The Role of Institutions in Promoting Resilience …
657
“They not only produce about 80% of the world’s food, but also serve as custodians of
about 70–80% of farmland” (FAO 2014). In 2015, the UN announced the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), which is the result of a global partnership for world
transformation towards peace and prosperity (UN General Assembly 2015). The
global food system is a paramount challenge if we are to achieve the SDGs. About
75% “of the extreme poor lives in rural areas, with most dependent on agriculture for
their livelihoods and food security” (FAO 2015). Within the industrial food system
lies the biggest culprits against sustainable development.
3 Case Study
As previously discussed, institutions are socio-economic constraints able to determine the way exchanges, transactions and production of economic activities function.
They have a fundamental role in enabling systemic changes; it is also clear there is
opposing institutional rhetoric regarding the scope of food systems. This case study
looked at the role of institutions from the perspective of family farmers in the RN
state in the Northeast of Brazil, demonstrating their needs, expectations, experiences
and exchanges with institutions at play. Most participants in the study were family
farmers; a few interviews were conducted with bank representatives, community
developing agents and academics. The institutions represented were involved in the
projects CECAFES and Rede Xique-Xique, which are the focus of this case study.
The concept of a network is similar to that of an institution, as it also embodies
a set of rules for political, economic and social interactions. However, networks
involve more personal interactions and trust, and are conducted by a thinner, noninstitutionalized balance of power. North (1991) describes it as organizations where
the positions are constantly vulnerable and are usually not taken for granted, and
everyone needs to be continuously involved in securing their position, where they
must prove their good intentions. The network type of organizations is common in
community development projects as well as in the Social and Solidarity Economy.
For this study, cooperatives, associations and informal collective organizations are
also considered networks.
The Xique-Xique Network is a solidarity economy cooperative from the semi-arid
region of Northeast Brazil in the state of RN. The Xique-Xique Network started as a
network in 1999, with a group of women from the MST settlement called Mulungunzinho in Mossoro, RN. Once they acquired land through the MST mobilization and
federal government agrarian reform program, they realized their struggles did not
end there, and their chances of flourishing individually were slim. the given lots were
located in a somewhat isolated area, far from urban centers. They began as many
solidarity initiatives do, brainstorming ideas on how to generate income through collective production in order to overcome hardship. Agriculture was already part of
their daily lives and traditions. Thus, they decided to form a network to market their
organic produce surplus. According to the association online portal, the network
today has urban and rural workers from settlements across the RN state, organized
657
“They not only produce about 80% of the world’s food, but also serve as custodians of
about 70–80% of farmland” (FAO 2014). In 2015, the UN announced the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), which is the result of a global partnership for world
transformation towards peace and prosperity (UN General Assembly 2015). The
global food system is a paramount challenge if we are to achieve the SDGs. About
75% “of the extreme poor lives in rural areas, with most dependent on agriculture for
their livelihoods and food security” (FAO 2015). Within the industrial food system
lies the biggest culprits against sustainable development.
3 Case Study
As previously discussed, institutions are socio-economic constraints able to determine the way exchanges, transactions and production of economic activities function.
They have a fundamental role in enabling systemic changes; it is also clear there is
opposing institutional rhetoric regarding the scope of food systems. This case study
looked at the role of institutions from the perspective of family farmers in the RN
state in the Northeast of Brazil, demonstrating their needs, expectations, experiences
and exchanges with institutions at play. Most participants in the study were family
farmers; a few interviews were conducted with bank representatives, community
developing agents and academics. The institutions represented were involved in the
projects CECAFES and Rede Xique-Xique, which are the focus of this case study.
The concept of a network is similar to that of an institution, as it also embodies
a set of rules for political, economic and social interactions. However, networks
involve more personal interactions and trust, and are conducted by a thinner, noninstitutionalized balance of power. North (1991) describes it as organizations where
the positions are constantly vulnerable and are usually not taken for granted, and
everyone needs to be continuously involved in securing their position, where they
must prove their good intentions. The network type of organizations is common in
community development projects as well as in the Social and Solidarity Economy.
For this study, cooperatives, associations and informal collective organizations are
also considered networks.
The Xique-Xique Network is a solidarity economy cooperative from the semi-arid
region of Northeast Brazil in the state of RN. The Xique-Xique Network started as a
network in 1999, with a group of women from the MST settlement called Mulungunzinho in Mossoro, RN. Once they acquired land through the MST mobilization and
federal government agrarian reform program, they realized their struggles did not
end there, and their chances of flourishing individually were slim. the given lots were
located in a somewhat isolated area, far from urban centers. They began as many
solidarity initiatives do, brainstorming ideas on how to generate income through collective production in order to overcome hardship. Agriculture was already part of
their daily lives and traditions. Thus, they decided to form a network to market their
organic produce surplus. According to the association online portal, the network
today has urban and rural workers from settlements across the RN state, organized