AGRO-INDUSTRIES IN THE PRODUCTION OF MST SETTLEMENTES
Name: MAÍSA MARIA BAPTISTA PRATES DO AMARAL
Publication date: 23/08/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| DANIEL PEREIRA SAMPAIO | Examinador Interno |
| JADE MARGARETH SIT TSUI | Examinador Externo |
| MIGUEL ENRIQUE ALMEIDA STÉDILE | Examinador Externo |
| PAULO NAKATANI | Examinador Interno |
| ROGERIO NAQUES FALEIROS | Presidente |
Summary: The general aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how/if the implementation of the MST's agroindustries contributes to the construction of new labor, production, and commercial relations in the settlements, and to see if they are an alternative to the production model imposed by agribusiness. Our research locations were the milk and dairy products processing agro-industry, Cooperoeste, located in the municipality of São Miguel do Oeste, Santa Catarina; the organic rice agro-industry, Coopan, situated in the city of Nova Santa Rita, Rio Grande do Sul; and the coffee processing agro-industry, Coopterra, located in the city of São Mateus, Espírito Santo. This is a qualitative study that involved a literature review on the agrarian question in Brazil, focusing on the struggle for land and the process of agro-industrialization, seeking to understand how this process develops in Brazil and its integration with global capitalist dynamics. In addition, field research was carried out to collect qualitative data. The data collected consisted of individual interviews with the producers who benefit from their production in these agroindustries, the presidents of the cooperatives, and a leader of the MST's national production sector, totaling 33 interviewees. The interviews were analyzed using the content analysis technique. As a result, we identified that agro-industries, despite being part of an economy dominated by agribusiness, contribute to improving the quality of life within agrarian reform settlements, generating employment and income for settled families, youth, and women. In addition, despite the contradictions arising from being part of a capitalist society, they present themselves as an alternative to the agribusiness model, building new relations of production, labor, and marketing.
