Regional rural credit index in the municipalities of Espírito Santo

Abstract

This article presents the Regional Rural Credit Index (IRCR) for the municipalities of the state of Espírito Santo, compared to the other Brazilian states, showing the regional distribution of rural credit compared to agricultural production. The state’s average IRCR was 0.71 from 1999 to 2013, which shows that on average the state had a smaller participation in credit in relation to its share of value added in agriculture in the period under analysis. Up to the year 2009, the IRCR of the state was lower than the unit, having increased considerably since 2006, reaching a peak of 1.49 in 2010. In 2013 the state presented the highest IRCR among the states of the Southeast (1,34). As expected, the distribution of rural credit among the regions and municipalities of the state in most cases does not track their relative share in the value added of farming. The study provides indicators so that managers can make decisions in order to foster agricultural activities, as well as evaluate the efficiency of rural credit in each locality over the years.