Policies and production strategies in proposals for the rural settlements of the southern half of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This research examined the policies and strategies that were intended
for small farmers settled in the Metade Sul of Rio Grande do Sul, considering that they are in a region in that monoculture farming and extensive livestock dominated the regional for centuries, favoring the maintenance of large landlordism. As methodology research was used the method critical-dialectical which validates the scientific evidence based on internal logic of the processes that explain the dynamics and contradictions of the external and internal phenomena. The methodology has also use of qualitative cut by making use of the method dialectical historical comparison by the use of questionnaires surveys and semi-structured interviews combined with the analysis of documents and bibliographies. Interviews were performed with officials from government agencies responsible for regional development. This research found that implemented policies in recent years had a strategic redirection highlighting that  ustainability initiatives came to be seen as a new concept in maintaining both  regional biodiversity as economic viability, social and culture compatibility. However it is necessary to inquire whether these strategies can be considered as result of these new positions of proposed policies or if are principles of social movements and of the farmers themselves settled.