Dinâmica relacional dos produtores rurais: governança, rede e sustentabilidade no abastecimento alimentar fronteiriço de Foz do Iguaçu

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes sustainable rural development in the border territory of Foz do Iguazu through the dynamics of food commercialization carried out by local rural producers integrated into different food supply arrangements. Development is understood as a multidimensional, relational, and historically constructed process that articulates economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions, moving beyond approaches limited to productive growth. In this context, the study examines the participation of family farmers in short food supply chains and institutional markets, focusing on the k ’ k Iguaçu Food Bank as sociotechnical spaces of governance and food circulation.The research is grounded in Actor-Network Theory (ANT), adopted as the main analytical and methodological framework to understand the interactions between human and non-human actors—such as farmers, cooperatives, public policies, regulations, infrastructures, and food products—that collectively co-produce markets and territorial development. Methodologically, the study follows a qualitative approach supported by Grounded Theory, based on empirical data collected through interviews, observation, and document y ’ k y different organizational forms, in which social skills, collective coordination, and territorial governance play a central role in building and sustaining supply networks. Collective arrangements, such as ’ itical articulation, access to public policies, and economic sustainability. The Food Bank, in particular, emerges as a strategic instrument for food security, social inclusion, and food waste reduction, directly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.The dissertation concludes that sustainable rural development in Foz do Iguaçu emerges from the quality of relational networks connecting producers, markets, and the State, in which solidarity-based practices, participatory governance, and integrated public policies strengthen family farming and promote fairer, more resilient, and territorially embedded food systems.