Many of the issues related to family farming are recurrent in the contemporary societies, but the debate acquires new significance with the discussions about the actions of transnational corporations in the agriculture, the... [ view full abstract ]
Many of the issues related to family farming are recurrent in the contemporary societies, but the debate acquires new significance with the discussions about the actions of transnational corporations in the agriculture, the food safety, the rights of local communities and the evaluation of public policies aiming to create rural development.
This study addresses family farming and considers that the initiatives undertaken find limitations in production and commercialization due to the difficulty in acquiring seeds and raw materials produced by transnational corporations, in gaining access to technological updates, to the market and to capital for investments. In Brazil, several factors influence this scenery. Some of the measures applied as an incentive to production include intense agricultural mechanization with a higher use of fertilizers and pesticides, seeds selected in order to generate more productive and the planting of two annual harvests.
Political issues related to governmental investments for rural development and land property problems, as well as the relationship of the state with the social movements in rural areas and the presence of international corporations in this field, set the context and create challenges for the development of family farming. Family farming in Brazil has been acquiring a new configuration, which intersects with environmental aspects and with the issue of food safety, generating challenges. In midst of these changes, the social enterprise model of family farming and decisions on rural development create intersections with agribusiness, tourism and with the adoption of other forms of thinking about production, such as agroecology, for instance. Considered a process which includes changes in the social and cultural dimension, besides in production itself, the incorporation of agroecology in the debate on the agrarian issue in Brazil places in evidence an opposition to the proposals of agricultural modernization based only on technological advances created by transnational corporations, opening space within the political agenda for practices of social enterprises aimed at reconstituting rural labor and natural resources in the local communities.
The central question addressed the study was what are the main challenges faced by social enterprises in the search for innovation in family farming in Brazil? Starting from these issues this work aims to identify what are the conditions for Brazilian family farming to become a viable alternative for a social, environmental and fair inclusion of small and poor farmers in the markets. For this, the work presents the case of the Rede de Agroecologia Ecovida (Ecolife Agroecological Network) as an example of organization in family farming, analyzing its work configuration and the experiences and practices of the farmers, who have turned to organic production.
Ecovida is a Brazilian network which has relationships with national and international institutions, private companies and the public sector and includes around one hundred and seventy municipalities, two hundred and two agricultural groups, twenty NGOs and ten consumer cooperatives. It is formed by family farmers, organized in small local groups, which function as the basic cells of the network. Non-governmental organizations serve as intermediaries, carrying out the link with public agencies and international entities which give financial support. The Network covers some 170 Brazilian municipalities within these states and 200 farming groups, 30 support organizations and approximately 2.400 families.
The theoretical background of our paper is based on the discussion about family farming, rural and sustainable development, public policy for agriculture in Brazil and social enterprise. The research was based on a qualitative approach involving participation in meetings and interviews with leaders and farmers of Ecovida Network to analysis their work, experiences and practices.
To achieve these results, while maintaining local values and return gains to the territory of origin, the Ecovida social enterprise model is driving economic and transformed power relations between the rural actors. Part of this innovation is the strength of the relationships between small groups of producers, the expansion of border networks and the increase of public action capacity of small farmers. Some limits are found in the form of institutionalization of the developed innovations and the maintenance of political participation of small farmers. These aspects also lead to a new understanding of the meaning of social innovation for those involved and for the analysis of how farming social enterprises can be socially, culturally and politically embedded territorially.
