O “agronegócio sertanejo”: (re)pecuarização e grande propriedade rural na microrregião de Catolé do Rocha (PB), semiárido nordestino.

Abstract

This thesis covers the social, economic, technical and productive changes that have been experienced in medium and large-size farms in the semiarid region in Northeast, Brazil, as part of recent efforts to modernize and integrate these rural properties to regional and national markets of agricultural products. This study aimed to understand how landowners have responded to the decline of landlordism system from the late 1970s. The expression “Agronegócio sertanejo” (backcountry agribusiness) was created to understand such transformations. The field research was conduct in Catolé do Rocha, Paraíba State, ncluding interviews and research on local archives. This region was historically linked to the power of landowners, giving national fame to the family oligarchies, especially the Maia family. The work was guided by this central question: to what extent can we understand the processes of productive restructuring engendered in recent decades in medium and large farms of Catolé do Rocha region from the notion of "Agronegócio sertanejo"? This process implied the redefinition of the cattle industry and the emergence of new social forms that led to the overcoming of the landlordism system. The social dynamics express an ambiguity of logical and discursive practices in constituting the identity traits of landowners in semiarid region in Brazil, where traditionalism and conservatism coexist with ideas of innovation and entrepreneurship.