Cadeias curtas de abastecimento de alimentos: uma análise do embeddedness na agricultura familiar e sua interação nos mercados locais

Abstract

This thesis aims to identify how short food supply chains are structured, their interaction in local markets, and their potential for the socio-productive and commercial inclusion of family farming. As a research gap in this thesis, the need for a deep theoretical review on short food supply chains was identified to progress in the conceptual delimitation of the theme, which can serve as a reference for future studies and be a source of originality on the subject. For this goal, four studies were carried out. The first study was a theoretical essay that presents a reflection on the main trends and discussions involving the construction of the themes of (rural) development, family farming, and the markets in which the respective transactions occur, interpreting markets as a planning principle and social construction that are taking place in rural areas. The appreciation of family farming and its potential to boost local economies are the main point of consensus. The second bibliometric study aims to present the structure of scientific production that provides a basis for studies on farmers' markets and local agri-food systems through the analysis of quotations. The method used was exploratory, and the data for the analyses consisted of scientific articles retrieved from the Web of Science database. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) reveals that the structure of scientific production on farmers' markets and local agri-food systems is addressed in 72.24%, by 84 articles, which were grouped into five dimensions: the constitutive definitions of alternative local food economies; the characteristics of local food systems; the diversity of alternative food networks; the search for innovative practices and management improvements in alternative local agri-food networks; and the locus of the dynamics of alternative agri-food networks which prioritizes the consumer/producer relationship. The third study analyzes farmers' and consumers' rootedness in their interaction with local markets through empirical studies in short food supply chains, with only one face-to-face chain. Therefore, the systematic review methodology was used to analyze publications on short chains, available in the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. The results showed that, of the 26 studies researched, published from 2014 to 2019, 21 studies have empirical applicability. In these studies, it is possible to notice that the social aspect has the most significant prominence, both in its components of needs and its potential, highlighting the role of trust in the consumer/producer relationship. The fourth study analyzes the working mechanism of a farmers market to estimate its potential for socio-productive and commercial inclusion. The aim is also to verify whether there is a strengthening of short food supply chains and whether the fair can consolidate itself as a place for consumers and producers to perceive aspects of the "distinctiveness" and "connectivity" dimensions of these rooted (immersed) markets. The article is configured as a qualitative case study applied to the Feira do Pequeno Produtor (Small Farmers Market) in Cascavel, Paraná. In the methods used, in the case of producers, data were collected through a direct survey (face-to-face) with family farming marketers, and data analysis was performed in part by the IRAMUTEQ software. In the case of consumers, the data analysis was done by tabulating the data in Microsoft Excel software from the arithmetic averages of the results and evaluated using the Likert scale. As for the results, the farmers market in this study was able to demonstrate the socio-productive inclusion of family farmers through three main aspects: first, for being organized through the association of producers; second, because it counts on close and trust relationships between the family farm marketers and the customers; and, third, for having solidary relationships between the participants. The commercial inclusion was also confirmed, and, at the farmers market, the short food supply chains are strengthened as commercial links are built between the family farmers and the customers. The fair has established itself as a space perceived by customers and producers in two of the five dimensions of the immersed markets.