Explainer World

Can new lenders save Brazil’s struggling farmers?

Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse, but up to 80 per cent of the farms are small, family-run businesses, and a significant number are struggling. High interest rates, an outdated, over-complicated credit system, and a lack of bank branches in rural areas have led to a loans crisis for those most in need. The private sector is filling some of the holes, but critics say much more needs to be done.