Biodiesel, impasses e perspectivas num lugar: a agricultura familiar face ao PNPB

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze in the context of the bioenergy expansion in the North of Minas Gerais state, specifically the production of biodiesel, the different forms of ownership of the National Biodiesel Production and Use (PNPB) by family farmers in upland area in Matias Cardoso city, MG. The PNPB was approached as a public policy that, through the Social Fuel Seal, seeks to include family farmers in the biodiesel production chain. A case study was conducted with data collection techniques such as document analysis, observation and 20 (twenty) semistructured interviews with family farmers in the municipality, study object. The sample was defined based on the exhaustion method, which the number of interviews is not defined a priori, but depends on no more dispersion among the responses. Research results appoint that PNPB improved the living conditions of upland communities and benefited different family farmers contributing with their social reproduction. There were differences in the internal segment of family farms, given the different forms of ownership. It is concluded that the higher the capitalization and family income, the greater processing capacity and the resources made available by PNPB benefits for the family unit, and thus greater ownership of the program.