Efeitos da pandemia da COVID-19 aos agricultores familiares feirantes do município de Ituiutaba-MG

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had consequences in various spheres of daily life - health, politics, and socioeconomics, among others. It was no different for the economic segment of family farming. Historical obstacles, such as the lack of more effective public policies, in addition to the difficulties faced in the marketing of products, were associated during the pandemic with factors such as the suspension of street markets, the closing of bars, cafeterias, restaurants, and the like and the suspension of classes. and, consequently, the provision of school lunches. Producing production satisfactorily and guaranteeing income has become an even greater challenge for the small producer. Therefore, the general objective of this research is to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production and commercialization of foodstuffs produced by family farmers in the fairgrounds of the municipality of Ituiutaba-MG. To this end, the specific objectives are: to assess how the pandemic has affected the income of family farmers who sell the fair; to analyze whether public policies were able to provide satisfactory support to family farmers during the pandemic; to verify if the family farmers who sell the fair started to use more technologies and social networks, as well as other possible strategies to overcome the effects of the pandemic and adapt to the new health measures required; and identify the perspectives of fairground family farmers for the post-pandemic period. Descriptive research (recording and analysis of facts with a standardized technique of data collection), bibliographic research (through a literature review of academic scientific material for a broad theoretical basis), and documental research (analysis of municipal decrees and other legislation) were conducted. The approach used was qualitative/quantitative. The participants of the field research were family farmers (over 18 years old) who live and work in the city of Ituiutaba/MG and who sell their products in the 4 open markets held in the city (Junqueira district, Workers square, Sirio Libanesa Avenue and 13th of May Square). Two semi-structured interviews were also conducted, one with the president of the Union of Salaried Rural Workers and Family Farmers of Ituiutaba-MG and another with representatives of the Municipal Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Ituiutaba-MG to deepen the reflections on the subject. Based on the theory studied and the results of the field research, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic affected marketing to a greater extent than the production of family farmers in Ituiutaba-MG. These had to adapt to the new health measures required. The difficulties generated in the commercialization were not accompanied by quick responses of assistance and support from the public power, which acted in the rules necessary for the operation of the fairs. Many marketers, looking for alternatives, tried to adhere to the new forms of commercialization, but they still ran into difficulties with the use of technologies. However, most of the family farmers interviewed kept the thought of not abandoning the profession to the detriment of another type of business and share the expectation of resuming the volume of sales and, consequently, being able to generate enough income to guarantee the livelihood of the family.