Urban family agriculture

Limits of public policy and social representations

Abstract

The article describes the obstacles to the application of family farming public policy in urban areas in Brazil. We show that a series of representations associated with rural-agricultural have been shaping the classification criteria of rural technical assistance technicians (ATER) and in practice define the limits of application of this policy in urban areas. The mobilization of social movements linked to urban agriculture, specifically in the city of Rio de Janeiro, resulted in the construction of a public arena that denounced the lack of access of Rio de Janeiro family farmers to agrarian policies. As a result of this reciprocal effort between debate and action, the criteria for urban agrarian classification were made explicit, and urban family farming was recognized as a public problem and the possibility of intersection between family and urban agriculture policies, designing the theme nationally.