Brazilian family farmers protest in front of many people

The march, which took place on the second day of the 24th Cry of the Earth, gathered people from all regions of Brazil on Tuesday (December 21) to demand an organized public policy from the federal government. During the march from Parque da Cidade to the Esplanade of Ministries, rural producers took up the theme of this year’s event: “Family farming means healthy food and environmental protection.”

In addition to public policies, family farmers demand budget increases and emergency solutions to improve the quality of life, work and supply of the sector and all societies.

Organized by the National Confederation of Rural Workers and Family Farmers (Contag, in Portuguese), the Grito da Terra (Cry of the Land, in English) promoted actions on Monday and Tuesday (May 20 and 21, respectively) aimed at putting pressure on the federal government and the National Congress to provide concrete responses to the proposals.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, in Portuguese), Contag’s agricultural policy secretary, Vânia Marques, told Brasil de Fato that the demonstration was important in a country where family farming is the eighth largest food producer in the world.

“We understand that we need to take Brasilia (Brazil’s capital) to confirm the need to strengthen family agriculture, because we have the conditions to produce food for the entire Brazilian population,” she said.

Public demonstrations

Social protests took place in front of five ministries.

Minister of Agricultural Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira, attended the event to report on the response of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) to the negotiations on the agenda of the 24th Earth Cry. According to the Confederation, 80% of the demands are addressed to the mentioned ministry.

Teixeira signed an agreement establishing a fourth type of purchase for family farming and talked about policies already created, such as Gente land (Our Earth, in English) and a program that will ensure the development of rural areas for 10,000 families.

Minister Paulo Teixeira joined the 24th Cry of the Earth. Photo: Rafaela Ferreira.

According to Contag President Aristides Santos, although the proposals were positive, more was expected from the federal public administration. We would like more announcements, but that’s all we got. There are a lot of important things in the works.” Santos said he hopes for a more robust Safra plan that takes family farmers into account.

During a public demonstration in front of the ministry, protesters also called for the approval of Law No. 1053/2020 regulating the import and sale of pesticides. The aim is to reduce the use of pesticides and the like, as well as to finance activities to improve the environment and other public policies in the field of environmental protection and agroecology.

Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Márcio Macêdo, was also present at the event. “This Cry (of the Land) has already signaled several moments in our history. It was already the pain of comrades who died in the fight against large estates. This cry has already been an expression of resistance in difficult times in our country, for example when President Lula was unjustly arrested,” he said.

Another public act was brought before the Ministry of the Environment, demanding the introduction of mitigation policies and the regulation of the National Policy Act on Payment for Environmental Services (PSA, in Portuguese). “We call for environmental justice, good living and biodiversity. Family farming means healthy food and environmental protection,” said one of the Contag coordinators.

An event was also held at the Ministry of Social Welfare to demand improvements in the National Register of Social Information (CNIS, in Portuguese) of the social welfare system.

According to the president of the Federation of Rio Grande do Norte, Erivan do Carmo, the authorities must be sensitized to meet the demands of those who feed the country. “We can no longer afford a social welfare system that requires further consolidation,” he said.

Public demonstrations in front of five Brazilian ministries, one of which is the Ministry of Agricultural Development. Photo: Rafaela Ferreira.

National Congress

In April this year the coordinators of the 24th Earth Cry conveyed the farmers’ demands to the presidents of the Senate Rodrigo Pacheco (Social Democratic Party) and the Chamber of Deputies Arthur Lira (Progressive Party).

Federal MP José Guimarães (Workers’ Party), leader of the government in the Chamber of Deputies, who was present at the march, emphasized that Brazil’s development is not possible without sustainable development of rural areas.

At the same time as the march, approximately 300 family farmers arrived at the Chamber of Deputies to hand out leaflets.

“We want to send a message to Congress and ministers: in this country, those who make a living from agriculture deserve rights and respect, because we are the ones who maintain Brazil’s national food supply, economy and internal GDP,” he added. said the president of the Federation of Rural Farmers of the State of Pernambuco, Cícera Nunes da Cruz.

Source: Federal BdF distribution

Editor: Márcia Silva