Public policies strengthen Agrarian Reform settlements – Report on COOPAN’s agroecological rice production

Abstract

The Nova Santa Rita Farming Production Cooperative - COOPAN is located in the Capela
settlement, 45 km from the center of Porto Alegre. It was constituted in 1995, currently has 109
associates and an area used in a diversified way. The settlement has technical assistance, accessed
the public policies of implantation and production credit, as well as agroindustrialization
and education in partnership with universities. The organization and the struggle of families
was the great propeller that guaranteed the access by COOPAN to public policies focused on
the reality of the beneficiaries of Agrarian Reform, it stands out the partnership between UFSC
and INCRA, which contributed for advances in the Cooperative. The decision of the families
associated to COOPAN to convert the productive matrix to Agroecology wided the possibilities
with respect to access to public policies. There is greater possibility of access to credit, the
construction of partnerships and participation in fairs.