Family Farming Knowledge Platform

Commercialization and livelihoods diversification of family farming

In a context of environmental stress due to the drought of 2005, economical crisis in function of the drop income of the occupations, and social crisis signalled by the decrease of population of an area producing of agricultural commodities, and considering the hypothesis that the rural development results of the capacity of the family farms economical diversification, the following subject was formulated: “Does the dependence in the production of agricultural commodities reduce capacity of the diversification of family farm, and consequently the sustainability?” If yes, than: “How does the commoditiezation process affect the capacity of rural livelihoods diversification?” The Itapejara d'Oeste municipal district - Southwest region of the Paraná State, Brazil – gather favourable conditions of researching this subject because besides presenting predominance of the agricultural commodities in the local economy, it possesses potential to develop the intersectorial pluriativity and aggregation activities in the rural area. This study allowed identifying the composition of farm, off-farm and non-farm income, as well, to esteem the diversity income and the sustainable rural livelihoods and, finally, to typify and to analyse the family farms diversification trajectories. It was concluded that the income was larger in the families with more diversity; that a larger diversity of income turns in a more sustainable rural livelihood; and, that families that join values activities and¤or pluriativity possess larger income and a way of more sustainable livelihood that the families that only work with agricultural commodities activities and¤or have social benefits. Finally, it was possible to verify some probable transformation for the family farms of the municipal and rural area.

:
:
:
:
:
:
Publisher: Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul (UFRGS)
:
:
:
Author: Miguel Angelo Perondi
Other authors: Sérgio Schneider
Organization: Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul (UFRGS)
:
Year: 2007
:
Country/ies: Brazil
Geographical coverage: Latin America and the Caribbean
Type: Book
Content language: Portuguese
:

Share this page