DEVELOPMENT POLICY, PEASANT PRODUCTION AND THE CHALLENGES OF AGROECOLOGY

Abstract

The process of modernization of agriculture has increased the homogenization of production patterns to the detriment of local characteristics of traditional farmers. This has led to a breakdown of symbolic values of cultural and social reproduction based on relation to the land. The traditional logic of production considered that the function of the land was to supply the basic needs of subsistence, in conjunction with a marketable surplus. For the Government, in commit to the advancement of the capitalist system, these peasants had no relevance in terms of economic growth and needing new techniques to be increased in order to fit into the trading circuit, with increased income in the production unit and the resulting debt. Thus, there were representations conflicts between two logics, which led to serious consequences for the Brazilian peasantry. In this context, agroecology is presented as a theoretical perspective and an alternative of resistance from the peasantry to continue producing and living in the countryside.