RURAL CREDIT IN FAMILY AGRICULTURE

Rural credit in family farming, as an instrument of leverage for growth in agricultural production, plays a fundamental role in fostering the local economy. Thus, this shields small farmers against market competitiveness. Hence, this study aimed to analyze the perception among rural producers of agricultural credit in family farming as an instrument for strengthening their productive capacity, income distribution in rural areas and the promotion of farmers' quality of life. For this, bibliographic research and a field study were carried out, collecting data through interviews with small farmers who are members of an association of small producers in a Brazilian state in the Amazon region. The results show that rural credit has a strong influence on the local economy and is this important for family farming. A credit line already served all the respondents and 70% stated that between 91% and 100% of the resources used in production were originally bought on credit and unanimously said that rural credit had an impact on increasing income and income production.