Dialética entre agricultura familiar e cafeicultura na região do Valle de Tenza, Colômbia: aspectos produtivos, econômicos, sociais e ambientais

Abstract

Family farming is the predominant form of food and agricultural production in the world, performing a socioeconomic, environmental and cultural role of fundamental importance. The decisions of farmers regarding land use and management are influenced by several socioeconomic and environmental factors. And there has been a worldwide trend of changing from production systems based on polycultures to more intensified monoculture systems. The department of Boyacá, Colombia, has undergone changes in food production, since coffee farming has been promoted with the prospect of improving the income and quality of life of coffee farmers. In view of this, the present study aimed to investigate productive, eco nomic, environmental and social aspects of peasants who practice family farming of various foods and those involved in the process of agricultural transition from regional food polyculture to coffee farming in the municipalities of Guateque and Guayatá, in Boyacá. The data were obtained from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews applied to peasant families and were analyzed considering the stages of the MESMIS methodological tool. The results show the importance of coffee production to the region, although municipalities act differently in the production process. Regionally, the social and environmental dimensions were partially sustainable, highlighting access to own housing and the use of native seeds as strengths of the dimensions, respectively. While the economic dimension was unsustainable, a weakness identified was that most peasants carry out other economic activities to supplement their income. The study presents three-dimensional factors that can strengthen sustainable practices, such as composting. And that can reduce practices with a great negative impact, such as the use of pesticides, remaining alert in the face of the transition process of diversified and traditional food crops in the region to more focused crops in coffee farming in the municipalities of Guateque and Guayatá. It is evident the need to stimulate sustainable agricultural practices and develop a set of strategies that encompass the social, economic and environmental dimensions and are in line with the reality of the region. And for this, it is essential that all actors involved in agriculture take a proactive role in these efforts of change.