The governor of Parana state, Brazil's No 2 soya producer, said he wants to subsidise small farmers to plant conventional soyabeans instead of genetically modified (GMO) varieties.
GMO soya, which is cheaper to grow and generates higher yields but is criticised by environmentalists, already covers around half the soyabean area in Parana, where a majority of farms are less than 50 hectares.
"We are studying an incentive. The idea is to pay part of the farm insurance," Roberto Requiao told Reuters in an interview at his official residence late on Tuesday. Requiao said the state government could pay conventional soya producers half the amount of the federal government farm insurance subsidy.