Biodynamic agriculture: self-maintenance on rural properties

Abstract

Maintainable development privileges life quality coupled to the environment. A new trend has developed through the implementation of self-maintenance of the small rural properties, or rather, working participatively in productive chains inserted into the performance of agro-poles. Current research, which analyzes the perspectives of bio-dynamic rice culture as an alternative for survival within the context of small farms, has three different phases: first, semi-structured interviews with professionals linked to the field, such as EMBRAPA and EPAGRI researchers, among others; administrators of entrepreneurships involved in biodynamic cultivation and product distribution companies. The second phase focuses on rural properties and mobilizes several agents: farmers, rural producers and middlemen to verify which farms employ the biodynamic method and knowledge of its use. The third phase consists of a case study on ecological rice. Biodynamic cultivation is practiced by rice growers and fish breeders through an aggregation of value and land use. Fowl and plants also make up the above production system. Research shows that biodynamic agriculture tends to be a current and future survival solution, as the study case of ecological rice has demonstrated. Improvement of productivity may also be achieved by the new technologies involving the above cultivation method.