Eppur si muove: agricultura familiar y mercados institucionales en Brasil

The article discusses the importance of institutional markets for the strengthening of family farming and the development of rural areas. The authors consider that government programs arising in this context represent a line of continuity since the establishment, in 1995, of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF). The institutional markets should be seen as an expression of current approaches that define the development as an expansion of substantive freedoms. That is the case of programs that assure the direct acquisition of production to feed town and country populations, including schools, nurseries, asylums, etc. Such programs must be improved despite the importance they acquired from the point of view of social inclusion and increased opportunities.