ANIMAL PRODUCTION IN THE ECONOMY OF FAMILY FARMING: A CASE STUDY IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMIARID REGION

Abstract

Extensive livestock farming based on native vegetation of seasonal dry forests as pasture is a tradition inherited from colonization in the Brazilian semiarid region. The article aimed to understand the importance of livestock farming for the economy of family farming in the Sítio Areias community, establishing relationships with the Territory and the municipality of Sobral, state of Ceará, Brazil, through documentary and bibliographic research and semi-structured interviews. Cattle, sheep and goats are highlighted in the Territory. In the municipality there is a retraction of the industrial poultry farming; in contrast, backyard poultry are expanding. Agriculture in the community of Sítio Areias is practiced on small farms, where most families raise animals associated with traditional crops. Species of small animals such as goats, poultry and pigs have replaced cattle due to its ability to adapt to environmental and socioeconomic conditions of these farmers. In this context, livestock shows a relationship between the available area and the diversity of livestock species: the larger the area, the greater the diversification. Purposes of farmers are hierarchically structured, based on the self-consumption, followed by marketing and donation. Such features, which can be translated into use of high biodiversity and an economy of socio-cultural self-reproduction and solidary sharing, have been found to fit family farming peasant production mode.