From Brazilian semiarid towards Guiné Bissau: A comparative analysis of family farming

Abstract

The family farming provides the succession of knowledge about the environment, climate and
vegetables, animals and soil management practices for several generations. The purpose of
this article is to make a comparison between the main features of the family farming in a locality
of semiarid climate, Ceará and one in Africa, in the country of Guinea-Bissau, where the
climate is hot and humid. In Guinea-Bissau, almost 80% of the population makes a living on
family farming, as does most of the population living in rural areas of Ceará. The two locations
face environmental adversities such as drought in semiarid of Ceará and flooding in wetlands
of Guinea-Bissau. So the agricultural conceptions and practices need to be contextualized
to the local background and their development process. And public sector initiatives must be
grounded to the factors that permeate the links of sustainability (environmental, economic,
social, political and cultural).