Small-scale farmers and the challenges of environmental conservation and rural development: Case studies from the state of São Paulo and the Amazon region

Abstract

In the past 10 years, small-scale farmers have been the target of both environmental and rural development concerns at national, state, and municipal levels in Brazil. At the federal level, public policies aim at enhancing familybased farming systems (agricultura familiar) through increasing their participation in the market and guaranteeing their food security. Simultaneously, environmental policies restrict small-scale farmers from using 100% of their property, since they have to conserve a minimum of forest area–forest reserve–s well as a gallery forest. Some government officials and scholars argue that small-scale farmers are not able to follow such environmental rules and should be forgiven, because of the small size of their properties, which limit their choices in production. The question is, Considering government programs for rural development and environmental conservation, are small-scale farmers who live inside or surrounding protected areas