Agrarian Systems and Agroecology: the agricultural dynamic and the conditions for an agroecological transition in the municipality of Porto Xavier (RS-Brazil)

Abstract

In the paper is made an analysis of the contributions that the agrarian systems approach can bring to the promotion of the agroecological transition. In the first part is performed a presentation of the method 'Analysis-diagnosis of Agrarian Systems' (ADSA) and in the second part is discussed a study based on this method of the conditions for an agroecological transition in Porto Xavier (RS). The analysis of the dynamics of agriculture proposed by the ADSA, for its emphasis on the social differentiation processes, for the importance attributed on the social categories in the typology of the production units and, mainly, on the assessment of the conditions for the social reproduction of the different types identified, highlighted the social nature of the agroecological transition, in which the promotion of peasant agriculture stood out as a strategic element of crucial importance. Therefore, it was concluded that the agrarian systems approach can bring significant contributions to the promotion of the agroecological transition.