Land reform program resumed with a focus on women
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the resumption of the National Land Reform Program, with priority for rural women in the selection of families to be benefited by the initiative. The announcement was made at the end of the 7th Marcha das Margaridas in Brasília on Wednesday (Aug. 16).
To make the revamp in the program faster, President Lula signed a decree changing the scoring system for beneficiaries of land reform, stipulating that families headed by women get ten rather than the previous five points.
The women’s demands for access to land and territorial rights is on the agenda unveiled to the federal government in June this year, signed by some 100 thousand women who attended the two-day march in the capital.
As Mazé Morais, coordinator of the 7th edition of the Marcha das Margaridas and secretary at the Women’s National Confederation of Field Workers and Family Farmers (Contag), pointed out, “This crowns the whole process of training and mobilization that we did at grassroots level. We had several key moments. Our agenda was built collectively, alongside the [march] committee and various partner organizations.”
Land allocation
The Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture estimates that more than 45 thousand families will benefit from the return of the Land Reform Program. A total of 5,711 families will be allocated plots and eight new similar units will be created. In addition, 40 thousand families will have their situation regularized in allocated plots countrywide.
In his address, Minister Paulo Teixeira talked about the move. “Eight years ago, no family was allocated a land plot in Brazil because an agreement with the Court of Accounts blocked the land reform program. Today, President Lula is bringing it back.”
Credit and technical assistance
The government also announced that the National Land Credit Program should benefit over 1,500 families still with no access to land. The plan offers easier credit to farmers with little or no land so they can buy rural property.
The minister also announced a BRL 13.5 million increase for technical assistance and rural extension to assist women in the field and agro-ecology, which focuses on the preservation of natural resources and aims to be socially fair and economic viable.
