Determinantes à comercialização da produção de agricultores familiares assentados da reforma agrária no Distrito Federal/Brasil

Abstract

The commercialization of production is an important rural development strategy, however, competitive market processes plus the access restrictions to social and material resources identified from natural, financial, human and social capital, make it difficult for family farmers. It's also important to understand that the entrepreneurial action of farmers is linked to the use of these capitals as it might enable better results. In this context, this thesis sought to measure and report the contribution of natural, financial, human and social capital and the entrepreneurial competence in family farmers’ commercialization of production. This research was carried out in 11 agrarian settlements in Distrito Federal (Brazil) and involved a universe of 503 families. In chapter 1, the aim was to describe the families’ commercial and productive profiles by comparing them in terms of natural, financial, human and social capital. In order to do so, 156 settlers were interviewed. The data analysis used the cluster technique, descriptive statistics and comparison between groups (non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test). It was found that in groups with higher levels of commercialization (through farmer’s markets, institutional markets and Community Supported Agriculture) there are also better capital levels. In chapter 2, the relationship between capitals (as means of livelihood) and commercialization was measured in both isolated and combined ways. As a result, the researcher was able to identify that the means of livelihood influence commercialization and that human and social capital are the ones that most contribute to sales. In chapter 3, the aim was to measure the effect of entrepreneurial competence as a mediator in the relationship between capital (livelihood) and commercialization. The results showed that entrepreneurial competence exerts total mediation in the relationship between livelihood and commercialization. In chapters 2 and 3, the research sample was restricted to only 125 farmers, who had both been interviewed in the research previously presented in chapter 1 and whose production had been at least partially commercialized. In both, the equation modeling technique was used (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling - PLS-SEM). Ultimately, in chapter 4, the focus was to explain how capitals and entrepreneurial competence help family farmers overcome the commercialization of only part of the production and direct their production towards the markets. The analyses were performed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and content analysis. It was identified that the commercialization orientation is associated with the use of irrigation, machinery and equipment with no manual labour involved plus the frequent participation in training and the incorporation of innovative products and processes used by neighbors. In addition, the achievement of this condition requires that farmers take the initiative to seek new forms of production and commercialization and form partnerships with their neighbors. These results indicate that the strategies to support family farming cannot be focused on just one type of resource. Furthermore, resources must be directed towards productive reconversion focused on products that present some type of differentiation, especially those linked to quality and identification as a healthy product.