Agricultura urbana: produção e comercialização de alimentos em Montes Claros –MG

Abstract

The practices associated with Urban Agriculture (UA) have become a reality in the major urban centers, particularly as a form of occupying space and as an alternative to produce various foods and small animals, being practiced in backyards, public and private areas. The aim of this research is to analyze the experiences of UA in the city of Montes Claros-MG, considering the forms of organization and the alternatives of local markets for the commercialization of the production coming from the practice of UA in the city. Therefore, this study on UA, developed in the city of Montes Claros, a municipality located in the northern region of Minas Gerais, presents, and analyzes data from the practices territorialized by 17 farmers of the city. Thus, it is emphasized that the proposed objectives are about a case study in line with the elements of participatory research. Analysis suggests that the practice of organic farming has been developed in urban areas for a long time, by farmers of rural and urban origin, since the cultivation of food is practiced by farmers on their own, public, and leased areas; small spaces in which a significant diversity of foods is grown from an agroecological transition, marked by a plural peasantry, in marketing through alternatives in local markets, as well as for self-consumption. Moreover, it was found that the UA contributes to the generation of additional income for some farmers obtained from the sale of products produced in local markets (fairs, municipal market, local sale of production, door to door sales).