A photo of poor side of the Family Farm in Rio Grande do Sul State

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the social dimension and analyze the socioeconomic and productive characteristics of the poor farmers, classified according to the rules of the PRONAF Group B in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). In theoretical and methodological terms, we used the approach of capabilities Amartya Sen and the approach of Frank Ellis to gather conceptual elements necessary to the understanding of "multiple productive needs" of this particular group of farmers. The data used are from special tabulations from the 2006 Agricultural Census, IBGE. Research shows that the farms in low-income classifiable in Group B of PRONAF are present in all the RS micro, coming to encompass half the farmers in some areas and approximately 30% of the segment in the state. Research results also point to the high social vulnerability of these gauchos producers in various dimensions of their livelihoods (appropriations of natural capital, physical, human, social and financial), demonstrating that there is need for improvement in its asset platform (access land, water, finance and technology) as well as in their basic training (formal education and level of social organization).