The social construction of markets for the family agroindustry products
Policies to stimulate the modernization have not achieved the small family farm producers, and many of them have started to consider the agroindustrialization as a productive alternative as well as a source of family income. However, the challenge is the commercialization of these products, considering that most of these negotiations is done informally (besides the health record, many products are still not labeled approperly) the production scale is reduced, so the solution is to send the products to the local markets, free fairs, direct sales to consumers in their houses or to the rural property market. In this sense, the scope of this paper is to analyze the construction of the markets for the agroindustries families’ products, characterizing the social relations that keep families with the various social actors in the marketing actions, using the theoretical framework of Economic Sociology. It allows the understanding that markets are social constructions, which means that they are the result of specific forms of social interaction, the ability of individuals as well as of the institutions and local organizations to promote dynamic connections, capable to value their knowledges, traditions and confidence which were, historically, built. The commercial relationship creates a social bond even without involving intimate social relationships, as this bond is not limited to a single act of exchange, but it is rooted to participate in the process of social institutions reproductions. The counties of Assis Chateaubriand, Jesuítas, Maripá and Palotina, located in the west of Paraná State, portraits this reality very well. In them, are found the emergency actors in search of a cooperative (formal and informal associations) and the building of a social and economic network with the engagement of public entities and private initiatives. Commercialization centers administrated by city halls and even family units are areas of socialization and articulation of these networks. Besides that the producers seek and build their own market channels, establishing strong links between the consumers of their products. The challenge to agroindustries is its active participation in the construction of the markets.