(b) Context
The results also reveal structural challenges represented by
the institutional framework outside the farmers’ gate. Access
to agricultural policies and electricity correlate positively with
income but are unevenly distributed across the country
(Table 3). We analyzed the access to agricultural policies in particular
to Pronaf, Brazils’ credit program, explicitly dedicated
to the support of family farmers. Only 12.77% of the farmers
benefited from Pronaf, most of them located in the South
(Table 3 and Figure 1.4). The results with respect to technical
assistance are even worse. On average only 6.22% of households
occasionally receive any form of technical assistance, either
from national, federal, or municipal government programs.
Less than 3% of the households can count on regular assistance.
More positive, is the situation regarding infrastructure.
More than 68% of all households have access to electricity
and in the South the result is even better, with more than
80% of access. In the North and North East more than 40%
and 60% of the rural families, respectively, still lack this asset
(Table 3 and Figure 1.5). Nevertheless, the public investments
over the last decade obviously have resulted in significant
infrastructural improvement in rural Brazil.