Reciprocity and cooperation in family farming performance

This study seeks to understand family farming in the Miss es Region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, based on its endogenous and exogenous socioeconomic relationships, and to understand the economic logic of family farming units in producing what is necessary for self-sustainability with adequate use of available family labor and their customs, traditions, cultures, and symbolism present in their social relationships, including reciprocal relationships. Thus, this research demonstrates the commercial integration of milk producers and their confrontation with the oligopoly of the dairy industry, which has the power to set product prices. In order to counterbalance this power, producers organize themselves into marketing networks, increasing their ability to demand better prices and production conditions. Understanding this process of producer organization leads to this study of how these cooperation networks are formed and why they are formed among such producers, in addition to verifying whether this organization provides opportunities for better socioeconomic performance.