Rural credit evolution in Brazil from 1969 to 2023

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the evolution of rural credit distribution in Brazil from 1969 to 2023. Our analysis is divided into groups of farmers (family versus non-family), products, and financed items. For this purpose, we used data from Brazil’s Agricultural Census and from the Central Bank of Brazil, following the comparative and interpretative method. The results indicate that rural credit continued to be concentrated, selective, and unevenly distributed throughout the period analyzed. The results also point out three phenomena that have increased over time, in addition to having taken place between and inside both categories of farmers (non-family versus family), despite the specific program of rural credit in operation since 1996 aimed at granting family farmers rural credit.