THE AGROAMIGO PROGRAM IN MUNICIPALITIES OF MINAS GERAIS: TERRITORIAL INCIDENCE AND EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC AGGREGATES

Abstract

This study aims to contribute to the evaluative effort on public policies to support family farming based on an operational strategy and a specific spatial focus. This is the Agroamigo Program, developed by the Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) since 2005 to implement the Pronaf B rural microcredit lineaimed at lower-income farmers. The objective was to evaluate the effects of Agroamigo based on two aggregated dimensions: on the potential for financial inclusion and on the municipal economic dynamics. The chosen territorial focus refers to the municipalities of Minas Gerais followed by the program. In the end, it was possible to accept the adopted hypothesis that the aggregated annual credits of these financings, in addition to increasing the potential coverage of the program, are associated with positive effects in rural territories with low economic dynamics, insofar as they are configured as an important injection money for these municipalities.