Agricultura familiar: desafios e perspectivas do Assentamento Dom Orione (Betim-MG, 1997-2010)

Abstract

This research seeks to analyze the reality of an agrarian reform settlement named Dom Orione, located in the city of Betim, Minas Gerais, in the period 1997 to 2010, with the focus on the family farming. The theoretical approach covered the concepts of different authors on specific topics such as: family farming, family, urban/rural relations, the modernization of agriculture, the social exclusion and the construction of citizenship for the Settlers. From this analytical framework, some questions were raised and they guided the selected theme: the factors of success and failure that exist in the Settlement.; the proximity of the city, functioning as an element of ease or difficulty; the possibilities of family farms to contribute, in an effective way, in the income of the Settlers; the existence or not of social policies and target financial supports to maintain the settlement. All these issues, based on family farming, brought new challenges and perspectives for the construction of citizenship. Methodologically, the data obtained emphasized the profile of the settled families, the production system, the household budget, the living conditions, the social issues faced. The research findings show the difficulties which involve the families, such as the lack of a social organization for the entire community, the rural/urban duality, the different perspectives on the family farming. And concomitantly, the positive aspects are emphasized: the generation of income and employment , the new opportunities for the young people, the means to the construction of the citizenship that is already in construction. It was also possible to verify the existence of social policies in the city, measures of financial support, the search of new ways for the family farming