Living in the city and producing in the countryside: the growth of a new type of farmer and agriculture in Brazil

ABSTRACT: Living in rural neighborhoods has always been a characteristic of small and medium-sized Brazilian farmers. However, when observing the agricultural censuses of 2006 and 2017, carried out in Brazil, there is a tendency to separate the place of work and residence of farmers. This articleanalyzed the double residence and the phenomenon of pendular displacement of farmers in the municipalities of Zona da Mata Mineira (ZMM), an important coffee region in Minas in Brazil, and to discuss its possible causes and impacts in the region. The research used data from the 2006 and 2017 Agricultural Censuses of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate linear regression models in order to better understand the factors that correlate with the percentage of owners living in cities in the municipalities of region. The results showed that, in the case of the ZMM, the growth of urban residence of farmers more expressive than the other regions of the country is mainly due to the predominance of small coffee producers. Furthermore, living in the city does not mean abandoning agricultural establishments, since living in the city does not prevent daily work in the countryside. It was concluded that the urban residence of the farmers constituted a reproductive strategy that made it possible for them to carry out other activities as well as the receipt of retirement and pensions that complement the agricultural income and, consequently, the maintenance of the agricultural establishment.

摘要：居住在乡村社区一直是巴西中小农户的典型特征。然而，通过观察巴西2006年与2017年开展的农业普查，可发现农户的工作地点与居住地点呈现出分离趋势。本文针对巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州重要咖啡产区——马塔山区（Zona da Mata Mineira，简称ZMM）的县域农户，分析了其双重居住模式与钟摆式迁移现象，并探讨了该现象在当地的潜在成因与影响。本研究采用巴西地理与统计研究所（Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics）2006年与2017年农业普查数据，通过描述性统计与多元线性回归模型开展数据分析，以厘清与该县域内居住于城市的农户占比相关的影响因素。研究结果显示，就ZMM区域而言，其农户城镇居住率的增长幅度高于巴西国内其他区域，这一现象主要源于小型咖啡种植户的主导地位。此外，城镇居住并不等同于放弃农业经营实体，因为在城市居住并不会妨碍农户每日前往乡村开展农业生产。本研究最终得出结论：农户的城镇居住行为属于一种再生产策略，该策略不仅使农户能够兼顾其他生产活动，还可通过领取退休金与养老金补充农业收入，进而维持农业经营实体的存续。