A contribuição do Pronaf na reprodução social dos agricultores familiares em Itabaianinha, Sergipe

Abstract

Rural development in Brazil is directly linked to the strengthening of family farming, a key segment for the productive, social, and territorial dynamics of rural areas. Therefore, the social reproduction of these families depends on conditions that guarantee the continuity of production and ways of life in the countryside. Thus, access to public credit policies becomes fundamental, and the National Program for Strengthening Family Farming (Pronaf) emerges as a strategic instrument by providing financial resources that sustain the production and quality of life of rural families. Thus, the study aimed to analyze the contribution of access to Pronaf to the social reproduction of family farmers in Itabaianinha/SE. Regarding the methodology, the research adopted a quantitative-qualitative approach, structured in two main stages: the analysis of secondary data and the collection of primary data. Initially, a bibliographic and documentary review was carried out, as well as an analysis of data from the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN) for the period from 2013 to 2024, with the aim of identifying the municipalities with the highest access to Pronaf in the three mesoregions of the state of Sergipe, which resulted in the selection of the municipality of Itabaianinha as a case study. The choice of municipality took into account, in particular, the volume of contracts and the balance between financing and investment modalities. The field research was based on non-probabilistic intentional sampling, using the snowball technique, through which 23 family farming establishments were interviewed, covering a total of 95 people. The quantitative data enabled the socioeconomic characterization of families and the productive characterization of establishments, while the qualitative analysis was conducted based on the articulation between content analysis and lexical analysis, with the support of IRAMUTEQ software. The results for Pronaf in Sergipe between 2013 and 2024 showed a dependence on funding and low adoption of structural investments, highlighting the limits to productive modernization and the social reproduction of family farming. The characterization of rural family establishments based on socioeconomic aspects shows the centrality of family work, the influence of education on productive insertion strategies, and diversification acting as a mechanism for risk reduction and socioeconomic reproduction. In this context, Pronaf plays a structural role in enabling productive investments, strengthening the resilience of families, and sustaining the social reproduction of family farming. It was also evident that, in the short term, Pronaf enables production, guarantees liquidity, reorganizes family work, and contributes to income stability and permanence in the establishment. In the long term, credit favors capitalization, asset expansion, and productive modernization, strengthening families' social reproduction strategies. However, its structural effects are limited by contradictions such as commercial specialization, financial responsibilities, and insufficient credit to ensure rural succession on its own. It is concluded that Pronaf plays a central role in sustaining strategies for permanence, continuity, and social reproduction of family farming in the municipality of Itabaianinha, Sergipe, although its effects are limited when acting in isolation.