A influência da dinâmica demográfica e domiciliar no processo de ocupação do Cerrado brasileiro: o caso do Programa de Assentamento Dirigido do Alto Paranaíba, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

The Cerrado, which occupies 22% of the country, is the second largest biome, being surmounted only by Amazon. The Brazilian Cerrado has suffered a rapid process of degradation, caused mainly by the expansion of agriculture and cattle raising. However, despite its importance and its accelerated pace of environmental degradation, there are few studies associating land-use dynamics with its demographic dynamic. The Programa de Assentamento Dirigido do Alto Paranaíba (PADAP) was established in 1973 in an area among the towns of São Gotardo, Rio Paranaíba, Ibiá and Campos Altos, all of them in the state of Minas Gerais. It was the first project of colonization of the Cerrado established in the country since the 1970s, serving as a model for the Brazilian state in developing other projects in regions of this biome. Interest in PADAP as objects of study, in addition to his pioneering, is reinforced by changes in terms of land use that occurred since the late 1980s, with the introduction of new crops such as carrots and other vegetables in the region. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between demographic dynamics and strategies of land use adopted by the families of farmers in the PADAP. Such strategies will be also associated with the regional economic life cycle and will provoke, historically, the formation of migration flows that have, as origin or destination, the region covered by PADAP.As the central theoretical framework, this study used the theories about the household life cycle and population dynamics in agricultural frontier areas and the Multiphasic Response Theory. These two theories were also related to other theoretical trends that seek to understand the migration phenomenon. The analysis period is from 1973, the year of implementation of this agricultural colonization project until the present day. The methodological approach includes the use of secondary data that characterize the municipalities covered by PADAP and analysis of migration flows that have these municipalities as source or destination. Furthermore, based on data collected from a survey conducted among the farmers of PADAP, were made descriptive and multivariate analysis seeking confirmation of the hypotheses of this thesis. Multivariate analysis consisted of a search process of delineation of the profiles of farmers with the use of the method Grade of Membership (GoM). The analysis of the relationship between demographic dynamics and strategies of land use, adopted by the families of farmers, suggests that the life cycle of household has an important role in the migration of the first cohort of immigrants to PADAP, as well as the action of land market, access to credit and technical support received. With respect to migration latest, it is suggested that social networks are the most important elements to explain them. Finally, it is suggested that the size and age of holseholds, are important elements to explain the migration of farmers children. It was not possible, based on data collected, to establish a link among the household life cycle, changes in land use and migration of the farmers children. The main contribution of this paper is to analyze the implementation process and evolution of a project for the agricultural colonization of the Brazilian Cerrado focusing on changes in land use and demographic and household dynamics. This kind of approach has already been used in several studies on the Amazon, but had not been used in relation to Cerrado. In the methodological aspect, it is also important the use of the Grade of Membership method, which proved to be a useful tool in the construction of a typology of rural producers.