THE DYNAMICS OF FAMILY AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: THE OUR COMPANY RURAL PROGRAM OF
SÃO FRANCISCO DO OESTE (RN)
Family farming, public policies, rural development.
This research aims to analyze the dynamics of the Municipal Program Nossa Empresa Rural - PNER in the context of family farming, in the territorial context of the Municipality of São Francisco do Oeste (RN). The PNER proposes to provide the family farmer with knowledge of the management and administration of the Rural Productive Unit (UPR), in addition to technical assistance and rural extension (ATER). The hypothesis is that the PNER has contributed to the rural development of the municipality, since its implementation, which took place in 2017, benefiting the community inserted in the process, and contributing to the consolidation of family farming in the scenario of rural public policies. As for the methodology, it is a study characterized as exploratory and descriptive. The research will be conducted in the form of a case study. An exclusively quantitative approach will be adopted, using, for this purpose, secondary data, collected by the Municipal Agriculture Secretariat through the application of a form throughout the rural area of the municipality in order to obtain a diagnosis of agricultural and non-agricultural activities. After being numerically coded, the data will allow a comparative analysis of the performance of all Rural Productive Units, including beneficiary families of the Program and non-beneficiaries. The study will provide useful information for the Program, as well as contribute to a better understanding of the challenges of implementing public policies aimed at strengthening family farming.