LAND USE AND FAMILY FARMING IN MATO GROSSO: A SPATIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE 2017 AGRICULTURAL CENSUS

A SPATIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE 2017 AGRICULTURAL CENSUS

Abstract

The family farming is activity plays an important role in local and regional development through food production and land use. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze family farming and land use in Mato Grosso, using data from the 2017 Agricultural Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The research indicates that family farming occupies an area of ​​5,131,104 hectares, distributed across 81,635 establishments, the majority located in the northern mesoregion of the state. Of the farmers, 81.7% are male, the majority are white and have reading and writing skills. The form of access to land was, for the most part, through purchase from private individuals, with the largest concentration of areas between 5 and 100 hectares. Only 23,758 farmers are members of associations or unions and most of the revenue obtained comes from the establishments themselves, mainly related to livestock farming and temporary crops. Despite its importance in providing essential foods, the process faces a shortage of credit, with only a few farmers obtaining some type of financing.