São Paulo – A great grain crop, with production of 75 million tonnes, is the target of the Regional Development Bank for the Extreme South (BRDE) and the Council for Development of Integration of the South (Codesul) for the 2010/2011 period. The initiative, targeted by a campaign developed by both institutions, has the support of the Union and Organization of Cooperatives of the State of Paraná (Ocepar). The objective is to stimulate the cultivation, which in the 2009/2010 crop reached 67.25 million tonnes. This year, the BRDE should make 1.7 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 940 million) available in agribusiness financing to the states it supports: Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul.
"Farmers are pleased and that stimulates from the purchase of agricultural machinery to the movement at tailors who make wedding suits, for example. In years of good crops, the number of people prepared to take new steps is large,” explained BRDE president Airton Carlos Pissetti.
According to Pissetti, the campaign should be turned mainly to stimulation of production of soy and wheat. Apart from greater offer of credit, the initiative involves the publication of advertisements in regional newspapers and magazines, like "Dia da Colheita", to take place during the next edition of the Rural and Industrial Exhibition of Londrina, from the 1st to 11th of April, in Paraná.
The idea is to create an export surplus and, thus, to supply more markets. The Arab countries are among the preferred clients of farmers in the south. "We are very interested in closing deals with this market, especially after industrialisation of commodities,” he said. Therefore, if it all develops as forecasted, the 2010/2011 crop should end with production of 32 million tonnes of grain in Paraná, 25 million tonnes in Rio Grande do Sul, 11 million in Mato Grosso do Sul and 7 million in Santa Catarina, reaching the target of 75 million tonnes.
"Stimulating production moves the entire productive chain, mainly with investment in industrial units, which should generate new jobs in the states involved in the campaign,” explained Pissetti, who is confident in a broad crop in 2010 and 2011.
*Translated by Mark Ament
