Agroecology and social technologies in coexistence with the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region: the report of an experience in state of Ceará in the light of Ecological Economics

Abstract

The social technologies for coexistence with the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region are essential instruments for family farmers to stay in their area and remain producing in periods of low drought in the Semi-Arid Region of the state of Ceará, Brazil. Family farmers use these technologies aiming at the permanence and maintenance of their productive backyards, even with the lack of water that plagues that state in the second half of the year. Within this discussion, the theoretical approach defended by Ecological Economics and Agroecology stands out as epistemologies necessary for the debate regarding the family farmers’ permanence in the countryside. Thus, the central objective of this work is to describe and analyze the main social technologies observed in a rural residence in the community of Santo Antônio dos Alves, in the municipality of Tabuleiro do Norte, state of Ceará, Brazil. The methodology employed was field research with observation, registration, and analysis of the technologies present. Therefore, it was identified that the main technologies used by family farmers are the worm farm, biowater, biogas, and the cistern. These technologies have individual functions, but when combined together, they function as a network for technological assistance that contributes to the permanence in the countryside for those who live on and off the land.