The agribusiness caucus in Congress wants to use at least R$ 30 billion from the pre-salt social fund to ease sector debts. The proposal was discussed at a Senate meeting on Wednesday (8), called by President Davi Alcolumbre at the request of Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS). Finance Minister Dario Durigan signaled support for an emergency credit line.
The meeting, held on Wednesday (8), included agribusiness-linked lawmakers, government leaders Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) and Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), and Finance Minister Dario Durigan. It was requested by Senator Tereza Cristina, vice-president of the FPA (Parliamentary Front for Agribusiness).
Durigan said the government could provide an emergency credit line like a provisional measure that released R$ 12 billion last year. "We have a commitment here, within this effort to deal with indebtedness, to also extend a hand, a line for the agribusiness sector," the minister stated.
The program will leverage a bill approved in the Chamber in 2025, originally for producers hit by weather events like Rio Grande do Sul floods. Reported by Afonso Hamm (PP-RS), it was expanded to various debt refinancing. In the Senate, Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) will be the rapporteur, adapting it for broader reach, per Tereza Cristina.
The senator described a "perfect storm" in the sector: droughts and floods in Rio Grande do Sul, high interest rates, low commodity prices, rising fertilizer costs from the Iran war, and issues with Chinese pesticides. Pre-salt fund use, with R$ 52.8 billion as of December 2025, would be limited to drought- and flood-hit producers, with no fiscal impact.
A working group was agreed upon in the CAE (Economic Affairs Committee) and prior congressional dialogue for decisions. Lawmakers also noted shortcomings in rural credit lines. The proposal is expected to be finalized in coming weeks.
