Políticas públicas para a agricultura familiar: análise do Pronaf nas comunidades rurais de Balsas – Maranhão

Abstract

This study sought to contribute to the understanding of the theme of specific public policies for family agriculture, as is the case of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture - Pronaf. The objective was to analyze the relationship between the activities developed by family farmers, who accessed the program, between 2013 and 2017, the financing lines and the indebtedness index in rural communities of Balsas/MA. A qualitative and quantitative approach was used, covering the descriptive-exploratory method, through documentary analysis and participant observation, accompanied by a literature review on the theme of rural credit, which made it possible to contextualize the reality of agriculture in the state of Maranhão and, specifically, in the municipality of Balsas. As well as to investigate and describe the profile of the family farmer in the municipality, the activities developed in its establishments, the use of Pronaf financing to support its production and, also, the existence of a default rate of these financings. The results of the research demonstrated the importance of rural credit, the role of family farming at the state and municipal levels, the barriers to access to the program and the default rate of funding from rural communities in the municipality. It is observed that, even with the support of specific public policies, the segment remains stagnant, following in the production of basic foods for self-consumption and low participation in integrated markets, under increasingly adverse conditions, both by the unbridled advance of agribusiness, as well as by the lack of organization of the segment and also by the low effectiveness of institutional support. It was found that Pronaf credits are delinquency in agricultural communities, and that this occurs for several reasons, among them stands out the lack of knowledge of resource management, in addition to low schooling of producers. In order to contribute, it is recommended the application of workshops on the theme of financial education, with family farmers of rural communities of Balsas /MA, providing knowledge of organization of the personal budget and production, aiming at reducing the current default rates, in the medium and long term.