ABSTRACT
The Brazilian agriculture is frequently distinguished for showing a remarkable performance and playing a major role in global food supply. This chapter examines the role of the agricultural policies that contributed most to the performance of the Brazilian agriculture in 1960–2017, and assesses the evolution of the State presence in the sector. Rural credit was one of the main policy instruments used by the government to promote the modernization of agriculture, especially since 1965 when the National Rural Credit System was established. The establishment of rural extension in Brazil has as a historical landmark the technical and financial cooperation between the Rockefeller Foundation and the government of Minas Gerais. The rural credit policy of the 2000s consolidated the orientation followed since the 1990s, that is, it promoted the increasing use of private sources of agricultural finance and focused the use of public funds in specific programmes.
