A contribuição de uma cooperativa de crédito com interação solidária para o fortalecimento da agricultura familiar: um estudo de caso no município de Chapecó-SC

Abstract

Family farming became officially recognized in Brazil in the mid-1990s through the creation of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF), Decree No. 1.946/1996. Family farming is a form of production in which management and labor are carried out by the farmers themselves. In response to rural movements, the Pronaf was created with the aim of promoting credit and support to small farmers who were being excluded from existing public policies at the time, thus contributing to rural development in the country. It is considered that credit cooperatives with a solidarity interaction play a crucial role in strengthening family farming. Through partnerships, these cooperatives provide credit lines to family farmers as a way to contribute to rural activities and stimulate economic growth. Therefore, employing the methodology of a case study with semi-structured interviews with family farmers in the municipality of Chapecó-SC, we sought to answer the following research problem: how does a credit cooperative with solidarity interaction contribute to the socioeconomic improvement of family farmers in Chapecó-SC? This study indicates that the cooperative contributes through providing access to credit lines, especially those offered by Pronaf. In this way, family farmers are able to make the acquisitions and improvements they need on their properties and in their field activities. In this way, they contribute to rural development, because they expand their activities and carry out the commercialization of their production, thereby increasing their family income.