Construção de conhecimento agroecológico no semiárido cearense

Abstract

The National Policy for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (PNATER) represents the resumption of strengthening family farming and meeting society's demands for sustainable agriculture. Its materialization translates into the transition from conventional agriculture to ecologically based agriculture, based on participatory methodologies and under a multidisciplinary and systemic approach to Rural Extension. The article presents an analysis of the perceptions of the social actors of organic and agroecological agriculture in the semi-arid region of Ceará on the process of building agroecological knowledge. To this end, we performed a content analysis of interviews, using the Ecological Knowledge System (SCE) and the objectives of PNATER as benchmarks. The results of this research indicated that there is a need for greater depth regarding social actors’ perception of the construction of agroecological knowledge and PNATER. These perceptions focused on the dimensions of ecologically sound practices, learning itself, and learning facilitation. Furthermore, few emerging themes were related to supporting institutions and a favorable political environment.