Strengthening territorial networks of agroecology, extractivism and organic production: the instrumentation of public action in the Ecoforte Program

Fortalecendo redes territoriais de agroecologia, extrativismo e produção orgânica: a instrumentação da ação pública no Programa Ecoforte

Abstract

This article focuses on the political and social dynamics involved in the institutionalization of the Ecoforte Program - Agroecology, Extractivist and Organic Production Networks, within the scope of the National Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production - PNAPO. The creation of this public policy is associated with a broader trajectory of interactions established between government agents and social organizations, which made it possible for agroecology to expand its space of legitimacy as a reference in public policy. Considering the conceptual and operational innovations incorporated within Ecoforte, special attention was paid to the participatory processes involved in the instrumentation of the program, mobilizing perspectives of analysis developed within French sociology, that question the neutrality of public policy instruments, drawing attention to the effects of these devices in ordering the relations established by the State with its publics. It is noteworthy that the incorporation by Ecoforte of concepts and modes of operation developed in a process of dialogue with social organizations allowed the program to better adapt to the diversity and multilinearity of the agroecological transition processes experienced in the territories. The research results presented here were generated through an action research project coordinated by the National Articulation of Agroecology (ANA) that sought to systematize the experience of 25 agroecology networks supported by Ecoforte's first call for proposals, including, also, an analysis of the political trajectory and institutional construction of PNAPO and Ecoforte based on literature review, document analysis and interviews with key actors.
Keywords: agroecology; public policy; Ecoforte Program.

Article received on March 9, 2020. Accepted on April 29, 2020.

How to cite
SCHMITT, Claudia Job; PORTO, Silvio Isoppo; MONTEIRO, Denis; LOPES, Helena Rodrigues. Fortalecendo redes territoriais de agroecologia, extrativismo e produção orgânica: a instrumentação da ação pública no Programa Ecoforte. Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura, Rio de Janeiro, v. 28, n. 2, p. 312-338, jun. 2020.