Caracterização da agricultura familiar no Distrito de Gravatá em São do Rio do Peixe - PB: um olhar geográfico.

Abstract

This dissertation contributes to and draws from the field of Agrarian Geography, with a focus on the production and lifestyle of peasant farming in the Gravatá District, São João do Rio do Peixe-PB. Accordingly, our objective was to characterize the dynamics of production and commercialisation in family agriculture within the Gravatá community. From the outset of this research, it was evident that there was a lack of available information concerning the production of family agriculture in peasant communities such as Gravatá, despite its clearly significant output. This data deficiency may be intentional, as such production challenges the large-capital model based on commodity production. Thus, our contribution from the perspective of Geography is the generation and analysis of data on family agricultural production in the Gravatá community. To obtain this information, we conducted a field study, analysing data through both quantitative and qualitative methods. We administered a questionnaire to community families, consisting of thirty questions, which enabled us to understand the existing realities of the region known as Terra da Verdura (Gravatá). Our investigation concluded that the family agriculture present in the Gravatá District has a robust physical infrastructure, and its production and commercial dynamics are directed towards regional open markets, where 62% of farmers sell their products. Notable produce includes cassava, sweet potato, coriander, and lettuce, which are the most cultivated in our study area. This information is organized in graphs, maps, and images throughout this paper. Hence, webelieve this work contributes to the visibility of quality food production that reaches our tables daily, that is, the production of family-based peasant agriculture.