Um olhar sobre as juventudes rurais: desafios, possibilidades e limitações no município de Porteirinha (MG)

Abstract

This dissertation articulates the thematic lines of studies on rural youth and family agriculture from the perspective of understanding the challenges, limitations and possibilities of the young farmers in Porteirinha (MG). The main frame of reference was anchored in a participatory approach, which allowed the collation of empirical information in the light of reports and perceptions of the population involved in the process. The intention was to develop a work that could qualitatively analyze the migratory process of young people from the family farming communities of Porteirinha and the relationship of this dynamics with the economic, political and social structure of the municipality. Three specific objectives guided the study: to understand the young dynamics in the region where the municipality is located, especially market expectations, studies and future perspectives involving family relations; analyze possible social networks that may influence the migration of young residents in family farming communities; and analyze the possible public policies that are directed to the youth of the areas of family agriculture in the region and the participation of young people in these decision-making. The research was based on qualitative information, obtained through in-depth interviews with 20 young people aged 15 to 34 residing in Porteirinha and also with members of associations, unions and representatives of social movements. It was based on the understanding that the study on rural youth cannot be developed solely through family farming, but rather through distinct categories that deserve different approaches, because they are socially delineated constructions and that start from the self-recognition of the social actors themselves. This means understanding that there are youths in a broader aspect, with different forms of survival and daily struggles, and that the rural environment is configured in a heterogeneous and multifaceted way. The research reinforced the fact that in Porteirinha agriculture is organized basically in small family units, where responsibility for sales negotiations and distribution of products is usually borne by the children, young farmers. It also pointed out that pluriactivity is recurrent in the life of Porteirinha´s rural workers. Equally constant in the reports collected during the interviews was the issue related to migration, more specifically to the movement of young people out of the countryside of Porteirinha and beyond the territorial limits of the municipality. Such phenomenon is favored by human social networks, which play the role of articulators of the migratory process and facilitate the detachment both in the initial decision to leave and in the professional insertion of the individual. However, in Porteirinha emigration seems not to be linked to the end of social relations and/or between relatives. The act of migrating does not put an end to the experiences and structures built in the countryside. The study allowed the understanding that the youths are sociological categories in constant transformations, that reinvent themselves daily in function of the own identities. The studies that involve these populations must take into account their specificities, as well as seek to integrate more and more the youths more distant from the discussions that involve their social, economic and political situations. In this perspective, government actions aimed at stimulating the permanence of youth in the countryside, favoring an environment suited to their specific needs, must start from the understanding of the complexity that surrounds the young peasants and their mixed habitat - sometimes the field, or the city. Action is based on the right to come and go, not just the decision to stay or leave the field.