The strengthening of food sovereignty in peasant and familiar agriculture through local commerce circuits

Abstract

In the last two years there was a weakening of public policies aiming the outflow of familiar
agricultural production, which hit directly families living at rural settlement “Milton Santos” and
at the rural land occupation “Elizabeth Teixeira”, two agrarian reform areas organized by the
Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in the region of Campinas. To dodge these commercialization
problems, we developed a university extension project with the peasants from these
two areas, in cooperation with civil society, aiming to create local production and consumption
food circuits. The practice is based on the principles of Agroecology, in the way that it strengthens
peasant and familiar agriculture, as well as food sovereignty, calling for another form
of circulation and distribution of agricultural products. It is also discussed the need of State
support to encourage a local agricultural commerce that strengthens peasant agriculture.