“ESTAMOS ESQUECIDOS”A case study for capabilities in the perspective of small-scale vegetable producers in Southeastern Brazil

Sammanfattning: Global food supply chains have drastically changed over the last decades. Whereas some international firms embedded in the international markets are on the cutting edge of food production processes and technology, small-scale producers do not always experience the same opportunity in accessing such global value chains. According to FAO, those small-scale producers worldwide are in charge of providing about one-third of the world’s food demand, yet they find an immense challenge in just keeping their production marketable. This way, one of the most likely consequences of poorly designed policies to support those producers is rural poverty. However, not only physical dimensions such as food security and nutrition, education, living standards, rural livelihoods and resources, and risks as presented by FAO impose pressure on small-scale producers, but also the inability to experience a better quality of life also seems to play a key role in how producers plan and manages their crops. This research explores the role and preferences of small-scale farmers in São Paulo, Brazil, through the lens of the Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach. To operationalize this research, a case study was conducted based on semi-structured interviews in addition to a desk study. The findings suggests that although those farmers have no clear idea regarding the academic concept of capabilities, they do acknowledge a lack of freedom to make decisions according to their preferences. In addition, they seems to be squeezed in the middle of the government policies directed for the agribusiness and the most vulnerable rural households who lives under the poverty line, when it comes specifically to the Brazilian case.