FROM FAIR TO BASKET: ALTERNATIVE CHANNEL STUDY FOR THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF FAMILY AGRICULTURE DURING PANDEMIC OF COVID-19 IN SEROPÉDICA, BAIXADA FLUMINENSE (RJ)
Agroecology. Short circuits. E-commerce.
The Family Agriculture Fair (FAF) at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro,
operated from 2016 until March 2020, when it was interrupted due to the suspension of
in-person academic activities as part of sanitary measures to preserve the health of the
academic community in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bearing in mind the
importance of these channels for income generation and social inclusion, the Family
Agriculture Basket at UFRRJ (CAF) was created in a participatory manner. The
objective of the present study was to describe and analyze this e-commerce experience
in the period of social isolation, presenting the potential and limitations of this strategy.
The methodological approach was based on descriptive social research with the
application of interviews and questionnaires. The data collection procedures were
bibliographic and documentary research, systematization of marketing data in the year
2020, as well as the application of questionnaires to consumers and interviews with
farmers and consumers. CAF was a strategy capable of significantly contributing to the
income of suppliers in the first year of the pandemic, in addition to providing consumers
with access to agroecological and locally produced food.