O papel do poder público municipal na manutenção da agricultura familiar: um estudo no município de Taciba- SP

Abstract

Family farming was strengthened with the decentralization and democratization of public administration following the promulgation of the 1988 Federal Constitution, a time when social movements connected with family farming fought for and gained space in political decision-making and in the implementation of public policies aimed at fostering the development of the family agriculture sector. At the same time, a movement called public governance emerged across all levels of the government (federal, state and municipal), changing the relationship between the State and society, in which municipal public authorities came to play a fundamental role in the recognition, maintenance and consolidation of family farming as a food-producing source and means of sustenance, an income-generating practice for rural populations. Thus, this research aims to present and analyze the role of the municipal public authority in the maintenance and support of family farming in the municipality of Taciba-SP, with regard to the pandemic period of 2020. In order to achieve the desired results, as well as attain originality and novelty, the methodology is based on basic bibliographic and documentary research, a descriptive and analytical study, characterized as an exploratory case study with a descriptive-interpretivist nature, predominantly qualitative in approach, and employing a deductive method. It was guided by the assumption that the implementation of public policies between the local public authority of the municipality of Taciba-SP and family farmers, from 2017 to 2020 (the onset of the pandemic), evolves through the new role that the state should adopt in its relationship with society. In other words, it stems from a movement called public governance, thereby enabling the maintenance of the farmers in the field, in line with the theoretical framework that development should be based on the para-economic paradigm. Therefore, it is possible to highlight that the municipal public authorities of Taciba-SP achieved strong public governance – decentralization and societal participation – by engaging with family farmers through the Rural Development Council and the Association of Rural Producers (ASPRUT), in the development of various public policies and actions that addressed the needs and aspirations of this family-based productive sector, with highlights including: the National School Feeding Program (PNAE); the Municipal Project “Familiar Farming Cannot Stop During the Pandemic”; Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER); the Municipal Agricultural Patrol Program; the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF); the São Paulo Agribusiness Expansion Fund (FAEP/BANARGO); the Better Path Program; and the Rural Producer Support Program for Rural Registrations and the Declaration of Compliance for Agricultural Activities (DCAA). Therefore, the local public administration utilized a decentralized and participatory management model, permeated by the genesis of public governance in relation to the development, strengthening, and maintenance of family farming in Taciba.