Questions and answers| Family farming

Who are "family farmers" and what are their characteristics?

Family farmers are considered smallholders, settlers through agrarian reform, foresters, aquaculturists, gatherers, and fishermen. Traditional Peoples and Communities only began to be considered "family farmers” for the effect of the agricultural policy in 2010.  Among the 25 million people who are identified as traditional peoples and communities, occupying about 25% of the national territory, there are indigenous peoples, Maroon community members named quilombolas, gypsies, African descendants, peoples occupying African religion plots called terreiros, rubber tappers, Brazil nut pickers, babassu coconut breakers, mangaba fruit gatherers, evergreen flower pickers, forest extraction workers, pasture communities, Faxinal system peasants, artisanal fishermen, women shellfish gatherers, riverside dwellers, varjeiros, caiçaras, praieiros, backland country dwellers, geraizeiros, rafters, Açorianos, Pampas peasants, Vazanteiros, Pantaneiros, Caatingueiros, Pomeranians, among others.

The family farmer and family rural entrepreneur are characterized as the ones who practice activities in rural fields, and simultaneously meet the following requirements: i) they do not hold, in any capacity, area bigger than 4 (four) tax modules; ii) predominantly use the labor of the family itself in the economic activities of its establishment or enterprise; iii) have family income predominantly originating from economic activities linked to the establishment or enterprise itself; iv) manage its establishment or enterprise with its Family (Family Agriculture Law, 2006).

What instrument identifies family farmers and ensures access to the public policies that are specific to Family Farming?

The Pronaf's Aptitude Declaration - DAP is the instrument that identifies and qualifies the Family Units of Agrarian Production -(UFPA) for family farming (physical DAP) and associative forms if they are organized in legal entities as cooperative unions (juridical DAP), according to the law.This declaration is the main instrument to have farmers and cooperatives access the miscellaneous public policies to encourage family farming, such as access to credit through Pronaf financing lines, Crop Guarantee, price guarantee, access to public procurement (PAA and PNAE), among others.  To access a Pronaf credit line, DAP is essential; however, the fact of having an active (valid and updated) DAP is not enough to guarantee access to Pronaf credit lines and to the public policies for family farming, since each of them has specific criteria. 

What is the relationship between agri-food systems, rural territorial development, and family farming?

Rural territorial development depends on the use of the capacities, competences, and skills of the local actors and their social and historical identification with the territory. The  management of local factors  combined with the incorporation of knowledge and transformation of external opportunities into internal possibilities promotes economic dynamism and improves the population's quality of life. This new development paradigm is built from the local society organization in line with a strategy of territorial development (MORAES, 2008).

Localized Agri-Food Systems (LAFs) are an important instrument of the socio-economic viability of family farming and rural development. Recent studies suggest that SIALs are an important mechanism for family farming articulation, with the development dynamics of rural territories and, consequently, the process of restructuring the global production system (Moraes, 2016). Another relevant factor is the effect of the search for a better quality of life and rural infrastructure, added to the diversification of agrifood, agroindustrial, and sustainable tourism activities of rural families in the slowdown of rural-urban migration flow.

What production systems are most suitable for family farming?

At Embrapa's portfolio, we have numerous technologies developed with the family farming target audience in mind. They all have something in common: the search for sustainability in agricultural activities. Thus, solutions that save vital resources such as water; that add care for the soil, avoiding erosion, contamination, loss of fertility; that diversify production systems; that intensify the use of land with technology, reducing manpower costs, which are increasingly scarce in rural areas, are more suitable for family farming. Within this range, we can highlight biological control of pests and diseases, agroecological production systems, dairy livestock and grain production systems in integrated crop-livestock forestry systems (ICLFS), other systems that combine plant and animal production (such as sisteminha, for example), agroforestry systems (AFS), organic horticulture, as well as others that may be appropriate to family farming conditions. It is also worth emphasizing that sustainability necessarily goes through the reduction of dependence on external inputs and energy and through the good ecological and financial management of the resources available in the family property.

What are traditional agricultural systems?

Traditional Agricultural Systems (TAS) can be defined as a set of knowledge, myths, forms of social organization, practices, products, techniques/artifacts, and other manifestations that compose the cultural system managed by people and traditional communities. The production and reproduction dynamics of the many domains of the social life that occur in those systems through lived and historical experience also guide the identity construction process and contribute to biodiversity conservation. They can thus be recognized as Brazilian Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) considers these systems as a type of a specific heritage, which combines agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems, and valuable cultural heritage, contributing to the food security and to the survival of smallholders In Brazil, a partnership between BNDES, Embrapa, Iphan, and FAO aims to map existing TAS in the country to give visibility to the importance of good practices linked to those systems for environmental sustainability and for the social and economic survival of the groups that use them.      This initiative is known as BNDES Good Practices for Traditional Farming Systems Award, which had two editions until 2020. 

Click here to learn about the awarded experiences. 

What instruments are available for the management of the family farming property?

The management of the rural property is strategic for the family farmer, as it provides more favorable conditions for insertion in the markets, minimizes risks, promotes improvement in production results, and provides income generation. It involves several topics that are important for the management of the enterprise such as fundraising (credit), purchase of inputs, production planning and control, cost reduction, commercialization, and the quality of their products. There is      a large number of tools available to facilitate the farmer's life, ranging from free financial management, administration, accounting  and cost production analysis software options to workbooks and electronic spreadsheets to record information and follow up on expenses and of revenue.  However, given the social heterogeneity and production diversity of family farming, its specificities must be considered in order to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of its enterprises.

Embrapa has apps on various topics that can help the farmer manage production, such as: Roda da Reprodução, WebAgritec, WebAmbiente, Custo Fácil, GeoWeb Matopiba, MapOrgânico and GestFrut.

What is the importance and what is the operation of short commercialization circuits for Family Farming like?

The term short circuit is utilized to characterize the supply circuits that mobilize up to, at most, one intermediary between the farmer and the consumer. The theme is complex and there are many characterizations and concepts related to short circuits, such as face-to-face chains, spatial proximity chains, spatially extended chains, direct trade, proximity circuits, local circuits, alternative circuits, among others that reinforce the notion of geographical proximity and allude to the social/relational aspect present in the connection between consumer and farmer in local development processes and in the territorialization of food.

The theme also refers to the empowerment of citizen consumers, who are aware of their alimentation and active in defining models of food production, exchange and consumption. These, in turn, are increasingly looking for healthier, safer, and more reliable products. The recent wave of appreciation of local products in gastronomy, such as the Slow Food movement, also contribute to the rediscovery of the richness of flavors in the cuisine that is based on local products, promoting closer ties between food  production, processing and consumption. 

For family farming, short circuits potentiate several of its characteristics, such as diversified production, on a small scale, with control of products and direct contact of the farmer with the consumer, in the city (through fairs, delivery of baskets) or even on the farmer's property. Short circuits allow associativity among farmers to be strengthened, to meet the demands of consumers. In addition, it makes it possible to associate their production activities with others such as structuring small agro-industries, in addition to agro-tourism, gastronomy, and leisure.

What are the communities that support agriculture - CSA and how does this trading strategy support family farmers?

Communities that support agriculture are groups formed by family farmers and consumers, who become co-farmers as they assume the role of farmer partners in financing production. Co-farmers share with the farmer the costs, benefits, and responsibilities on food production, minimizing problems with weather conditions, seasonality and risks in the runoff of production.

In general, the farmer calculates the costs of production, including funds needed to pay for his labor, and the total amount is divided by the number of families that are part of the community. This way, each co-farmer pays a monthly quota that is sufficient to fund the production. In turn, the farmer delivers a basket with the products of his weekly or biweekly production, as established in the community. The basket can have fruits, vegetables, non-conventional food plants, milk, eggs, etc., respecting the harvest period and the season.

This format values local production and guarantees the farmer a more stable income and a closer relationship with consumers. It is a way to maintain a diversified family farming, producing fresh and healthy food.

To learn more: http://www.csabrasil.org/csa/

What is the participatory guarantee system and how does it work?

The Participatory Guarantee System is a system that guarantees the quality of organic production      through social control and solidary responsibility, giving credibility to products. Social control takes place through the participation of a group of employees (consumers, public and private organizations, NGOs, technicians, etc.) in the process of quality generation, which assesses the conformity of farmers to the norms of organic production. On the other hand, joint liability occurs when the participants of the group commit themselves to compliance with the technical requirements of organic production and take joint responsibility in solidarity means in cases of non-compliance with them.

Click here to learn more about the topic.

How do family farmers have access to the technologies, goods, and services generated by Embrapa and partners?

Communication in written, spoken, and digital media and through the internet has a fundamental role in informing about the technological solutions provided by Embrapa. This action can be complemented by plans for Technology Transfer, Knowledge Exchange or Knowledge Building developed in partnership with public, private, and third sector institutions. In the development of these plans, the partners define the best way to build and/or provide knowledge to and with farmers through field days, lectures, technical visits, units of technological references, technical material, seminars, workshops, presential courses, and distance courses, among others. All these initiatives result in an important process of technology transfer that enables the access of a representative number of technicians and farmers to the technologies made available by Embrapa.

Embrapa is a public agricultural research company, and because it has an ethical commitment to the most vulnerable social groups, it has part of its research and technology transfer actions aimed at family farming audiences. Embrapa does not provide TERA services, but works jointly with public and private TERA institutions to facilitate access to the family farming target audience and its technologies. 

In this regard, it is important to emphasize that for concrete actions for social and/or validation innovation, and for technology transfer, it is fundamental that there is effective ' integration between Embrapa and education, research and extension institutions, in addition to social civil organizations, through socio-technical networks, in order to create a systematic and continuous process that guarantees the perenniality and the periodical follow-up of actions, the assessment of the innovation process, the level of the adoption of solutions and respective impacts. 

The family farmer and/or the local technician can individually access all the contents and technologies from Embrapa, but to initiate an articulation and establish a partnership, it is desirable that it is effected through TERA entities or farmer-representative organizations, and that they preferentially have specialized technical staff.