Perfil da agricultura familiar do Agreste Paraibano: uma tipificação contextualizada

Abstract

This final paper aims to verify evidence of persistence of family production forms in the Agreste Paraibano mesoregion. For this verification, was stroke the profile of rural households in the meso-region as regards the organization of production and employment. It is a research of a descriptive nature, having as main database of the Agricultural Census of 2006. Were collected informations about the land structure, characteristics of the producer (sex, age and level of education), technical basis of production, composition of animal and vegetable production and the employment of the labor force were collected. In addition to the census data, secondary information was collected to assist in the contextualisation of the main data. Through the analysis of the data it was possible to verify the existence of a high level of land concentration, together with a socioeconomic characterization that could be impeditive to increase the productivity of the family production form. Faced with these problems, the performance of socio-territorial groups was verified, together with the existence of public policies aimed at agrarian reform, which have been struggling to alleviate the consequences of the inequality in the countryside. The family farming of the Agreste Paraibano was a significant representative of the food production of the State of Paraíba, being studied the products of temporary agriculture, permanent agriculture, and livestock. In relation to employment in the countryside, family agriculture was responsible for absorbing the majority of the labor force in agricultural production. As form of complement to activity income in the countryside, the presence of plurality was highlighted, being this a strategy of permanence in the rural environment. The family farming remains, adapting itself to overcome the barriers that would threaten its continuity. This with the support of social groups organized around the socioeconomic issues of the countryside, and through the means of public policies aimed at this universe.