IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFICULTIES OF ACCESS TO PRONAF BY FAMILY FARMERS IN NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Abstract

The Brazilian National Program for the Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF) is a public policy that offers rural credit to family farmers. The Program has already benefited thousands of families, but they are not all the family farmers of the Brazilian Northeast, which has access to PRONAF. The objective of this work was to conduct a survey identifying the main barriers to beneficiary access to PRONAF in the Northeast, during the 2015-2016 crop year. To identify barriers to peasants' access to the Program, questionnaires were prepared, three research instruments with closed and open questions, for the three publics (financial agents, social movemensts and entities that providing technical and rural extension service) involved in PRONAF. The most important obstacles that interfere with access to PRONAF are default, cadastral restriction, technical assistance and rural extension, documentary requirements and lack of knowledge of the rules of the Program. There is a lack of more efficient management by the Federal Government in relation to the monitoring and follow-up of this public policy.