(Franc¸a, Del Grossi, & Marques, 2009).
This study analyzes the spatial distribution of development
conditions for family farmers in Brazil, discussing the challenges
and potential for sound rural development. By using
data from the national agricultural census, we characterize
the development conditions that correlate with farm performance,
and discuss the farmer’s potential for driving rural
development under the existing conditions.
Section 2 provides insights into the family farm sector in
Brazil. Then, Section 3 reviews the factors shaping farmers’
performance from existing literature. Section 4 describes
how the identified development factors have been
methodologically assessed and analyzed. In the results, Section 5, we report on analytical findings thereby setting up a
comprehensive picture of family farming in Brazil. In Section
6, the results are discussed in view of agricultural policies
targeting family farming in Brazil. The conclusions are drawn
in Section 7.