Social skills in coping with the pandemic in territorial food markets: an analysis from the Médio Alto Uruguai and the Litoral Norte of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The article analyzes social skills mobilized in facing the Covid-19 pandemic for constructing territorial food markets. In dialogue with the Theory of Strategic Action Fields, we investigated markets digitalization strategies undertaken by skilled actors as well as their political coalitions in two territories of Rio Grande do Sul: Litoral Norte and Médio Alto Uruguai. The research involved direct observation of structuring of digital food marketing systems and 72 interviews carried out with actors involved in the construction of these markets (managers, farmers, consumers, political leaders, consultants). Interviews were carried out between November 2020 and November 2021. They were transcribed and processed using NVivo software for subsequent content analysis. Findings show that, in both territories, the design of strategies was influenced by the distinctive capacity for engaging other actors, notably family farmer and consumer organizations; the specific socioeconomic characteristics of each territory, with emphasis on the distance from consumption centers; and, in particular, by the absence of external public policies to strengthen territorial food markets, in view of a context of dismantling of the state structure in support for family farming during the Bolsonaro administration . The study’s findings suggest that the social skills demonstrated by the organizations allowed the construction of relevant resilience mechanisms during the most critical moments of the pandemic, but that, given the institutional, logistical and political barriers they faced, they were unable to produce substantial changes towards the territorialization of food markets.