Vulnerability and resilience of family farming in Cariri cearense
Indicators, agroecology, sustainability.
Semiarid family farmers have significant accumulations of knowledge about living with vulnerabilities, especially with periods of drought. Significant vulnerabilities emphasize the risk of non-viability of agricultural activities, to the point where sustainability can be compromised. Agroecology has provided a differentiated view of the importance of field populations for sustainable production, which favors a generation of novelties in the construction of more resilient and balanced systems. The multidimensional aspect in socioecological systems addresses the tripod of sustainability. In this way, an exploratory research of qualitative and quantitative nature was used to analyze vulnerabilities and resilience of family agriculture in agroecological transition in Cariri Cearense. Interview and observation techniques were applied to construct vulnerability indexes in socioecological systems involving environmental, social and economic dimensions. The study indicated situations of variability and connections within the man-environment system. Vulnerability, when present, transited in a multidimensional way in the sample. Farmers with profiles associated with the agroecological transition have moved closer to the path to sustainable development.