The Role of Institutions in Promoting Resilience …
655
all but neglected by economists and academics until recently, especially the portion
that comprises the role of institutions representing small-scale agriculture. The rise
in economic growth, powered by the shift in the ways and amounts of consumption
that started in the 1960s, marked the begging of a continuous race for producing and
consuming more while disregarding real needs and environmental limits. Adjusting
to this systemic design, the institutions were restructured to support the development
and shaping decisions to trigger economic growth. Institutions partake in great roles
in our societies, representing “the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction” (North 1991, p. 97). They are the formalized
measuring organism of society that promotes partial standardization of groups of
people that are too large to know each other. Institutions may be governmental, private, religious or otherwise, and “with the standard constraints of economics, they
define the choice set and therefore determine transaction and production costs of
economic activity” (North 1991, p. 97).
Among the leading institutions involved in agriculture are banks, as credit can
be used to expand influence and institutionalize economic directions. In the position
of creditor, banks commonly act in the political and economic fields at the international sphere, conveying models of development to be followed by regions or
entire countries. Governmental institutions also play a significant role in agriculture.
For instance, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Supply (MAPA)
formulates and implements policies for the development of agribusiness in Brazil,
and is one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the country. Institutions
geared towards the promotion of knowledge play a similarly vital role in the sector.
The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) provides technological
support nationally, and the National Supply Company (Conab) focuses on distribution and food security. Both Embrapa and Conab are public companies that operate
under the coordination of the MAPA (MAPA: Institutional, n.d). The interests of the
agribusiness sector coincide with international trade interests, and thus it is easy to
deduct agribusinesses have been provided with plenty of institutional representation
and support.
Trends created by large institutions are dominant but can and do change, especially
when challenged by other institutions or community mobilization. In the 1980s,
Brazil, under military regime, suffered from drastic state downsizing imposed by
the International Monetary Fund. Thus, “as political parties and their domesticated
organizations became increasingly irrelevant for rural peoples, a new generation of
peasant organizations came to the fore” (Martinez-Torres and Rosset 2010, p. 152),
referring to la Via Campesina. Brazilian social movements actively participated in
the forging of international institutions such as the Coordinadora Latinoamericana
de Organizaciones del Campo CLOC, and La Via Campesina, a broad coalition
of farmer’s organizations from Europe, Latin America, Asia, North America and
Africa. Another vital institution in the Brazil agricultural scenario is the Landless
Workers Movement (MST), one of the most significant movements of its kind in
the world, organized in 24 states in the five regions of Brazil. In all, there are about
350,000 families who have acquired land through the struggle and organization of
rural workers. After settling, most families remain organized in the MST since the
655
all but neglected by economists and academics until recently, especially the portion
that comprises the role of institutions representing small-scale agriculture. The rise
in economic growth, powered by the shift in the ways and amounts of consumption
that started in the 1960s, marked the begging of a continuous race for producing and
consuming more while disregarding real needs and environmental limits. Adjusting
to this systemic design, the institutions were restructured to support the development
and shaping decisions to trigger economic growth. Institutions partake in great roles
in our societies, representing “the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction” (North 1991, p. 97). They are the formalized
measuring organism of society that promotes partial standardization of groups of
people that are too large to know each other. Institutions may be governmental, private, religious or otherwise, and “with the standard constraints of economics, they
define the choice set and therefore determine transaction and production costs of
economic activity” (North 1991, p. 97).
Among the leading institutions involved in agriculture are banks, as credit can
be used to expand influence and institutionalize economic directions. In the position
of creditor, banks commonly act in the political and economic fields at the international sphere, conveying models of development to be followed by regions or
entire countries. Governmental institutions also play a significant role in agriculture.
For instance, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Supply (MAPA)
formulates and implements policies for the development of agribusiness in Brazil,
and is one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the country. Institutions
geared towards the promotion of knowledge play a similarly vital role in the sector.
The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) provides technological
support nationally, and the National Supply Company (Conab) focuses on distribution and food security. Both Embrapa and Conab are public companies that operate
under the coordination of the MAPA (MAPA: Institutional, n.d). The interests of the
agribusiness sector coincide with international trade interests, and thus it is easy to
deduct agribusinesses have been provided with plenty of institutional representation
and support.
Trends created by large institutions are dominant but can and do change, especially
when challenged by other institutions or community mobilization. In the 1980s,
Brazil, under military regime, suffered from drastic state downsizing imposed by
the International Monetary Fund. Thus, “as political parties and their domesticated
organizations became increasingly irrelevant for rural peoples, a new generation of
peasant organizations came to the fore” (Martinez-Torres and Rosset 2010, p. 152),
referring to la Via Campesina. Brazilian social movements actively participated in
the forging of international institutions such as the Coordinadora Latinoamericana
de Organizaciones del Campo CLOC, and La Via Campesina, a broad coalition
of farmer’s organizations from Europe, Latin America, Asia, North America and
Africa. Another vital institution in the Brazil agricultural scenario is the Landless
Workers Movement (MST), one of the most significant movements of its kind in
the world, organized in 24 states in the five regions of Brazil. In all, there are about
350,000 families who have acquired land through the struggle and organization of
rural workers. After settling, most families remain organized in the MST since the