Retratos de Assentamentos

Apresentação

Vera Lúcia Silveira Botta Ferrante — 2025-02-01

Abrimos esta apresentação do mais recente número da Retratos de Assentamentos (o primeiro volume da edição 28) refletindo sobre o que, na obra do mais lírico dos pensadores de Frankfurt, ficou conhecido como o fenômeno da condensação dos tempos – uma ruptura da linearidade histórica em prol de uma reapropriação crítica de eventos passados, sobretudo momentos de crise (“apropriar-se... no instante de um perigo”). Tal reflexão nos foi estimulada justamente pelo tempo presente e suas relações especiais com o passado – não tão distante – das lutas democráticas no país.

Isto porque, neste ano de 2025, muitas efemérides significativas para a democracia e a luta dos trabalhadores do campo coincidem, configurando um conjunto de paralelos (também uma “condensação”?) que nos parece revelador dos desafios e tensões do tempo presente. Há 40 anos, em 1985, vivíamos o ano da eleição e posse do primeiro governo civil pós golpe de 64 no país. Depois da mobilização social histórica das “Diretas Já!”, em 1984, a construção de uma transição cheia de percalços - e, talvez, até inconclusa (vide a revivescência dos apelos às Forças Armadas, para “endireitar” o Brasil) - mas, sem dúvida, definidora dos caminhos da democracia brasileira neste longo ciclo político, levou à chapa Tancredo-Sarney (a “Aliança Democrática”), sua eleição em janeiro de 85 e à posse de Sarney, inaugurando a “Nova República”.

Paralelamente, os trabalhadores rurais, cujas organizações foram desmanteladas ou vinham de anos de silenciamento, partiam para um ciclo de ascensão decisivo para as lutas futuras. Nesse ciclo, a reforma agrária passou a ter um lugar central tanto nas pautas sociais quanto nos debates políticos. Se em 1984 (há 41 anos), aconteceu as “Diretas Já!”, também ocorreram o primeiro Encontro Nacional do MST – dando início ao processo de constituição da organização mais emblemática da luta dos trabalhadores rurais desta quadra histórica – e o chamado “Levante de Guariba”, movimento dos assalariados rurais do interior paulista (os bóias-frias) cuja importância histórica merece ser destacada.....

Productive groups of women farmers who process food in agrarian reform settlements: a systematic literature review

Janice Morais Oliveira — 2025-02-01

The participation of settled women in agrarian reform extends beyond domestic work, encompassing productive organization and the pursuit of economic autonomy. This study investigates productive organizations of settled women in Brazil's agrarian reform settlements that are dedicated to food processing for commercialization. The methodology employed is a systematic literature review, classified as a metasynthesis, based on the analysis of 23 carefully selected national studies, which were categorized into five interconnected thematic areas: gender relations, social and productive organization, public policies for rural development, solidarity economy, and agroecology. The results indicate that collective food processing activities have significant social and economic transformation potential for settled women. These transformations are driven by collective organization, access to public policies, agroecological practices, and solidarity economy initiatives, despite persistent gender inequalities. The study concludes that, despite ongoing challenges, productive groups contribute to improving living conditions in agrarian reform settlements, strengthening food security and supporting families’ permanence in rural areas. Expanded access to integrated public policies is crucial to ensuring the sustainability and further development of these initiatives within the Brazilian agrarian reform context.

Between agroecological practices and the fight for land: the leading role of PDS women – Porto Seguro, Marabá/PA

Luciene Aparecida Castravechi — 2025-02-01

This work aims to analyze the role of women in the struggle for land in the Sustainable Development Project Settlement – PDS, Porto Seguro, located in the southeastern mesoregion of Pará, in the municipality of Marabá. The research will reflect on the forms of resistance to staying on the land and the agroecological practices carried out by women as formal work that contributes financially to supporting the family. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews carried out with farmers from PDS – Porto Seguro, documentary sources from the Archive of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), websites and official documents from the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), from SR 27 – Marabá/PA and the Department of Agriculture (SEAGRI) of Marabá. Among the strategies used, we see the strengthening of family farming through agroecological practices carried out by women farmers to combat the unconscious use of natural resources, application of traditional knowledge and conscious use of the environment.

Patriarchy, memory and reworking in processes with nature: a theoretical reflection

Thauana Paiva de Souza Gomes — 2025-02-01

This work is part of studies developed in the doctorate, in which I sought to reflect theoretically on how a group of women from the Monte Alegre Settlement in Araraquara/SP, producers of medicinal plants and spices, fit into the structure of economic rationality and dualistic thinking (economic development X nature conservation, male domination X female emancipation, conventional medicine X traditional medicine), negatively impacting human and environmental relations. In this context, the capitalist logic that homogenizes agricultural production stands out, degrading biodiverse environments and resulting in the increase of pests and the use of poisons. Agroecology is defended as a science that values popular and traditional wisdom, proposing a new paradigm for nature and environmental conservation, and the important role of women in the preservation of biodiversity, valuing memory and local heritage as forms of cultural and environmental conservation. Finally, the importance of patrimoniality in the protection of ancient knowledge and environmental areas is addressed.

Agricultural professional Residency Program as Instrument for The Transformation of the Agricultural Production System

Andréa Eloisa Bueno Pimentel — 2025-02-01

This paper performs a critical analysis of AgroResidência, an Agricultural Professional Residency Program established by the federal government between 2020 and 2022, aimed at students and recent graduates of courses related to the area of agricultural sciences. It is not a new proposal. In 2004, the federal government had already created a Residency Program called Agrarian Residency, focusing on family farming. The work is based on the experience of participation in the two programs and assumes that this program can be used as an instrument to transform teaching in agricultural sciences courses, especially agronomic engineering, commonly based on the dominant production model based on the use of chemical inputs, monoculture, genetically modified seeds. In this way, it proposes guidelines to direct this stage to units that are effectively dedicated to sustainable agricultural systems and/or encourage the transition to ecologically based agricultural systems. The aim is to train students and graduates who recognize in these production systems a more effective and intelligent approach to agricultural production, and can consequently influence the perspective and research of professors who adopt conventional practices that negatively impact the environment.

Potential for methane and electricity generation on a dairy farm

Felipe Bernardo Soldano — 2025-02-01

Brazil has one of the biggest dairy herds worldwide, reaching 6° place in milk production. As a consequence, great amounts of manure with high energy potential through biodigester conversion are generated due to the size of the herd. The usage of that manure could become a viable option both environmentally and economically once the bad management of this type of solid waste can cause damage to soil, air and water. The research was carried out in a dairy farm with 126 lactating animals raised under Compost Barn's system and milked by a milking machine. Analyzes of total, fixed and volatile solids of different manure samples were realized in order to estimate the generation of methane through mathematical models. The result obtained was then compared to the energy consumption of the property, willing to discover if the usage of biodigester to generate energy can low the expenses with energy whilst reducing potential environment impacts caused by the manure.

Organic production and organizational processes: the dynamization of agroecology through COPERJUNHO in the 8 de junho settlement, Laranjeiras do Sul-PR.

Camila Carneiro Lobato — 2025-02-01

The research proposed to answer the following question: How does COPERJUNHO's organic production and its organizational form promote agroecology in its rural areas, based on an Agrarian Reform settlement? Thus, this research aimed to analyze the potential of COPERJUNHO's organic production and its organizational processes that boost Agroecology in its rural areas, as a way of understanding local markets, how they are inserted, verifying the existence of a minimum foundation for the commercialization of these products, whether through a short chain or institutional markets. This research is part of the author's dissertation, is characterized as qualitative, being a case study, of an exploratory-descriptive nature, semi-structured interviews were conducted with COPERJUNHO's organic farmers. We can see that COPERJUNHO fostered dialogue and the principles of sustainable agriculture advancing together. Starting with the perspective that the settler acquires, when identifying with the agroecological bases through an educational segment, the perception that he belongs to something significant in his life as a farmer, and that it provides him with a means of work and income. The manifestation of this context is concretized in specific ways, through informal language or ecological attributes.

Extension activities in the process of curricular transition for a rural school at the Leonor Mendes de Barros School in the 17 de abril Settlement

Victor Hugo de Oliveira — 2025-02-01

This paper examines concepts in Rural Education and Environmental Education practices through a case study and participant observation within the Terra e Raiz Agrarian Nucleus (NATRA) at the Leonor Mendes de Barros Municipal School, located in the 17 de Abril Settlement in Restinga, São Paulo, Brazil. It discusses the significance of rural education for settled communities, emphasizing education as an essential tool for social transformation and strengthening rural identity. Furthermore, the paper presents a general overview of the settlement and school's formation, highlighting the challenges faced in transitioning from an urban-centric to a rural curriculum. It also contemplates the importance of social movements' struggles in achieving and implementing public policies that guarantee rural education that directly engages with the students' realities.

Dynamics of rural extension policy transfer: analysis of the state of São Paulo

Andre de Camargo Macedo — 2025-02-01

Rural extension in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has increasingly relied on the involvement of multilateral agencies to develop initiatives aimed at supporting local farmers. This process began in the 1990s with the implementation of the ‘Programa Microbacias Hidrográficas’, which was managed by the Coordenadoria de Assistência Técnica Integral (CATI), the state agency responsible for coordinating and executing rural extension services. The program received co-financing from the World Bank. The program and the collaboration between multilateral agencies and public rural extension bodies can be analyzed through the lens of policy transfer. The policy transfer framework helps to understand how elements of public policies are adapted and implemented across different contexts and time periods. The objective of this work is to reflect on the ‘Programa Microbacias Hidrográficas’ in São Paulo through the perspective of policy transfer. It is an initial essay that employs documentary research to build its arguments. The findings indicate that the ‘Programa Microbacias Hidrográficas’ was initially developed based on programs and strategies previously implemented by the World Bank in other regions.

The centrality of agroforestry in the construction of agroecological knowledge in the Mário Lago Settlement

Vitor Moretti Zonetti — 2025-02-01

As part of the Barra Sustainable Development Program (PDS), in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, the Mario Lago Rural Settlement is an agroecological settlement with prominent agroforestry production. In this settlement, the construction of agroecological knowledge began in the years of occupation of the area in the early 2000s, when its settlers promoted discussions that influenced land use policies and, consequently, supported successive pedagogical processes for the realization of its environmental and productive intentions. The Agroforestry Project stands out as a pioneer in the agroforestry systems implementation and in the arrangement of an epistemic community that continues to develop knowledge of this technique. Remarkably, agroforestry has become a central social practice for the discussion about the development of the settlement in question and the formation of the agroecological peasant identity of its members. With the aim of learning and explaining from the daily experiences of these Landless People, semi-structured interviews were taken out with local leaders, in addition to eco-pedagogical visits to farmers' lots who, despite several structural difficulties, persist in cultivating agroforests.

Impacto ambiental da ocupação de assentamentos de reforma agrária em áreas de proteção permanentes e reservas legais

Leonardo Rios — 2025-02-01

Environmental regularization in agrarian reform settlements represents one of the main challenges for the consolidation of a rural development model that reconciles social justice, ecological preservation and legal compliance. Given this scenario, this study seeks to verify the situation of the implementation of settlements regarding the preservation and recovery of Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) and Legal Reserves (RLs), comparing the level of compliance with environmental legislation between the different settlement models, such as the State Project (PE), the Federal Settlement Project (PA) and the Sustainable Development Project (PDS) in two time periods, before the occupation of the settlement area and currently. As a methodology, a quantitative and comparative approach was adopted, using geotechnologies and data from the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the MapBiomas project, processed in the QGIS 3.34 software, in order to analyze the changes in land use and coverage in the APPs and RLs before and after the implementation of the settlements. The results reveal variations in the vegetation cover of APPs and RLs, with emphasis on regeneration processes in some settlements and marked loss in others, reflecting different levels of environmental compliance. It is worth noting that all settlements presented areas of APPs and RLs that require forest restoration. There was also no relationship between the state of degradation or preservation and the PA, PE or PDS settlement model.

Land regularization of the territories of Traditional Peoples and Communities of Amazonas

Ailton Dias dos Santos — 2025-02-01

This study analyzes the land regularization of Traditional Peoples and Communities (PCT) territories in Amazonas State, Brazil, with a focus on the mobilization of the Amazonas Dialogue Forum (FDA) since 2012. Through the FDA, civil society organizations have collaborated with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to secure recognition and regularization of these territories via Real Right of Use Concession Contracts (CCDRU). The study highlights significant progress, such as the concession of 13.7 million hectares to PCT community associations. However, it also emphasizes ongoing legal and administrative barriers to establishing a collective property regime consistent with the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) jurisprudence. The Amazonas model is in addition to other initiatives to regularize PCT territories in states such as Bahia, Minas Gerais, Maranhão, Pará and Piauí, where different legal solutions are in place.

The Brazilian agrarian question, Marxism and sustainability

Henrique Duarte Ferrari — 2025-02-01

The interpretation of the agrarian question from the perspective of class struggle was, throughout the 20th century, associated with the most hegemonic Marxist perspectives, which predicted an eventual destruction of traditional social relations of production. And the predominance of these theories in progressive sectors would assume a greater complication in some areas, and the fact that the climate crisis caused and accelerated by capitalist production came to give a new dynamic to this scenario. In this sense, and with the objective of helping to elucidate theoretical controversies related to the Brazilian agrarian question, this work will analyze the transformations of the correlation of forces in the Brazilian countryside over time, through an evaluation of the last book by sociologist José de Souza Martins from 2004. Based on the historical analysis of the land struggle, it was possible to verify one of the ways in which the dialogue regarding agrarian reform is present today, by highlighting the relevance of the environmental debate on the agrarian question. Not only in the sense of encouraging the questioning of sustainability between two of the main productive and antagonistic processes in the field, but also in the relevance attributed to popular protagonism and self-management as instruments of social organization that the current environmental urgency requires.