Short food supply chain and control mechanisms in organic agriculture

analyzing the potential for the development of agroecological green belts

Abstract

This paper analyzes the potential of Social Control Organizations (OCS), which allow the direct sale of organic food between family farmers and consumers, without the obligation of certification, in the formation of agroecological green belts (CVA), defined here as areas around urban centers where there is a concentration of organic farms, with the potential to promote social and environmental benefits for production areas, farmers, consumers and the population in general. To this end, data from the National Register of Organic Producers between the years 2014 and 2017 were analyzed. The data show a growth in the number of regularized organic farms in Brazil. With specific focus on OCS, in 2017, an increase in the number of producers and regularized farms was noticed and a concentration of producers spatially close to populous urban centers was verified. It is concluded that OCS, by being connected to a diversified demand, foster agrobiodiversity and have the potential to contribute to the development of agroecological green belts and can increase access to organic food, in addition to providing socio-environmental benefits to urban surroundings.