Um novo circuito para a agroecologia: a relação da agricultura familiar com a empresa hortaliças sempre verde - Alagoa Nova/PB

Abstract

This dissertation intends to analyze the relation integrations agro-ecological family farmers with the commercial company Hortaliças Sempre Verde, located in the municipality of Alagoa Nova-PB. The company Hortaliças Sempre Verde is specialized in the marketing of horticultural products for supermarket networks in the states of Paraiba, Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco, keeping partnership with agro-ecological farmers for the supply of organic products. The family farmers, who provide the organic products for the company, in its majority, live in the city of Alagoa Nova, in the wild area of Paraiba. These agro-ecological family farmers, in general are organizes in local and regional associations, which provide advice, such as Ecoborborema, Borborema Trade Union Center and AS-PTA. These associations work in the promotion of agroecology, as a strategy of appreciation of family farming and creation of a niche market for agro-ecological products. However, one of the circuits that has shown to be viable for these farmers is the agro-ecological production integrated to the company, which consists in a productive exclusivity agreement, celebrated between agro-ecological farmers and Hortaliças Sempre Verde. As a methodological strategy, we chose to review of the literature on agroecology and family farming; semi-structured interviews with key informants, direct observation and analysis of secondary data accessed at the IBGE database. It was verified as the research result, that the agro-ecological farmers has a direct integration with the company and a fast financial feedback, keeping a partnership with selectivity in production. Thus, these farmers meet the agro-ecological ideology of productive autonomy and idealized commercial with the market for agro-ecological fairs, even maintaining links with them, by subjecting their agro-ecological production to the rationality of the company receiving it as conventional, generating dependency and income subordination. This articulation with the supermarkets could be more appropriate for the NGOs that support agroecology.