Energia e produção de alimentos na agricultura familiar do alto Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais

Abstract

Energy, water and soil are essential elements for food production. To understand the use of energy in family production units, this article presents an overview of the energy sources used in family farming establishments in three communities in Alto Jequitinhonha, northeast of Minas Gerais. The survey of information was carried out with 12 farming families based on the methodological basis of interviews and the application of semi-structured questionnaires. In this way, it was possible to identify the predominant combination of energies coming from cultural and biological inputs, used by farming families to provide food, water and, consequently, income in rural communities in the region. The results of the investigation showed that the researched families use biological matrices for the production of food, such as human labor, poultry seed, manure, service animals; and use industrial matrices, such as a tractor, industrialized seed, chemical fertilizers / fertilizers and limestone. In the home environment, in the hierarchy of use, human labor, electricity, gas, firewood (biomass), other fossil fuels (gasoline, ethanol and diesel) and solar energy prevail. It is also worth emphasizing the relevance of water for families in maintaining food production systems, which are planted in spite of scarcity due to low rainfall and the monoculture of eucalyptus, which plagues the region where the communities are located. Energy sources are relevant for these farmers to have access to water, both at home and for crop production.