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The family farming sector in Brazil is an important player in the country’s economy, especially in poor rural areas., The government has created the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF) to stimulate the development of family farming in Brazil. It a credit program that offers loans at a subsidized interest rate. Previous studies have shown that wealthier farmers and more developed regions have more access to subsidized credit. Due to this apparently unequal allocation of PRONAF resources, the study aims to analyze, through econometric regressions and interviews with specialists, the underlying determinants for the unequal credit allocation across the municipalities in Brazil. Results indicate that wealth and knowledge of farmers are significant determinants of loan size, whereas municipalities that represent a high risk have received significantly fewer resources from PRONAF per household head. Thereby, we can conclude that PRONAF’s operations are not fulfilling their pro-poor objectives of targeting poor farmers and municipalities. Progress in infrastructure and institutions to reduce risks, enhancement of farmers’ qualifications and organization, better access to markets and agroindustry, and improvements in rural extension services are found to be essential to increasing the access to PRONAF’s credit. Resumo A agricultura familiar no Brasil é um importante setor da economia do país, especialmente em áreas rurais pobres. Para estimular o desenvolvimento da agricultura familiar, o governo brasileiro criou o Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento da Agricultura Familiar (Pronaf), um programa de crédito que oferece empréstimos a uma taxa de juros subsidiada. Estudos anteriores demonstram que agricultores mais ricos e regiões mais desenvolvidas têm mais acesso ao crédito subsidiado. Devido a essa alocação aparentemente desigual dos recursos do Pronaf, este estudo tem como objetivo analisar, por meio de regressões econométricas e entrevistas com especialistas, os fatores determinantes subjacentes à alocação desigual de crédito nos municípios brasileiros. Os resultados indicam que a riqueza e o conhecimento dos agricultores são fatores significativos que afetam a intensidade do crédito, enquanto os municípios que apresentam um alto risco recebem significativamente menos recursos do Pronaf por estabelecimento familiar. Com isso, podemos concluir que as operações do Pronaf não estão cumprindo seus objetivos de alcançar agricultores e municípios mais vulneráveis. O progresso na infraestrutura e nas instituições para reduzir riscos, o aperfeiçoamento das qualificações e organizações dos agricultores, o aprimoramento do acesso ao mercado e à agroindústria e melhorias nos serviços de extensão rural são considerados essenciais para aumentar o acesso ao crédito do pronaf.

Markets of Biobased Resources and Products: This chapter takes a closer look at the global market for biobased products and resources and its interactions with agricultural and food markets. In particular, it describes the effect of increasing demand for biobased products on market prices and thus the quantity of agricultural resources demanded and supplied. Furthermore, we discuss factors that may drive or limit demand and supply of biobased products. We analyse the market for biobased resources and products, considering products that are already established in the market, such as biofuels, as well as products that could acquire a substantial market acceptance in the future, such as bio-plastics. In addition, we briefly introduce selected policy instruments applied to support biobased products.