Family farming and development economic

a case study on livestock in Muriaé/MG

Abstract

The agricultural sector has played a significant role in the Brazilian trade balance, but this only reflects the reality of a small portion of rural producers who occupy a large part of the territory. Therefore, this article focuses on how family farming contributes to the economic development of the territory in the various dimensions considered by Kageyama (2008). The methodology was exploratory, and a case study was conducted based on the municipality of Muriaé, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The principal data sources were the 2017 Agricultural Census published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, information provided by the Municipal Department of Agriculture and field research. The results suggest that family farming also contributes to the economic development process of the territory in terms of employment and income. However, improving the production process, finding new markets, investing in technology and working towards tax and health regularization are not part of the routine of the producers interviewed, showing that local public policies could do a lot to expand the dimensions of development. It also points to the need for local government to be involved in encouraging future generations towards seeing rural areas as a business, away from the culture that limits rural activities to the sole purpose of maintaining family subsistence.