Agricultura familiar em tempos de pandemia: estudo em comunidades rurais do município de Santa Izabel do Pará

Abstract

Family farming is responsible for a large part of food production in Brazil, which is the main source of occupation of the workforce in rural Brazil. It is known that family farming is responsible for the production of almost 70% of the basic foods consumed by Brazilians, making them important for the economy and local development. The study aimed to evaluate the socioeconomic profile of family farmers in Santa Izabel do Pará and the influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on their activities, through questionnaires applied to 40 rural producers in eight communities in the municipality, namely: Vila do Carmo, Vila Campinense, Sapucaia, Macapazinho, João Novo, Espírito Santo do Itá, Conceição do Itá and Boa Vista do Itá. It was observed that 50% of the interviewed farmers are female and 50% male, with a greater concentration of the age group in the 31-40 age group, totaling 22,5%. The main activity developed by the interviewed farmers is vegetable farming, which is the main family income. There is a need to expand the PAA and PNAE programs in the municipality, so that the target audience of these programs knows the purpose of these programs. The family farmers sector was hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic, as there were changes in the sales volume, the change in the sale price, in access to the market, because during the lockdown they were unable to leave the municipality to make sales