The process of productive specialization of family farmers in the Southern Zone of Rio Grande do Sul through Pronaf-costing

Abstract

The research focuses on the context of soybean growth in the South Zone, based on the analysis of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Pronaf) and the values financed by the contracts signed in the region. Using the Rural Credit Data Matrix (MDCR) and Municipal Agricultural Production (PAM), it is possible to verify changes in regional agricultural production and its impacts on family farmers. A public policy such as Pronaf has the objective of strengthening small rural producers and, consequently, reducing productive specialization by reducing inequalities in Brazilian agriculture. However, the program does not follow this path. It should be noted that the contracts analyzed indicate that the premises defined in the creation of Pronaf in 1996 were deviated. In this way, the program contributes to the deepening of inequalities in family agriculture, with the main phenomenon being the bottleneck of local agricultural production in soybean crops, resulting in specialization of these farmers.