Ações de cooperativas rurais: a experiência da COOPERSABOR em Monte Santo - Território do Sisal - BA

Abstract

The Northeast region of Brazil has in rural areas its representative occupation of family farmers who live and develop their productive activities, most of the time, in small farms, with limitations that range from those imposed by the climate to those arising from the lack of effective public policies. Limitations, which have a direct impact on the production and marketing of their products, however, do not prevent them from having a stake in agricultural production in the Northeast. In this scenario, social organization through association and cooperative structures may represent alternatives capable of enabling changes in production, market and life conditions. The objective was to analyze the actions of the Cooperativa Regional de Agricultores/as Familiares e Extrativistas da Economia Popular e Solidária (COOPERSABOR) against seven production groups and their consumers in the municipality of Monte Santo, Sisal Territory. In order to reach the objectives, a bibliographic research was carried out, a priori, to understand the current ideas on the subject. Addressed, and, based on the model by Oliveira (2006), compare the actions of the cooperative in the field. Then, he visited the locus to interview seven productive groups that are part of COOPERSABOR. The main results showed that COOPERSABOR has contributed to improve several aspects in the lives of its members, both in terms of production, marketing and social organization, seeking to meet a management model that includes strategic planning devices, technological components, evaluation components and behavioral components. It was concluded that COOPERSABOR's actions reflect a change in life of farmers and their families, but other actions are still needed to further strengthen the Cooperative structure in the territory and the assistance to other groups of family farmers, also in need.