Raquel Souza Lobo Guzzo
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
The article analyzed the subjective configuration of the action of organic food production at a Community that Sustains Agriculture.
The research was based on the theory of subjectivity and constructive-interpretive methodology and its procedures included the construction of the social scenario and the use of instruments such as: sentence completion, conversational dynamics, field diary and visits.
Two comprehensive hypotheses were produced: (1) Affection, sensory experiences and need for survival motivate readjustments in the work process, generating new knowledge; and (2) Intercultural contradictions in production influence relationships of trust and solidary communication.
The subjective configuration of the action of organic production in this community was constituted by singular productions of the subject throughout its history (affections, sensations, survival needs, desires for a better life), associated with contradictions and intercultural tensions, mobilizing more stable subjective senses, contributing to the persistence of the action of organic production.
O artigo analisou a configuração subjetiva da ação de produção de alimentos orgânicos em uma Comunidade que Sustenta a Agricultura.
A pesquisa fundamentou-se na teoria da subjetividade e na metodologia construtivo-interpretativa e teve como procedimentos a construção do cenário social e o uso de instrumentos como: complemento de frases, dinâmicas conversacionais, diário de campo, visitas.
Foram produzidas duas hipóteses compreensivas: (1) afeto, experiências sensoriais e necessidade de sobrevivência motivam readequações no processo de trabalho gerando conhecimento novo; (2) contradições interculturais na produção impactam relações de confiança e comunicação solidária.
A configuração subjetiva da ação da produção orgânica nesta comunidade constituiu-se por produções singulares do sujeito ao longo de sua história (afetos, sensações, necessidades de sobrevivência, desejos de uma vida melhor), associadas a contradições e tensões interculturais, mobilizando sentidos subjetivos mais estáveis, contribuindo para a persistência da ação de produção orgânica.
The subjective make up of food eating is a cultural-historical process, socially constructed, in the daily framework of people’s lives, in their subjective-relational fabric, in their history, their family and institutional relationships. The way we relate to food is linked to the life process, with its values, relationships and bonds, mobilizing different issues as well as reflections about how food affects us and how it impacts our relationships and our emotions. In this connection, the way in which the subjective configuration of food is individually constituted manifests itself in habits that are also expressions of how food composes social subjectivity.
People mobilize food transformations, moving society and producing individual and social subjectivities. Whoever produces a differentiated food, as well as whoever consumes it, reveals an action subjectively configured with unique values and principles, within a historical-cultural process of life organization. Based on this initial understanding, the objective of this article was to review the subjective configuration of the organic food production initiatives of a leader (producer) belonging to the movement Comunidade que Sustenta a Agricultura (CSA, Community that Sustains Agriculture) in the Federal District of Brazil. Thus, we sought to understand how the CSA and its principles are subjectivized by the farmer, making it possible to identify, in a different way, how it is associated with food. As a theoretical tool, the analysis of the subjective configuration of actions allows us to acknowledge the subjective dynamics produced by a person, or social group, around an initiative, in the interrelationship with subjective meanings produced in different areas and conditions of life, in interfaces with social subjectivity. Thus the analysis, sets itself at a distance from the action due to causal relationships (
To understand the subjective configuration of the CSA’s organic food production initiatives, the definition of subjectivity as in
Individual subjectivity integrates subjective meanings generated from the resources associated with the individual’s personality and subjective meanings produced in the course of the action that is associated with social subjectivity, relational systems and the individual’s course of action (
Subjective configurations are a complex subjective sense’s organization, which organize current human experience and also ongoing human action, as a single system that processes subjective senses that flow between each other (
Experience mobilizes subjective meanings inherent to subjective configurations, leading to a complex shuttle movement from personality to action and from action to personality, in a process such that action and personality become inseparable (
In a scope review on the concept of subjectivity in food studies (
From the perspective of the body as an agent of actions arising from sensory experiences, the actions of preparing and eating food would evoke emotions not because of the act itself, but because of the senses and meanings generated by this act. Furthermore, in a non-immediate way, such acts could express unconscious desires (seeking affection, autonomy, control, domination). It is noteworthy that
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The “community that supports agriculture” (CSA) proposal, certified by the Fundação Banco do Brasil as social technology in 2015 (
Models based on family farming, such as agroecology and CSA, are movements inspired on the combat against the neoliberal model used in Brazil in the 1970s as a solution to hunger. Therefore, organic food production can be structured as family farming and CSA, or as a neoliberal model. In this last case, scientific and technological knowledge are accepted as superior, biodiversity is seen as commodity; it is based on capital accumulation, market competition, power concentration in the hands of large transnational corporations and it also configures a political option (
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The constructive interpretative methodology is based on Qualitative Epistemology. They were both developed by
The social scenario of this investigation was built as an approximation to the group since February 2019, in which the investigator joined the group as a co-farmer (term adopted for consumers in a CSA). Thus, once a week, when meeting at the established location, ties with the farmer and co-farmers were strengthened, while collecting the food basket. The investigation lasted 4 months and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Human and Social Sciences, University of Brasília, Brazil.
In order to preserve people’s identities, fictitious names were used. Those directly participating in the investigation were named Antônio (the farmer) and Daniela (a co-farmer working at CSA). Throughout the reports there are also references to Bruno (the farmer preceptor of the internship in Brasília), to Carlos (Antônio’s brother who first came to Brasília), to Emerson (a co-farmer now deceased) and to Felipe (another Antônio’s brother).
The research instruments included interviews on life antecedents (a farmer and a co-farmer), sentence completion, participation in the CSA management message group and three other groups for each meeting location, visits to the spaces where the farmer operates (field and delivery locations), field diary, construction of materials (seasonal map and posts for social networks), organization of collective visits and a “Strawberry Harvest and Pay” program with co-farmers. Such activities allowed Conversational Dynamics (C.D.), appreciation of the farmer’s products and their know-how.
The information was analyzed through a constructive-interpretive process with the production of indicators on possible subjective meanings related to the producer’s initiative and hypotheses on the constitution of the subjective configuration of the initiative, generating the consolidation of an explanatory theoretical model on the topic.
Understanding the constitutive process of subjectivity was the result of an interpretative effort, in a theoretical-empirical relationship, which allowed the construction of two hypotheses, namely: (1) Affection, sensory experiences and the need for survival motivating readjustments of the process of food production with generation of new knowledge; (2) Intercultural contradictions in food production impact relationships of trust and supportive communication. Next, the interpretative process that culminated in the indicators and hypothesis of the subjective configuration of organic food production initiative will be presented.
Antônio, a family farmer with organic plantations, who came from the Northeast region, aged 37, married, Catholic (non-practicing), father of a boy, says that in the region where he lived he always worked in farming, which provided the richness of his diet.
Investigator: When you lived there [in the Northeast] [...] what was the food issue like? Antônio: It was “mother’s food”, right? Haha Investigators: What was “mother’s food” like? Antônio: [laughs] Ah, it was basic food, right. It was beans, rice, the vegetables that we grew there, and chicken, the things we had, right there, nearby. [...] her beans were ‘hmmm’ [expression of satisfaction].
From the farmer’s talk we notice how his food culture is revealed in the relationships, practices and symbologies of the connection between planting and eating that are articulated in a subjective-relational plot with his historical and family context that refer to experiences of affection associated with eating “mother’s food” and working on his father’s small plot of land. The role of technology appears as a lighter activity. It is noted that the food does not refer to industrialized or ultra-processed products and the plantation uses techniques that require greater physical and manual effort at this first stage.
Practically everything was done with a hoe [...] Here we started and it was more done by hand, and we had a little tractor that we worked with and we lifted everything by hand. Until we bought a tractor. [...] In the countryside [...] we already farmed, right? But it was conventional agriculture there.
Thus, agricultural production in the family was characterized by being conventional, that is, involving the use of pesticides. It indicates, therefore, that family farming practices had characteristics aligned with a historical process that was invaded by a culture of progress within the framework of the green revolution. It is characterized by the concentration of power, dependence on farmers and large-scale economy (
This “capitalist ethos” focused on the market and progress in the food system is connected with risks to human health and environmental protection. A study by
The farmer reveals the importance of the value of work for him, which appears as a social construction since childhood, in which dreams and life projects refer to the search for migration as a survival strategy, and the desire for a better life, regardless of the type of activity or action.
Investigator: And did you have any desire, did you think about being something else, about working with something else, at some other time? Antônio: Huum, no, because I had already been working and I already came to work this way, so, we spend a lot of time on that, you know, like, I didn’t have much experience in other works. Investigator: And when you were a child? Didn’t you think about other things? Antônio: [laughs] To tell you the truth, I thought a lot about São Paulo, right? Because at the time many jobs were available in São Paulo. We didn’t even have much to work on, but we always thought about it, right? Investigator: And why did you think that way? Antônio: It’s because that was what people did. Investigator: Were people going to São Paulo? Antônio: Yes, because there [in the Northeast] conditions were very weak, let’s say, in money, things like that. It was very, very weak.
A frágil formação do agricultor, característica da exclusão social e acesso precário a educação, como ocorre com muitas crianças e jovens rurais (
Throughout the conversation, a relationship is noted regarding the value of work, with strong symbolic-emotional relationships with one’s own family, as an indicator of subjective meanings related to the ability to avoid hunger, as when asked about models of important people in his life:
Character, isn’t it the main thing? And work. My father still works today. My father is in his early 70s [speaking proudly]. [...] He has 9 children [...] and raised them very well. [...] we always try to have a little more, right, but just create it, we didn’t let anyone go hungry, we didn’t need to cheat on anyone. So, it is our main reference.
In the next stage of his life, changes began in this cultural-historical process of understanding food production and eating. The transformations in the action of planting without pesticides began after important changes in the family that led them to a CSA in Brasília that was a reference in organic production, as reported by Antônio below:
At the time, there [in the Northeast] there were eleven of us, my father and my mother, plus nine children and then they left, you know [...] in that case, Carlos went to take an agricultural technician course and that’s when he came here [to Brasília] [...] He came to work here [in a CSA in Brasília], do an internship with Bruno in the vegetable garden, right, [...] and then I came, my other brother came to work together. It ended up that Bruno bought the other small farm [...] and we bought his project.
In this last quote, there is an indication of the production of subjective meanings related to the emotional symbolic value of the
Upon arrival in Brasília, and in contact with the CSA Brasil movement, the farmer reports, below, the process of adjustments in the production method to promote the principles of CSA, whose model values healthy and sustainable, regional foods, generating work and wealth locally.
We produced for the market. We sold a lot to resellers, right? Like, they have a store and they resell. We had the fair, things like that, but nothing like CSA. [...] We worked here [in Brasília] and then [they said] we could set up there [in the Northeast] and bring products from there because the climate there was better than here for planting, right? We ended up setting up, certified the land from my father and planted it there and brought it back. But it wasn’t the same as we thought [...] the distance was too large [...] in the end we weren’t making it.
At the beginning, we can see the reorganization of the farmer’s way of learning how to do things, with greater coexistence between conventional and alternative forms of production. In this sense, he reports a great feeling of distrust regarding the CSA.
In fact, we were rather wary [of the CSA] [...] because at the time it was something very new. And we were used to this issue of selling, selling, selling. It was a very new thing. Bruno had already entered. Then Daniela came, explained, etc. Bruno said “it’s good”.
CSA in the farmer’s actions and relationships is, in a unique way, understood with a certain cultural shock in the face of an unknown initiative. Despite concerns about the continuity of CSA and lack of clarity regarding strategies to be adopted, Antônio speaks of the trust placed in CSA Brasília.
Daniela [cofarmer] said they were going to take [...] this [financial] reserve that was there from CSA Brasília, to help these producers.
There are, therefore, indicators of subjective meanings related to the importance of relationships based on feelings of trust, cooperation, care and love for others, whether at CSA Brasília as presented above, or towards his workers, as follows:
Whether or not CSA is decreasing, we have to look for another [way], especially because there are a lot of people working so we need to maintain a large production to be able to keep everyone. Just like I said, it’s not just about collecting production and sending it away. We try to keep everyone.
The relationships of trust between farmer and co-farmer are also expressed in the following statement about the death of a CSA co-farmer. The discussion reveals that this death had implications for the entire CSA, with relevance for the social subjectivity of the movement in terms of actions and unique relationships established with trust and care for others.
If it weren’t for him, because today the CSA is already moving, you know, even though after Emerson left [he passed away], it kind of stopped, because Emerson was very involved [...] He would go to meet the person. He held meetings with people to introduce the project. So, he was very dedicated, very involved. In fact, he was totally involved with the CSA, not just with us, with the CSA, [with] everyone. [...] he paid for me to take a course from CSA [...] he was very engaged.
Such relationships of trust that cause the drive to care and love the Other, mobilize the farmer to persist on the path of change. These differences in the way of producing agricultural products demand adjustments and adaptations with reorganization of their knowledge, including their know-how-to do and their know-how-to be. In a similar way,
Thus, despite the feeling of insecurity regarding the CSA, Bruno’s affective and symbolic value for Antônio, and for some co-farmers, indicate subjective meanings related to
Furthermore, there are indications of changes in subjective meanings associated with the understanding of organic production. These senses are reinforced, symbolically and emotionally, by the sensations in the body, such as when eating and tasting strawberries as in the following statement, plus the tactile sensation of not having to use an array of protective equipment. As a result, there is evidence of unique subjective productions that this way of producing and consuming is better for the health of oneself, for the others and for the environment. These subjective senses are essential for the maintenance of readjustments in the work process and in changes and choices in life.
You realize that you can plant without using chemicals […] you take a strawberry produced without pesticides without anything, and you take one with pesticides, the difference is very big. So, you saw in your management […] you don’t need to wear a mask. […] you can tear off a leaf and eat it. You don’t need to be worrying. It’s picking strawberries […] I feel sick from eating so many strawberries.
Such experiences indicate the production of subjective meanings that enhance changes in subjective productions (
Added to these aspects is the fragility he reports regarding formal education and which complements the phrase “I regret” with “not having studied more”. In a contradictory way, despite all the family changes occurring as a result of his brother’s better education as an agricultural technician, and some technical courses that Carlos was able to take, the value of work seems to surpass that of education, perhaps due to the very perception of the difficulty of accessing public education policy. Therefore, there is an appreciation for education, but in Antônio’s case, informal and popular education plays an essential role in learning exchanges in organic agriculture with other farmers and with the CSA movement. The difficulty in accessing public policies also extends to technical assistance and rural credit.
I came to work and do what they told me to do. So, I’ve been learning over time, right? […] there are courses that we watch, then there is another farmer who takes them […] I took it at Emater, but it was a long time ago, anyway, on how to really work with organic products […] The Emater’s [course] is not always available. Mainly because we are a little underserved here, right? […] We are going to do a [rural credit] program and it takes 6 months to give a response. So, for us, it’s not really worth it.
Despite the difficulties in accessing education and other public benefits, the presence of short-term technical courses associated with informal education is noticeable. It is noted that despite the difficulties, there are indicators of subjective meanings capable of
The greenhouse is mounted permanently […] but it’s bad because we can’t fertilize the land properly. Tomatoes are not good if you plant them twice in the same place, so we could only plant tomatoes once a year in the greenhouse. So, now, we […] assemble the tunnel from above, because then it becomes easier and then you remove.
The socio-technical adjustments in their way of working are related to the change in their own reconstruction of dreams, capable of generating motivation to continue this mode of production and stay in Brasília, even implying creative generation of new knowledge. Thus, their know-how has changed over time with access to technology and new techniques, moving from arduous manual work to work supported by equipment and technologies that require greater intellectual effort and less workload, allowing greater freedom, but maintaining care for human beings and nature.
In summary, there are indicators that the subjective configuration of organic production action involves, in addition to the need for survival, also the symbolic-emotional relationship of the family as a motivation for work, which in addition to preventing hunger, promotes a food culture production and consumption of healthy foods, as well as the possibility of achieving better life conditions. There are indicators that relationships with the farmer-preceptor and some co-farmers generate subjective productions of security and trust that encourage the beginning of the change to a new way of producing. In this configuration, there are also indications of subjective productions related to sensations in the body and forcing feelings of satisfaction and security in producing and consuming tasty, healthy and safe food.
It is clear that the cultural model of food production proposed by the CSA mobilizes subjective feelings in Antônio regarding the fear that the CSA will end. It also reveals a feeling of fear and concern about the reduction of food baskets due to the pandemic and the growth of the CSA in Brasilia.
Yeah, good for us, right? There’s a nice return, it’s something that we don’t need to use packaging for, […] Today it dropped a lot […] the pandemic came and made it worse, but there was already a lot of CSA too. So, no more people came in. (...) Just like I told him [brother], I’m kind of scared […] of the ending of the CSA. We have other things, but whether we like it or not, CSA has become very important to us, even though it is a small part.
Thus, despite the farmer having other activities, with fairs and sales to resellers, the feeling of fear regarding the end of the CSA indicates subjective meanings related to the perception that his participation is essential for the farmer’s income. Therefore, such subjective meanings are constituted towards a certain stability in the formation of the subjective configuration of their organic production initiative. It is clear, therefore, that market culture remains relevant, as the continuity of the CSA implies ensuring survival.
The participation of co-farmers depends on voluntary availability to take on roles in the process, with the strongest links being established with those who are most available. In the share of roles and tasks; there is an overload of activities for some co-farmers, resulting in little participation from others, and practically limiting the actions of co-farmers to financial management:
There was a point, people went and stayed. It’s just this financial part that Emerson [retired] ends up doing. He does everything, no matter how much he tries to pass some things on to someone, but he ends up taking it. Then, after the pandemic started, it became a special case.
Furthermore, in the following conversation, the farmer reports how the organization prior to the pandemic allowed the establishment of bonds between co-farmers who were in charge of delivering the food baskets, but not his bond and communication with them. This is because he was only responsible for transporting the baskets to the three Coexistence Points (CP) while the co-farmers delivered them without his presence.
It was too busy for me. I ran it a lot […] I left it on CP1. Then I came to CP2, left at 11am. I went to CP3, left it. I went to CP2, came back to get the box. I went back to CP3 to get the box and then I went to CP1.
With the pandemic, this relationship changes and the farmer is responsible for all the distribution of baskets at the community points, which reduces the participation of co-farmers. With the encouragement of reflections and participation through the posts and collective activities carried out during this investigation, a movement in the social subjectivity of co-farmers was perceived towards the expansion of participation, albeit subtle and according to availability and interests, including leading to my weekly posts being interspersed with posts produced by another co-farmer, in addition to contributing to the increase, that month, in the purchase of strawberries and, therefore, the farmer’s income. The construction of the bond thus proves to be a non-linear process of moments of continuous redesign and dynamic, with changes in the social subjectivity of the CSA group as a whole.
An example is the farmer’s report on the demonstrations against the invasion and depredation of public property that took place in Brasília (
It was a huge injustice to him [to Bruno] […]. The problem is that his co-farmer [sic] was completely, like I said, there’s a bit of […] of […] [hesitating]. In fact, we can’t even take a position, no matter how much we are thinking about something, we remain neutral, the best thing we have, but he took a position and most of his co-farmer [sic] were the opposite. [emphasizing the tone of voice a little], and then when what he posted happened, the co-farmers themselves excluded him from the group [laughing]. Or he left, but kind of forced. […] CSA as much as it is, well, community, but it is a type of business, right. […] So, I think that in business one cannot involve politics, cannot involve football, cannot. […] So, we kind of stay neutral.
The social subjectivity shared by co-farmers indicates subjective meanings that go beyond the dimension of production, permeating other fields, such as politics. This same perception is not shared by the farmer or the preceptor, revealing that their subjective configuration of organic production action is not directly associated with choices in the political or social field. On the contrary, it is clear that the farmer produces singular subjective meanings in which market relations due to the need for material survival are associated with the need to limit communication to expand the bond as a community.
The perceptions of farmers in the study by
In a conversation with Daniela about her life story, she talks about motivations that arose after approaching a network of people who were interested like her in the topic of cooperation and which awakened in her “a passion for health […] I only baked cakes […] I really changed my diet completely.” In this network, Emerson, now deceased, was also included; he is mentioned by Daniela as a person who valued the idea of the community. According to her, “he was passionate about helping people, that was more his purpose than his type of diet […] He was enchanted by the tool, the methodology and the chance to help other people, which in this case would be the farmers”.
Thus, subjective productions are permeated by contradictions that reveal that the path to achieving CSA values is not linear, despite being feasible. Therefore, the search for deepening the bond is a constant drive in CSA’s actions, and it is necessary to avoid conflicts. The alleged neutrality, unrevealed feelings and limited communication on the part of the farmer enhance the fact that the values of CSA culture are understood differently by farmers and co-farmers. Therefore, the maintenance of community and solidarity relationships is permeated by contradictory understandings regarding the possibility of communicative openness to others, with the coexistence of feelings of trust, security and support as well as moments of certain distrust and insecurity.
In addition, it reveals that in their perception, co-farmers are a distinct cultural group compared to people who do not have the necessary flexibility to accept what is produced and integrate a community of co-farmers:
I met a guy there on the road who […] said “I don’t care, for me it can be either one, conventional or organic” […] these people sometimes came into [the CSA] very excited and didn’t have that same mentality […] that it is a seasonal product, that it can repeat the same product, that it is not what you choose.
Although there is an indication that market logic continues to generate subjective meanings relevant to the farmer’s own social reproduction, this logic coexists and it is important that CSA unites people who share a distinct culture in a community. The search for neutrality with co-farmers is justified to maintain relationships in this partnership and supportive management, despite insecurity regarding the understanding of some of their positions.
The need for survival and subordination to the market brings production closer to relationships of dependence and subordination to others, with limited communication. Despite the trust placed in CSA and in co-farmers as a community of people committed to each other, faced with a still a fragile bond, caution is the guideline in communication.
The subjective productions that emerge in Antônio’s actions and relationships may appear at certain times as a fragility in achieving the values expected for the organization of a CSA and a supportive technoscience (
The search to avoid conflicts appears as an escape from feelings of anguish and anxiety that are reported at other times in life. The association of subjective meanings seems to form a subjective configuration that is more stable in terms of the dialogical form that leads to conflicts in production management with farmers.
Someone did something wrong, I call him/her, not amidst everyone, I call him/her separately, I talk, I don’t fight, I talk […] and that ends up relieving us, we don’t feel so heavy. […] I try not to do it at the last minute so as not to cause discussion.
In this relationship with contracted farmers, some more delicate stages of the process are restricted to the family group, and this knowledge is not fully shared. This choice again reveals the importance of market relations in relation to the food it produces, for material survival.
There are things that we don’t do […] that require greater care, like tomatoes […] building a seeding bed, they don’t do it because they don’t know how to use a tractor. […] you need to say “you need this amount of fertilizer”. […] sometimes it’s better not to teach because sometimes it’s better to take it head on, even for reasons of care.
These moments lead to a certain dependence on the family group, which has all the knowledge about the process stage. Despite seeking dialogical communication that contributes to the formation of bonds, in practice such configurations manifest themselves with choices for limited communication, indicating subjective senses of caution in expressing words as a form of care, but also of the need for survival for fear of weakening the relationships.
This farmer’s difficulty in expressing himself is revealed in other fields and dimensions of his life, such as when talking about the death of his co-farmer, of whom he expresses great consideration, by not using the term “passed away” or “died”, but “left” from CSA. Another moment that is expressed evasively appears when reporting the death of a brother, switching the term passed away for “thing” as in the report below. In addition to the difficulty of expressing himself, the strong emotional and symbolic mobilizations perceived by him manifested physically, include difficulty in sleeping.
When I had anxiety, I didn’t sleep, I had to take controlled medicine. I went to the doctor, he prescribed it to me […] it was right after he “something” […] the rest is mental health and if you start doing a lot of things at the same time, you have to take a break. So, we try to take a vacation every year.
This situation of crisis and personal conflict, despite suffering, was reflected as a change in the subjective configuration in connection with the value of work, leading to the emergence of a new subjective configuration of organic production action with the indication of subjective meanings related to leisure and rest, especially with family. In sentence completion, such questions appear again in Antônio’s answers:
Leisure: “rest” Home: “peace”” Overcoming: “it’s part of life” The contradictions: “give me the strength” [sic] I propose: “to overcome” Fight for: “my brother” (NOTE: Understanding that “fight for” in Portuguese has the same writing of “mourning” from the verb mourning for someone who has died) I have difficulty: “in communication”
Thus, the tension capable of leveraging potential reflections is, at least initially, camouflaged. However, it is clear that, despite the effort not to feel anguish and suffering, by hiding such feelings and thoughts, they maintain a state of non-resolution, resulting in moments of emotional exhaustion, as exemplified in the brother’s death. The strong consequences of these camouflages led to the expression of feelings seeking to understand oneself in the relationships with others and in actions in the world, with potential, therefore, for subjective development. Note that there are times when there are still no resources to open certain dialogues and reflections, requiring a gradual approach, respecting each person’s time for this development process.
For
Therefore, the historical and contradictory process of subjective productions allowed a level of trust in the CSA’s new agricultural organic production mode that motivated the maintenance of this model, including defending this way of life. These changes gain somehow stability and trigger other ways of relating to work, the family and the team, demonstrating the possibility of subjective development (
From the farmer’s perspective, two central hypotheses emerged. The first refers to the subjective configuration of the initiative of organic agriculture production in a Community that Supports Agriculture, constituted by subjective meanings produced singularly by the farmer in his actions, relationships, sensations, and livelihood, historically and culturally constituted. The second hypothesis, the initiative of organic agriculture production constituted of contradictory subjective productions regarding trust relationships and having an impact on communication with the community. However, there is an indication of subjective sense of care for others that is capable of mobilizing readjustments in the work process, overcoming adversities and moments of distrust and insecurity.
Initially, we point out how the food and production culture configured by family farming is associated with processes of cultural invasion of large-scale intensive agriculture operations for the export market. The affectionate relationship with the family, and the subjective productions marked by the dream of migration and rural exodus, are redirected to the brother’s education. This switch allows the construction of new relationships with the CSA movement, from the farmer-preceptor of the internship to the co-farmers, allowing the insecurity caused by the CSA to be overcome.
In the non-formal learning process, the relationship with the land mobilizes the production of subjective meanings related to safer and healthier production. Thus, a steering of the dream of a better life by rescuing the family history in food production, generating income with symbolic and emotional value ensues.
The subjective configurations of their initiative involve the production of new subjective meanings capable of enhancing the option for a new way of producing and eating, such as that, for example, arising from the non use of protective equipment conveying a feeling of freedom and the taste of food. These sensations are associated with the production of more stable subjective meanings, generating persistence in organic food production throughout their lives, including motivating the generation of new and creative techno-scientific knowledge, in addition to changing the parents’ mode of production.
The singular subjective configuration of their action reveals different subjective productions in relation to values shared by the rest of the community. Thus, singular symbolic-emotional systems emerge, providing expressions of subjective meanings different from those of the social subjectivity of co-farmers. The understanding of CSA as an alternative way of being, knowledge and power (including economic power), despite the contradictory understandings that were identified, reveals itself a way of also promoting cognitive justice with rupture in the hierarchy of knowledge and recognition of the existence of Being -other, of their other-knowledge, and other-practices, within an alternative cultural-historical, anti-capitalist and anti-colonial perspective. The process of technoscientific knowledge in CSA shows the relevance of considering “other-cultural-forms” and “other-existences” in which knowledge exchanges occur in informal, popular and formal educational processes.
It is concluded that the value of the theoretical model of the subjective configuration of action made it possible to acknowledge that organic production is constituted by singular productions of the farmer throughout his history, associated with contradictions and intercultural tensions, which, together, mobilize more stable subjective meanings of persistence in organic production. We also highlight the importance of promoting professional and research practices in the framework of social action that being ethically committed to the emergence of the subjective meanings of the other and of the group can enhance actions and relationships involved in the social subjectivity of the group.