Agricultura familiar e programas de abastecimento de água no gerais do Alto-Médio rio São Francisco, Minas Gerais

Abstract

For nearly three centuries, the “Gerais” of the upper-middle São Francisco River were occupied by production systems adapted to the tablelands, veredas and wetlands. Common land takeovers, deforestation, and drainage stimulated by the “agricultural modernization” of the 1970s drastically reduced water sources, and then droughts began to affect domestic and productive supplies. This article analyzes the experience of the “great drought” of 2011/2019 in three communities in the Gerais region, investigating public programs, water supply, and agricultural production from the perspective of rural people. The methodology relied on the local classification of agro-environments, using focus groups, interviews with community leaders, and sampled families according to different compositions. It concludes that the disappearance of historical conditions of access to resources led the population to reorganize agriculture and water consumption. Experiencing new situations, the memory of the abundance of land and water is the inspiration to claim, negotiate and adapt public policies to the culture and needs of communities.