Family Farming and the 2006 Brazilian AgricultureLivestock Census

Abstract

The present report intends to contribute to the full understanding of the results of 2006 Agriculture/Livestock Census and, in particular, of data on family farming, showed in the IBGE thematic report. It is divided into six topics, including this presentation. In the second topic, some of the technological and methodological innovations from the 2006 Census are highlighted. The third topic attempts to situate the debate about the results through a contextualization of agricultural transformations in the center of some key aspects and indicators of changes in Brazilian economy during the period between the 1995/1996 and the 2006 Censuses. Topic 4 draws the attention to the extreme caution needed while comparing the results from these two censuses due to methodological changes. The fifth and longest topic focuses on the presentation of a portrait of family farming in Brazil, beginning with methodological considerations about the derived variable, followed by an explanatory description of available results. In the conclusion, final considerations are drawn, and a summarized data sheets for all Brazilian States is annexed.