Agroindustrialização de frango caipira, mel e peixe no estado do Maranhão: caracterização socioeconômica dos agricultores familiares e elaboração do perfil simplificado de planta baixa

Abstract

Family farming is an important food supplier for the domestic market and guarantees a good part of the food security of Brazilians. Data from official bodies in Brazil prove the significant participation of family farming in the supply of raw materials such as fruits, vegetables, grains, manioc, eggs, meat, milk and honey. However, despite the unquestionable importance of this activity, family farmers face many difficulties, including access to markets and obtaining fair prices for production, which allows their capitalization, expansion of production, improvement of productivity and the possibility of fixing new generations in the field. Thus, due to the relevance of the theme, the study was carried out with the objective of elaborating a strategy to strengthen the agro-industrialization of free-range chicken, honey and fish in the state of Maranhao through the socioeconomic characterization of family farmers and the elaboration of simplified profiles of standard low plants. In order to advance the proposed objective, the study was carried out in two stages: (i) documentary research for the socioeconomic characterization of family farmers through information gathering at the state's agricultural defense agency; and, (ii) elaboration of a simplified profile of three individual floor plans for the agro-industrialization of free-range chicken, honey and fish following the rules of engineering and the safe production of food, through a multidisciplinary team. The socioeconomic characterization of the target audience made it possible to obtain unprecedented information, such as: (i) predominance of the male gender in productive activities; (ii) most family farmers have low schooling; (iii) family income does not, in most cases, exceed two salaries; and, (iv) free-range poultry and fish farming are the main source of income for most of the families under analysis. With the plants of the free-range chicken slaughterhouse, the extraction and processing unit for bee products and the processing unit for fish and fish products, it is possible to generate a picture of the local development of families with the agro-industrialization of free-range chicken, honey and fish, respectively, which will revert into income, in addition to contributing to the regional and economic development of the state, pillars of family farming. With the proposed strategy, it is expected that this will result in positive changes in the socioeconomic profile of family farmers.