URBAN AND PERIURBAN AGRICULTURE IN THE METROPOLITAN REGION OF RIO DE JANEIRO - AN ANALYSIS OF RELATIONS BETWEEN PRODUCTION, MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION
Production; Food; Farmers.
With the growing process of urbanization, the practice of Urban Agriculture (AU)
has been gaining prominence on the national scene, especially in large cities
like Rio de Janeiro, due to its capacity to produce food, improve the quality of
life and promote food and nutritional sovereignty and security (SAN) of urban
populations. Another important factor is the generation of work and income for
families through the commercialization of surplus production. The most used
commercialization channel in the AU is the direct sale in fairs. The possibility of
marketing food, especially in organic/agroecological fairs, values and stimulates
the work of urban farmers, invisible to public authorities. The objective of the
research was to characterize the profile of urban farmers and above all, to
understand the importance of fairs for marketing and strengthening AU in the
municipality of Rio de Janeiro. To this end, interview and participatory
observation techniques were chosen for data collection. The results found
demonstrate the role of women in the AU, representing 73.3% of those
interviewed, the concentration of farmers between 50 and 69 years of age and
family history in agriculture, 100% of those interviewed are children/children of
farmers. It was found that 66.7% of the interviewees have another source of
income and that the farmer who has no other source of income, sells the food in
more than one place. Thus, it can be inferred that those farmers who market in
more than one place, manage through the AU to generate income for the
family's livelihood.