Transition to an ecologically-based agriculture: A social process

Abstract

The current article aims at analyzing the project of transition towards an ecologically-based coffee farming which was carried out in two rural communities in the north of Paraná state in 2003. From the field and bibliographical researches on Agroecology and the theory perspective oriented by the actor (POA), it was seen that the transition method, by making use of a pre-established model of transition activities, made it impossible for the social actor to take part in it and did not contribute to the empowering process of these farmers regarding the new coffee farming being established. It is highlighted that, in order for the transition process to be concluded, not onlythe method was key, but, above all, the consequences generated by it still during the transition, such as, for instance,the neglect of the community’s rules and social norms; the adherence to the logic of certification seals; and the only possibility of doing business with the fair trade network in France. It is concluded that, in case one intends to use the transition methods already used in other rural development projects towards ecologically-based agriculture, this method must be elaborated and discussed again with the new group of actors in order to include their specificities and most relevant issues. The transition method must also seek the agroecological transition of the agroecosystem, with no established time to start and finish, while aiming at the seamless work between man and nature in the art of farming.