Cooperatives advance and redesign Brazilian agricultural financing

If for decades rural credit was mainly concentrated in public resources, today credit cooperatives occupy an increasingly larger space in rural financing. In ten years, the participation of these institutions practically doubled: it went from 13% to 25% of rural credit operations in the country, according to data from Sicor (Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System), from the Central Bank, consolidated until April 2026.

The growth occurs at a time of pressure on the budget allocated to equalizing interest under the Safra Plan. At the same time that subsidized resources lost relative share in agricultural financing, the need to seek money in the private market increased to maintain the pace of investments within the gate.

In this scenario, cooperatives are no longer just a financing alternative and start to occupy a strategic position within the SNF (National Development System).

In addition to expanding the granting of credit, entities in the sector defend greater participation of these institutions in agricultural policy and in the budget allocated to the Safra Plan.

For the former Minister of Agriculture and professor emeritus at FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), Roberto Rodrigues, this growth is a consequence of a characteristic that has accompanied cooperativism since its inception: allowing small and medium-sized producers to reach a scale that they would hardly be able to achieve alone.

"Cooperativism has become an instrument of socioeconomic inclusion, especially in agriculture. The small producer, alone, will never have scale. He cannot have a warehouse, an agronomist, a lawyer or an accountant. He does this in the cooperative with his peers. Cooperativism has become the great instrument of inclusion, to include those who, otherwise, would be completely isolated from the market", he stated.

In Rodrigues' assessment, cooperativism also no longer plays a secondary role in rural financing.

"Today cooperatives operate very vigorously, especially in rural credit. They already account for more than a quarter of this market", he said.

The numbers confirm this transformation.

In 2015, cooperatives accounted for 13% of rural credit operations in the country. In 2025, they will represent 25% of the total, according to data from Sicor.

Participation grew even faster among medium producers. In Pronamp (National Support Program for Medium Rural Producers), cooperatives went from 21% of contracted operations in 2015 to 50% in 2025.

Where the bank left, the cooperative entered

The expansion of cooperatives did not happen only in the volume of borrowed resources. It also changed the map of the supply of financial services in the interior of the country.

Data from the SNCC (Panorama of the National Cooperative Credit System), released by the Central Bank, show that cooperatives are already present in 58% of Brazilian municipalities. In 469 cities, they represent the only financial institution with in-person service.

In the last three years, the number of municipalities served exclusively by cooperatives increased from 331, in December 2022, to 628 at the end of 2025.

It was precisely this presence in the interior that changed the routine of cattle rancher Walmir dos Santos, from Barreiras (BA).

For years, he tried to finance the property through traditional banks, but says that bureaucracy made access to credit difficult for small producers.

"Credit used to be difficult because the banks didn't want to serve those who had a small area like us. At Banco do Brasil there was that bureaucracy, they needed a guarantor. At Banco do Nordeste they joined an association, one was a guarantor for the other. I paid and, if the other didn't pay, the bank remained dirty", he pointed out.

The situation began to change when he decided to become a member of the cooperative.

"When I joined Sicredi, things improved a lot for me. The bank got to know me through the account transactions. I fulfilled the requirements and the bank's doors opened. The safe too", he stressed.

With access to credit, he expanded his investments and his herd.

"Today I have more than ninety head of cattle. I've already sold a lot of fat cattle and the manager even said that my movement was too big for Pronaf and that I would switch to Pronamp", highlighted Walmir.

In addition to financing, he states that participating in the cooperative's surplus helps maintain investments.

"Leftovers come in every year. It may not be that great a value, but it helps. The more we move, the greater the participation", he said.

For him, the main change was what credit represented for the growth of property.

"I feel valued. Today I have a tractor financed, I renew the machines and continue investing. The bank gave me confidence and I responded by paying. I'm going to take credit again and I intend to continue growing," he said.

Walmir's story helps explain one of the main characteristics of credit cooperatives: expanding access to financing for producers of different sizes, especially in regions where the presence of the traditional financial system is smaller.

In Western Bahia, one of the most dynamic agricultural regions in the country, this growth accompanied the expansion of grain production.

For Sicredi's regional director, Giego Scholz, proximity to producers is one of the factors that explains this advance. According to him, this proximity also appears in the form of service.

"Today we serve all profiles. We have a manager to serve the producer of the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (Pronaf), another for the National Program of Support for Medium Rural Producers (Pronamp) and also teams focused on large producers", he highlighted.

In his opinion, the cooperative model goes beyond granting credit and helping with regional development in places that banks cannot reach.

"Cooperativism has been an extremely important tool for the development of localities. We contribute by offering products and services that help generate income and improve the quality of life of members", he pointed out.

*From traditional credit to the capital market*

The advance of cooperativism did not only occur in the provision of subsidized credit. As public resources lost their share of agribusiness financing, cooperatives also began to seek money in the financial market to expand their lending capacity to producers.

One of the main examples is the growth in issues of Agribusiness Letters of Credit (LCA). According to data from the Central Bank (BC), the stock of these bonds issued by the cooperative system increased from R$8.5 billion in 2020 to R$77.3 billion in 2024, growth of more than 800% in four years.

In addition to LCAs, cooperatives expanded operations with Rural Product Certificates (CPR), transfers from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), lines in foreign currency and other types of financing.

This diversification accompanies a change in the rural producer's own profile.

In Western Bahia, farmer Rafael D'Agostini, who cultivates around 2,200 hectares of soybeans on a property of approximately 3,800 hectares, states that today production financing combines different sources of resources.

According to him, in addition to traditional rural credit, the farm uses private instruments to make investments viable.

"It has operations via CPR, credit lines and even international resources. Today the producer is able to combine different alternatives to finance production. The cooperative takes into account the investments we are making. We have expansion projects, construction of silos, installation of pivots, and we notice a greater sensitivity to understand this planning", he highlighted.

Another factor highlighted by the producer is the financial return provided by the cooperative model.

"In addition to credit, there is participation in surplus and share capital. It may not be a very large amount, but it comes in every year and helps to continue investing", he said.

Structural growth

The strengthening of cooperatives also appears in the sector's consolidated indicators.

Survey by ABDE (Brazilian Development Association), based on BureauCoop, shows that the four large associated cooperative systems - Sicredi, Sicoob, Cresol and Ailos - have multiplied the size of their operations over the last decade.

Total assets increased from R$109.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 to R$857.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In the same period, the credit portfolio grew from R$64.1 billion to R$528.9 billion.

Deposits increased from R$61.3 billion to R$556 billion.

The service points increased from 739 to 9,531 units spread across the country.

In ABDE's assessment, this growth expanded the capacity of cooperatives to finance productive activities, promote financial inclusion and strengthen regional economies, especially in municipalities where there is little presence of the traditional banking system.

The challenge now is to grow together with the Safra Plan

On the eve of the announcement of the 2026/27 Harvest Plan, scheduled for this Tuesday (30), representatives of cooperativism argue that this advance should also be reflected in agricultural policy.

The sector demands greater space in the distribution of equalized resources and an increasing participation in the execution of the program, at a time when private financing is gaining importance to sustain the growth of Brazilian agribusiness.

In practice, the expansion of cooperatives shows that rural financing is undergoing a structural transformation.

Subsidized credit continues to be one of the pillars of the Safra Plan, but the leading role of cooperatives, the capital market and private instruments indicates that the future of rural financing will increasingly depend on the combination of public and private resources.

A change that goes beyond credit

For Roberto Rodrigues, the growth of cooperatives does not just represent a change in the way of financing production.

According to him, this is a transformation in the organization of Brazilian agribusiness itself.

"Cooperativism allowed otherwise isolated producers to compete on equal terms. They can buy better, sell better, access technical assistance and credit. It's an instrument of development," he said.

In the former minister's assessment, the strengthening of cooperatives also follows a global trend, which "grows because it generates economic efficiency, without losing commitment to the community where it operates"

Source: CNN