🌾 Haddad’s Harvest Plan halt

Happy Friday! We end the week by bringing you a fresh episode of our podcast, breaking down the most important news from Brazil. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Haddad halts major farm subsidy program as budget stalls

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has quietly suspended all new loans under the Harvest Plan, the country’s primary vehicle for subsidizing farmers through low-interest credit. The freeze, effective immediately, was announced in a memo to financial institutions, in which the government attributed the decision to Congress’s failure to approve the 2025 budget. The suspension hit major producers but spared family agriculture.

Yes, but … This morning, the Finance Ministry said the government will today ask for authorization from the Federal Accounts Court to resume the credit program. 

State of play. The cost of subsidized credit programs has increased massively over the past year, as Brazil’s benchmark interest rate climbed to 13.25% — from 10.5% in July 2024, when the current Harvest Plan was announced by the government. Rates under the plan, however, hover between 7% and 12%.

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