Desenvolvimento rural e desenvolvimento rural sustentável: uma análise acerca da agricultura familiar em Jóia/RS

Abstract

This work had as its subject of study family farming in the municipality of Jóia, located in the Northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul. The general objective of the research was to analyze the contribution of this category to rural development and/or sustainable rural development in the municipality from selected experiences. To achieve the general objective, the research was divided into the following specific objectives: i) to characterize the socio-productive organization of family farming in Jóia; ii) to analyze family farming focused on ecological/agroecological production, or directed to alternative activities to conventional production systems, and iii) to understand its interactions with the processes of rural and/or sustainable rural development, in the municipality of Jóia. The methodological procedures used in this research consisted of a bibliographic research, survey of secondary data in databases of research institutions, as well as in databases of agencies linked to the federal, state and municipal spheres. A survey of primary data was also carried out through interviews with key informants, and 10 initiatives were selected, 4 of which were family agro-industries, and six correspond to experiences in production units that develop ecological/agroecological based activities. The interviews followed a semi-structured script with questions that followed the same order for all the interviewees. These were divided into three subject categories: social, economic and environmental. For the analysis and interpretation of the data, a bibliographic research was carried out, which excelled in the study of subjects such as rural development, sustainable rural development, family farming and subjects related to the historical, social and economic aspects of the rural environment of the Northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul. South, especially in Jóia. The secondary data collected from the databases consulted for the preparation of this work were systematized and organized into tables and graphs. The analysis of primary data, collected from interviews with farming families, was based on bibliographic references present in this research and on the use of Content Analysis. As for the results achieved, the relevant participation of family farming in the socioeconomic scenario of the agricultural dynamics of Jóia was observed, with emphasis on animal production and production aimed at self-consumption. The contribution of this category to the social dimension was also noticed. In the family agro-industries studied, production aimed at self-consumption, linkages with areas of agrarian reform, the importance of institutional programs and access to different commercialization channels were identified. Despite the difficulties, agro-industries seek to develop ecological or agroecological production activities. In ecologically-based family production experiences, a strong connection was made with food production and production for self-consumption and productive diversification. It was found that the adoption of dynamics aimed at sustainability resulted in changes in aspects in the socioeconomic and productive scenarios of families. It was possible to verify that the experiences studied contribute both to rural development and to sustainable rural development. However, it should be noted that the experiences related to family production units stand out for their contribution to sustainable rural development. While the activities of family agro-industries in Jóia are more focused on rural development.