USD 178 million] will be invested in the initiative for the purchase of up to 500 thousand tonnes of the product.
Small and medium producers wishing to grow rice will be able to sign option contracts with the federal government, which will guarantee the purchase of their production at a pre-established price. “The contracts will stimulate rice production by up to 500 thousand tonnes, helping to mitigate losses from the 2023 and 2024 harvests due to drought and flooding in the Southern Region,” said the minister of agrarian development and family agriculture, Paulo Teixeira, at the launch. “This program aims to increase rice production by family farming and promote regional diversity and crop variety,” he added.
The “Rice for the People” program is part of a set of actions presented by the government for food supply to the population and the encouragement of organic production in celebration of World Food Day. These actions are included in the National Food Supply Plan (Planaab), dubbed “Food on the Plate,” and in the National Agroecology and Organic Production Plan (Planapo).
Hunger Map
World Food Day is celebrated globally on October 16, the founding date of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. In his speech, President Lula reaffirmed the commitment to remove Brazil from the Hunger Map again by 2026. The Hunger Map is published annually by the FAO and shows the number of people facing hunger and food insecurity worldwide. A country is included in the list when more than 2.5% of its population faces chronic food shortages. Brazil was removed from the Hunger Map in 2014 and maintained this position until 2018.
Read more:
Brazil agribusiness: Where we are headed
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
