In April, the municipality of Sorriso created the Rural Family Microcredit Program that could benefit up to 300 family farmer families by providing guarantees for microcredit operations with commercial banks and credit cooperatives. Amounts range from 15 to 30 thousand reais per family.

In addition to guaranteeing credit operations, small-scale farmers will have technical and managerial support, training, and lower interest rates. This "Guarantee Fund", as it has been called, is the direct result of the "Cultivating Sustainable Life" project, which is now celebrating its first year, under the leadership of CAT Sorriso and support from IDH.

"It was a big breakthrough for all the farmers in the municipality. This is hard work, with countless training workshops, management, and engagement with the farmers. The implementation of the Guarantee Fund is something historic," says Dudy Paiva, president of CAT Sorriso.

The Municipal Government will be the guarantor of the program created through municipal law and will allocate BRL 1 million as guarantee for funding granted through partnerships with public financial institutions, credit societies and credit cooperatives. "This partnership involving CAT, the municipal government, the City Council and financial institutions will be very important for us to bring the financial resources that are lacking to promote improvements and provide dignity to small-scale farmers," he stressed.

The Guarantee Fund also contributes to the achievement of the Inclusion goals set out in the Sorriso Regional PCI Compact. "IDH is happy to see the landscape strategy delivering concrete results that bring benefits to all, including the small-scale farmers. We believe that the landscape approach model is important, but we know that committed local partners make the difference. In Sorriso we see this commitment coming through in the actions conducted by the PCI Sorriso Program and the Cultivating Sustainable Life project, with the involvement of CAT and the City Hall", says Daniela Mariuzzo, executive director of IDH in Brazil.