in 1996 the PRONAL program was created with the stated objective of promoting the sustainable development of small, family farms.
The Pronaf is known basically by the credit offered to the farmers and their families, but there is more. Currently the program also offers Technical Assistance and the Agricultural Extension Program which is dedicated to helping the individual farms develop income through agricultural tourism, biofuels , medicinal plants, financing equipment, transport , contacts and assistance in marketing their production.
Insurance for price and calamity i.e. for north-eastern droughts.
Naturally, as a Brasilian government effort it is bogged down by bureaucracy and probably loses a significant part of it’s working funds through corruption.
All this aside, it is a clear effort to allow the small family farms to not only survive but to progress.
