Cooperatives in general have been present in societies since the beginning of their
historical formation. The first was created in 1844, in England, through the foundation of a
consumer cooperative that had the support of 28 weavers. In 1847, the first credit union in the
world was created in the village of Weyerbusch/Westerwald in Germany. The first Brazilian
cooperative was established in 1889 with the aim of providing assistance to widows who were
part of the Brazilian low-income class and to partners who showed difficulty in finding and
staying at work. Caixa Rural de Nova Petropolis was inaugurated in 1902 and served as an
example for the others that emerged over the years, throughout the national territory. In the
State of Tocantins, the first credit cooperative was founded in 1991, aiming to contribute to the
advancement of local agribusiness. In this context of cooperative credit in the State, this work
defined its objective: to evaluate the participation of cooperative credit in agribusiness in
Tocantins. For this, based on data from the Central Bank of Brazil, it was noted the significant
participation of rural credit cooperatives in the analyzed period. The credits released went from
R$94 million in 2015 to R$486 million in 2020. In real values for 2015, the average annual
growth of funds granted was around 80% p.a. In addition, the data reveal a wide range of
purposes and size of farmers financed in the Tocantins agribusiness. This growth shows how
credit unions have increased their market share and leveraged rural activity in Tocantins,
becoming a relevant source of funds for producers in the region. For this reason, this work
becomes so important, as it shows the great importance of the State in rural production and how
credit unions have leveraged the rural sector in Tocantins, which is a State with great productive
potential
|
