Agrobiodiversity and rural family agroindustry: Dialogue spaces about the products of family farming at the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul
The North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul State is characterized as a diversified ecological and cultural region, related to the formation of the Atlantic Forest, superimposed on the presence of different ethnicities and social groups with their various knowledges and practices. Diverse organizations are attending to their region mainly in regards to finding alternative income compatible with the standards of conservation of the Atlantic Forest and viability of the practices of farmers. These organizations (associations, cooperatives, organizations nongovernmental and governmental organizations) have established a dialogue regarding the products of family farms, which in this work is labled products of agrobiodiversity. Thus, the general objective of this work is to analize how different social actors operating in the North Coast are creating dialogue to enable the viability of food production from the agrobiodiversity. This general objective contemplates the priorities of the research, that are: to highlight the organizations that are operating with in this theme, the relationships they establish between themselves, the process of dialogue that they are creating, and what is being discussed in this context. The spaces of dialogue created for these organizations operating in their network discusses the community practice, characterized as an environment of collective learning and knowledge building. The complex relationships established between the organizations that operate in this dialogue regarding agrobiodiversity highlight the divergence between those involved with these products, enhancing their cultural aspects or at least those related to health standards. However, some similarities between their trajectories, such as a greater proximity with family farming, may be a factor of coherence to advance this group and construct together proposals in favor of family farming. The farmers benefit from these meetings, particularly with regards to the increase in their production, that support some of their activities, giving more autonomy to these people and the re-affirmation of their work. The ways to collectively construct knowledge are based on the successive contacts that could provide an interface between knowledge, technical and local, to meet the priorities of those involved. However, though it appears that this process occurs in the long term, it does not impede the farmers to continue their practices. Moreover, the fact of conforming to the rules of production and marketing of their products does present some contradictions, on the one hand it may legitimize the activities of the farmers, on the other, it could inhibit some creative possibilities, restricting them to the established norm.