Londrina – The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the minister of Agriculture, Reinhold Stephanes, are going to launch the 2009-2010 Agriculture and Livestock Plan (PAP) this afternoon (22nd), in the city of Londrina, in the north of the state of Paraná. The plan sets aside 107.5 billion reals (US$ 54.8 billion) for the sector, 37% more than in the 2008-2009 crop. Commercial agriculture should receive 92.5 billion reals (US$ 47.2 billion) and family farming, 15 billion reals (US$ 7.6 billion).
According to Stephanes and to the minister of Planning, Paulo Bernardo, who disclosed the details of the plan yesterday (21st) in a press conference in Londrina, the volume of funding for commercial agriculture alone grew 42.3% in comparison with the previous plan.
The minister of Agriculture said that this is the second time that the federal government chooses the state of Paraná for launching the plan. “The state has an organized agricultural sector and answers to one fifth of Brazilian agricultural output. With only 2.8% of the total Brazilian territory, it is the leading producer of grain in the country,” he explained.
President Lula is in Paraná for the launch, and he travelled along with the ministers Edison Lobão, of Mines and Energy, and Dilma Rousseff, the Chief of Staff. The president and his delegation were welcomed by the state governor Roberto Requião and by the secretary of Agriculture and Supply, Valter Bianchini.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
