ECOLOGICAL CAPITAL AND CONSTRUCTION OF AUTONOMY IN FAMILY PRODUCTION: THE CASE OF FAMILY CATTLE BREEDERS IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL
The objective of this study was to examine the way in which the relationships between the production systems of the family cattle breeders from the territory of Alto Camaquã, Brazil, and natural resources create conditions for the generation of autonomy with regard to market relations. The operationalization of the research adopted the Analysis-Diagnosis of Agrarian Systems (ADSA) as a methodological basis, with the main purpose of capturing the diversity of the observable farming styles from a specific agrarian context. The evaluation of the natural resources contribution to the operation of family production systems was performed by using the emergy analysis (ODUM, 1996). It was found that the styles of farming of the family cattle breeders from the territory of Alto Camaquã are expressions of adaptive responses adopted by the cattle breeders in their dealings not only with established markets, but also with the ecological universe in which they are involved. So it is in terms of individual decisions that the family cattle breeders create strategies to maximize the “exchange” with the locally available natural resources. Therefore, the functioning and the reproduction of these farming styles depend more on the “exchange” with the nature than on resources mobilized through markets for inputs and services.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | por |
| Published: |
Superintendência de Comunicação (Sucom), Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
2012
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| Online Access: | https://seer.sct.embrapa.br/index.php/cct/article/view/14552 |
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| Summary: | The objective of this study was to examine the way in which the relationships between the production systems of the family cattle breeders from the territory of Alto Camaquã, Brazil, and natural resources create conditions for the generation of autonomy with regard to market relations. The operationalization of the research adopted the Analysis-Diagnosis of Agrarian Systems (ADSA) as a methodological basis, with the main purpose of capturing the diversity of the observable farming styles from a specific agrarian context. The evaluation of the natural resources contribution to the operation of family production systems was performed by using the emergy analysis (ODUM, 1996). It was found that the styles of farming of the family cattle breeders from the territory of Alto Camaquã are expressions of adaptive responses adopted by the cattle breeders in their dealings not only with established markets, but also with the ecological universe in which they are involved. So it is in terms of individual decisions that the family cattle breeders create strategies to maximize the “exchange” with the locally available natural resources. Therefore, the functioning and the reproduction of these farming styles depend more on the “exchange” with the nature than on resources mobilized through markets for inputs and services. |
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