ABSTRACT

The land use for the production of agricultural commodities in municipalities of the agribusiness in Mato Grosso state has been occupying space for food production. The objective of this study was to present and discuss a composite indicator of self-sufficiency assessment in the production of food in interface with the implications of the agribusiness productive model, in the perspective of the food sovereignty of the territories, based on a case study carried out in the counties Campos de Júlio, Sapezal and Campo Novo dos Parecis. Socioeconomic data were collected based on the IBGE/2010 Demographic Census, Profile of Brazilian States and Municipalities/IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), 2014, and the Agricultural Census of 2006. For production survey, data available in the IBGE System of Automatic Recovery (Sidra) were used for the year of 2016. Informations were obtained on the cultivated area of cotton, rice, banana, coffee, sugarcane, citrus, beans, sunflower, corn, soybean, tomato. Interviews were conducted with rural workers and horticulturists. Based on the data, composite indicators were developed for proposing a food self-sufficiency scale in the territories studied. The results point to iniquities in the occupation of the territories, dependence on food from other regions and increased use of pesticides as a consequence of the adopted production model, affecting local food production.

KEYWORDS
Food production; Food supply; Environmental health

Introduction

The agricultural productive dynamics of a space interferes with the social organization of the territory, especially in relation to the production of food for local supply or export. These issues are directly related to the economy, government policy and the inclusion or not of people’s participation in the control of food systems. The term food sovereignty is defined as the right of nations and peoples to control their own food systems, their own markets, the choice of productive models, cultures and food environments¹1 Wittman H. Reconnecting agriculture & the environment: food sovereignty & the agrarian basis of ecological citizenship. In: Wittman H, Desmarais AA, Wiebe N, editores. Food Sovereignty. Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community. Vancouver: Fernwood Publishing; 2010. p. 91-105., while the concept of food and nutrition security encompasses the realization of the right from everyone to permanent access to quality food, in sufficient quantity, without compromising access to other essential needs, based on health-promoting food practices that respect cultural diversity and that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable²2 Brasil. Lei nº 11.346, de 15 de setembro de 2006. Cria o Sistema Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional SISAN com vistas em assegurar o direito humano a` alimentação adequada e da´ outras providências. Diário Oficial da União. 16 Set 2006..

The complementarity between the concepts is expressed by the ways of producing and obtaining food with local dynamics and repercussions. In this sense, the concept of food self-sufficiency discussed here implies the ability to produce food for local and regional supply, respecting the adoption of alternative production models to the hegemonic of agribusiness, so that global economic interests do not overlap with local supply needs, environmental protection and people’s health.

The promotion of food sovereignty in a territory requires the guarantee of access to land and the conditions necessary to strengthen family production and local markets. According to the National Food and Nutritional Security Plan 2016-2019, the promotion of family farming guarantees the reduction of poverty and inequality in rural areas, greater diversification in food production, the strengthening of food supply in distant locations and the consequent dynamization of local economies³3 Brasil. Câmara Interministerial de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. Plano Nacional de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (PLANSAN 2016-2019). Brasília, DF: CAISAN; 2016..

Food Insecurity Studies based on indicators such as Ebia (Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale) have been carried out in Brazil since its validation, in 2003, and later inclusion in the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD)/Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) 2004, being considered an instrument for generating a direct indicator of household food security measures⁴4 Segall-Corrêa AM, Perez-Escamilla R, Marin-Leon L, et al. Evaluation of household food insecurity in Brazil: validity assessment in diverse sociocultural settings. In: Ortega J, organizador. Iniciativa América Latina sin Hambre: articulos premiados en el dia Mundial de la Alimentación. [local desconhecido]: FAO; 2007. [acesso em 2018 nov 20]. Disponível em: http://bvssan.incap.int/local/file/PubNut-Per%C3%BA/texcom/nutricion/memredsan.pdf.
http://bvssan.incap.int/local/file/PubNu... . Although this measure is an important indicator, it is understood that the food security of a territory goes beyond guaranteeing access to food, but it includes equity in the use of territories and the definition of production models, seeking to guarantee social justice and health promotion.

Contrary to this perspective, agribusiness represents a strategy for the expansion of agro-industrial capital, which has consolidated itself as a hegemonic model from a discourse of expansion of world food production in the post-war period, especially from the 1950s, with the so-called Green Revolution, whose bases of support imposed the modernization and technification of agriculture to the countryside⁵5 Breilh J. Hacia uma redefinicion de La Soberania Agraria: Es Posible La Soberania Alimentaria sin Cambio Civilizatorio y Bioseguridad? In: Bezerra I, Perez-Cassarino J, organizadores. Soberania Alimentar (SOBAL) e Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) na América Latina e Caribe. Curitiba: Editora UFPR; 2016. p. 55-68.. This production model follows the trends of food standardization and homogenization and meets the consumption profiles of postmodern society⁶6 Azevedo E. Alimentação, sociedade e cultura: temas contemporâneos. Sociologias. 2017; 19 (44):276-307., which is based on ultra-processing of food, obtaining proteins of animal origin and fuels.

Brazil is currently one of the world’s largest exporters of commodities and keeps its economy dependent on this productive model⁷7 Franco CR, Pelaez VA. (Des) Construção da Agenda Política de Controle de Agrotóxicos no Brasil. Ambient. Soc. 2016. 19 (3): 215-232., which has consequences for the overexploitation of natural resources and labor⁸8 Breilh J. Pilhagens, Ecossistemas e Saúde. In: Miranda AC, Barcellos C, Moreira J, organizadores. Território, ambiente e saúde. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2008., concentrates land and capital⁹9 Thomaz Junior A. O Tecido social do Trabalho, a produção de alimentos versus agronegócio e luta de classes num ambiente de embates e debates. In: Lourenço EAS, Navarro VL, organizadores. O Avesso do Trabalho III: Saúde do Trabalhador e questões contemporâneas. São Paulo: Outras Expressões; 2013. p. 367-393., makes peasant and traditional populations vulnerable by the process of ‘pressure’ and ‘expulsion’ from their lands⁵5 Breilh J. Hacia uma redefinicion de La Soberania Agraria: Es Posible La Soberania Alimentaria sin Cambio Civilizatorio y Bioseguridad? In: Bezerra I, Perez-Cassarino J, organizadores. Soberania Alimentar (SOBAL) e Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) na América Latina e Caribe. Curitiba: Editora UFPR; 2016. p. 55-68.^,88 Breilh J. Pilhagens, Ecossistemas e Saúde. In: Miranda AC, Barcellos C, Moreira J, organizadores. Território, ambiente e saúde. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2008., has consequences for people’s health¹⁰10 Maele-Fabry VAN, Lantin AC, Hoet P, et al. Childhoodleukaemia and parental occupational exposure to pesticides: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer causes control. 2010; 21(6):787-809.^,1111 Carneiro F, Giraldo L, Pignati WA, et al. Dossiê ABRASCO: um alerta sobre os impactos dos agrotóxicos na saúde. Rio de Janeiro: EPSJV; 2015. and food sovereignty in the territories¹²12 Patel R. What Does Food Sovereignty Look Like? In: Wittman H, Desmarais AA, Wiebe N, organizadores. Food Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community, Halifax: Fernwood; 2010.^,1313 Ribeiro H, Jaime PC, Ventura D. Alimentação e Sustentabilidade. Estud. av. 2017; 31(89):185-198.. On the other hand, the food that supplies urban populations comes, in large part, from family production, whose potential for polycultural production, organic and agroecological production lacks public policies for incentives and subsidies¹³13 Ribeiro H, Jaime PC, Ventura D. Alimentação e Sustentabilidade. Estud. av. 2017; 31(89):185-198.^,1414 Sauer S. Agricultura Familiar versus agronegócio: a dinâmica sociopolítica do campo brasileiro. Brasília: Embrapa Informação Tecnológica; 2008. 73 p..

The state of Mato Grosso has in recent decades become a strategic region for the expansion of agribusiness with the use of extensive areas for the production of monocultures on the savannah biome. Mato Grosso has large productive regions of crops¹⁵15 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo agropecuário 2006. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2006. p. 777., among which stand out the municipalities of Campos de Julio, Sapezal and Campo Novo do Parecis, which make up the Juruena River Basin, in whose territory areas of monocultures, Indigenous Lands and important rivers coexist that will compose the Amazon River Basin. Due to their flat ground and mild climate, these lands have been used intensively for mechanized agriculture and the production of agricultural commodities, to the detriment of food production.

This article aims to present and discuss a composite indicator of self-sufficiency assessment in food production in interface with the implications of the agribusiness production model from the perspective of food sovereignty in the territories, based on a case study conducted in three municipalities of the Juruena River Basin, in Mato Grosso. It is understood that the hegemonic occupation of a productive model whose main objective is the production of commodities for export concentrates and centralizes capital, compromising the production and reproduction spaces of family farmers, making it difficult for local consumers to access food produced without use of chemical inputs.

The analysis of local indicators of food self-sufficiency makes it possible to highlight the occupation of the territory destined for local and regional production, contributing to a broader analysis of food security and its interface with health promotion. It is not a matter of discussing only the access and availability of food, but the production and local supply strategies that characterize this access in a democratic and environmentally sustainable way, respecting the autonomy of the peoples in defining their food systems, as well as expanding safe access to food, one of the pillars of the human right to adequate food and health promotion.

Methods

This is an evaluative case study that integrates qualitative research techniques and analysis of secondary data on production and occupation of the territory to compose a matrix of indicators, from which an indicator composed of self-sufficiency for food sovereignty was established, carried out in the municipalities of Campos de Júlio, Campo Novo do Parecis and Sapezal, located in the West region of the state of Mato Grosso.

Interviews

Interviews were conducted with 05 rural workers and 02 horticulturists, contacted by the Rural Workers Union in Campo Novo dos Parecis; 20 rural workers and 02 horticulturists in Campos de Júlio; and 05 horticulturists in Sapezal, totaling 34 interviews. The interviews took place between the years 2015 and 2016, transcribed and analyzed from the perspective of ‘Content Analysis’¹⁶16 Bardin L. Análise de conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70; 2011.. Among the interviewees that make up the ‘rural worker’ category, 20 are settled workers (80%) and 05 are formally employed on farms in the region (20%). Among the horticulturists interviewed, all are owners of land located around the urban area of cities. The average age group was 42 years old, the majority (85%) being male.

The interview script was composed of the following questions: Mr./Mrs., do you produce here on this property? Which foods?; Mr./Mrs., are you linked to any social movement involved in the struggle for land or a union?; Mr./Mrs., do you sell your products at fairs, public markets, stands, supermarkets in the municipality/region? How is commercialization done?; Mr./Mrs., do you sell your products to institutions? Which are? Through which programs?; In your opinion, what are the difficulties in food production here in the region? And what are the positive points?; Mr./Mrs., do you know where the food that supplies the municipality comes from?; What are your suggestions for improving food production in the municipality/region?

Fllowing the steps proposed by Bardin, transcription, pre-analysis and exploration of the material began; data processing, interpretation and inferences¹⁶16 Bardin L. Análise de conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70; 2011.. From the reading of the interviews, the following categories of analysis were identified: Difficulties in Food Production for consumption and local/regional marketing; Marketing difficulties in local/regional markets; Dependence on food produced in other regions for local supply; Inequities in the Occupation of territories. The production sites were also identified, characterized as ‘production for local/regional supply’ and ‘production of agricultural commodities’ in the municipalities.

Agricultural production and use of pesticides

To carry out the production survey, it was used as a base the data of area planted by cultivation obtained by Municipal Agricultural Productivity (PAM) from the database of the IBGE Automatic Recovery System (Cider) for the year 2016¹⁷17 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática [internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2016. [acesso em 2018 dez 10]. Disponível em: https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/pam/tabelas.
https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/pam/t... . Informations were obtained about the cultivated area of cotton, rice, banana, coffee, sugar cane, citrus, beans, sunflower, corn, soybeans, tomatoes. These cultures were chosen because they represent the predominant profile of production in the state and for the purpose of comparison with the foods most frequently consumed in the national diet¹⁸18 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares POF 2008-2009: análise do consumo alimentar pessoal no Brasil/IBGE, Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2011. 150 p..

The locations destined for local/regional production that denominate the production and/or direct sale to the consumer spaces, such as vegetable gardens, fairs, dairy products, fishing, among others, were informed during the interviews. The data on the use of pesticides were estimated according to the methodology proposed by Pignati et al.¹⁹19 Pignati W, Lima FANS, Lara SS, et al. Distribuição espacial do uso de agrotóxicos no Brasil: uma ferramenta para a vigilância em saúde. Ciênc. Saúde Colet. 2017; 22(10):3281-3293., based on the area cultivated for each product and the average use of pesticides per agricultural crop.

Construction of indicators

The data represent empirically observable reality events and perceptions of social actors about this reality, and are the raw material for the production of indicators, whose objective is to structure systems for monitoring a given environmental and food situation with surveillance over determinants and conditions exposure of populations to health risks²⁰20 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Departamento de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental e Saúde do Trabalhador. Saúde Ambiental: Guia Básico para Construção de Indicadores. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2011. 124 p.. Despite their importance, the indicators do not cover the whole of reality, but allow the identification of priority areas, the monitoring of risk situations and the comparison between different territories, subsidizing decision making.

From the collected data, indicators, their respective reference values and a scale for the analysis of food self-sufficiency were proposed, from the perspective of food sovereignty, as shown in chart 1:

The purpose of the scale is to analyze the occupation of the territory in relation to local production and production of commodities. Based on the sum of the reference values equivalent to each indicator analyzed, the following scores were used:

- 1 to 5 points: The production of commodities and food occurs concurrently;

- 5 to 10 points: Local/regional food production is restricted;

- 10 to 15 points: Local/regional food production is rendered infeasible by the production of commodities, affecting the food sovereignty of the territory.

Excel 2010 software was used for the preparation of tables, and ArcGis 10.1, by Esri, for drawing up maps.

The research was submitted to the Ethics Committee for research involving human beings at the Júlio Muller University Hospital, having been approved on 02/08/2015, under opinion nº 951.083.

Results

Based on some indicators considered sentinel to analyze the territory, a reference scale was built, based on production data, the use of pesticides and the categorization of interviews conducted in the municipalities.

The data available in table 1 indicate that production in the municipalities studied is concentrated on agricultural commodities (soybeans, cotton, sugar cane, corn and sunflower), to the detriment of more frequent agricultural products in the national diet, such as rice, beans, coffee, bananas and tomatoes.

The region provides about 98% of its territory for the production of agricultural commodities and 2% of the territory for the production of food, following the tendency of the state of Mato Grosso to reprimand the economy. In 2016, Mato Grosso produced 27% of Brazilian soy, on 9,1 million hectares; 24% of corn in 3,9 million hectares; 63.5% of cotton in 606 thousand hectares; 2.5% of sugar cane in 280 thousand hectares; 54% of Sunflower in 29 thousand hectares; and 20 million hectares of pasture, with 30 million cattle¹⁵15 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo agropecuário 2006. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2006. p. 777.^,1717 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática [internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2016. [acesso em 2018 dez 10]. Disponível em: https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/pam/tabelas.
https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/pam/t... .

According to data from the 2006 Agricultural Census¹⁵15 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo agropecuário 2006. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2006. p. 777., the majority of rural establishments in the region belong to large individual owners and consortia of agricultural groups, an average of 95% of the areas destined to the production of the municipalities, when compared to settlers, occupants and partners, expressing the concentration of large estates. Therefore, local food production is carried out by small landowners who have lands around the municipalities or in the urban area for planting gardens or producing fish. In general, the vegetable gardens are located in the central region of the urban areas of the municipalities due to the distance from the crops, which allows the production of vegetables.

The comparison between the 2006 agricultural censuses¹⁵15 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo agropecuário 2006. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2006. p. 777. and the preliminary data from the 2017 Census²¹21 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Censo agropecuário 2017 - Resultados Preliminares [internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2017. [acesso em 2018 ago 8]. Disponível em: https://censos.ibge.gov.br/agro/2017/templates/censo_agro/resultadosagro/index.html.
https://censos.ibge.gov.br/agro/2017/tem... illustrates this situation from the 5% increase in the cultivated area in hectares, despite the 2% reduction in the number of rural establishments, with emphasis on the increase in establishments with 1000 hectares above, whose relative participation in the total area went from 45% to 47.5% from 2006 to 2017, and reduction of establishments between 100 and 1000 hectares with a decrease in the relative participation in the total area from 33.8% to 32%, which indicates the concentration of land for agricultural groups at the expense of small and medium producers.

The municipalities are among those with the largest cultivated area in MT, as shown in figure 1.

For each hectare cultivated in the region, an average of 10 to 20 liters of pesticides are used, which places these municipalities among the largest consumers of pesticides in the state. Considering the production profile of the municipalities, these values increase according to the crop cultivated, since, for cotton crops, an average of 28 liters per hectare is used, and for soybeans, 17,7 liters of pesticides per hectare19.

In periods of aerial spraying of pesticides close to the urban area of the municipalities, the production of vegetables is reached and impacted, causing production loss. This situation was reported by respondents in the three municipalities studied. Pignati, Machado and Cabral²²22 Pignati WA, Machado JMH, Cabral FM, et al. Acidentes rurais ampliados: o caso das "chuvas" de agrotóxicos sobre a cidade de Lucas do Rio Verde, MT. Ciênc. Saúde Colet. 2007; 12(1):105-114. analyzed ‘the rain of pesticides’ over the municipality of Lucas do Rio Verde/MT, in the perspective of an expanded rural accident. The use of agricultural tractors and airplanes for spraying results in the drift of pesticide mists, which, in addition to reaching the target (plants and pests), also affect workers and, indirectly, air/soil/water, residents, the animals and other plants that are around the ‘treated areas’²²22 Pignati WA, Machado JMH, Cabral FM, et al. Acidentes rurais ampliados: o caso das "chuvas" de agrotóxicos sobre a cidade de Lucas do Rio Verde, MT. Ciênc. Saúde Colet. 2007; 12(1):105-114..

Among the food insecurity factors listed in the interviews, the categories identified were: difficulties in local food production and marketing; inequities in the occupation of territories; dependence on food produced in other regions. The reports point to the concern with the production profile of the municipalities and the absence of ‘political will’, manifested in the conduct of policies to strengthen family farming, in addition to the pressure to obtain ‘technological packages’, that end up leading the producer to opt for the production of commodities.

The predominance of monoculture crops in the areas surrounding the municipalities makes family/community and polycultural production difficult due to several factors, among them, the difficulty of obtaining land and the spraying of pesticides, which generate environmental contamination, restricting and even preventing food production. This fact highlights the inequalities in access and use of land and the dependence on foreign markets to promote the supply of cities.

The reports also indicate the low availability of food from local production, such as fruits, vegetables, chicken, pork and milk, and the absence of spaces for the commercialization or processing of food from family farming in the region, making it difficult, including the fulfillment of the marketing mechanisms of the PAA (Food Acquisition Program), which favor the direct purchase of products from family farmers or their organizations to provide, among others, the supply of the school network, as recommended by the National School Feeding Program (PNAE)²³23 Brasil. Lei nº 11.947, de 16 de junho de 2009. Dispõe sobre o atendimento da alimentação escolar e do Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola aos alunos da educação básica e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União. 17 Jun 2009..

The dependence on food from other states is also pointed out as a weakness, due to the reduced diversity in the supply of food, high prices and lack of knowledge about the origin and tracking of foods that supply the municipalities. Contrary to the inexpressive occupation of the territory, with spaces for the production and sale of food, many enterprises in the agribusiness chain are installed in the municipalities, with emphasis on cotton plants, soy processing units, silos, sugar and alcohol production plants and corn ethanol production plants, whose investments have been expanded in municipalities in Mato Grosso.

The scale of indicators, available in table 2, points to a scenario of uneven occupation of the production territories of the municipalities.

The municipalities of Campo Novo dos Parecis and Sapezal had a score of 11 and 14, respectively, indicating that when occupying the production territories in these municipalities, local/regional food production is rendered unfeasible by the production of commodities, affecting the food sovereignty of the territory. Among the municipalities studied, only Sapezal has municipal food and nutrition security legislation, but it does not have a Municipal Council and Municipal Food and Nutritional Security Plan.

The municipality of Campos de Júlio has a larger area for the production of food and spaces for direct sale, despite the concurrence with large areas of production of commodities. Even so, it is observed that the municipality has restrictions on local food production, due to the hegemonic occupation of production territories by monocultures of agricultural commodities.

Such an occupation expresses the difficulties of defining the food systems themselves. They also reflect the intensive and uneven use of land for monocultures, whose impacts of the productive model, such as the intensive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, compromise local production, affecting food sovereignty in the region.

Discussions

Among the characteristics of the concept of food sovereignty, the production profile represents an important category of analysis, through which it is possible to identify the hegemony of the monocultural model and of the entire agribusiness chain in the municipalities studied, highlighting the option for the reprimarization of the export agriculture²⁴24 Medina G, Ribeiro GG, Brasil EM. Participação do capital brasileiro na cadeia produtiva da soja: lições para o futuro do Agronegócio Nacional. Rev. Econ. Agroneg. 2015; 13(1,2,3):1-36. and dependence on products from other states for domestic supply.

The three municipalities are among the 50 cities with the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) related to agribusiness at the national level, where Sapezal occupies the 5th place, with R$ 845,9 million, Campo Novo dos Parecis the 6th place, with R$ 811,3 million, and Campos de Júlio in 40th place, with R$ 433,2 million reais, in relation to the gross added values of Farming²⁵25 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Perfil dos Estados e Municípios Brasileiros - 2014. [internet]. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE; 2014. [acesso em 2018 ago 8]. Disponível em: https://ww2.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/perfilmunic/2014/default.sht.
https://ww2.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica... . Despite this, there is a concentration of income and the coexistence of wealth and situations of social vulnerability, even among those who work directly in agribusiness. This concentrated wealth does not remain in the territory, since the production of commodities is predominantly export-oriented and most of the companies that make up the agribusiness chain do represent foreign capital²⁶26 Mendonça ML. O Papel da Agricultura nas Relações Internacionais e a Construção do Conceito de Agronegócio. Contexto int. 2015; 37(2):375-402..

The option of not taxing primary products for export contributes to the definition of the territory for large-scale production of agricultural commodities for export, supported by Complementary Law nº 87, of September 13, 1996 – Kandir Law²⁷27 Brasil. Lei Complementar nº 87, de 13 de setembro de 1996. Dispõe sobre o imposto dos Estados e do Distrito Federal sobre operações relativas à circulação de mercadorias e dá outras providências. (Lei Kandir). Diário Oficial da União. 14 Set 1996., which ensures the exemption from the Tax on Circulation of Goods Services (ICMS) for semi-finished primary and industrialized products and services for export. Such condition makes the supply of public policies in the state of Mato Grosso vulnerable, with important repercussions on the health sector, since the state fails to collect taxes arising from these exemptions.

According to Acserald²⁸28 Acserald H. Sustentabilidade, Território e Justiça Ambiental no Brasil. In: Miranda AC, Barcellos C, Moreira J, organizadores. Território, ambiente e saúde. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2008., the change in the role of the State as an inducer of the development of peripheral regions to foster the primary export economy contributed to dismantle spaces and to the emergence of tensions in the federative pact. In addition to the social and environmental burden resulting from the production process, which remain in these territories as an ‘environmental liability’, the negative effects on health systems are observed by the insufficiency of structural investments in the studied regions.

For Breilh, the concept of accumulation by plunder, despite the added value, currently expands from two phenomena: the growing technological characteristic of the information society and the change in the model of capital accumulation⁸8 Breilh J. Pilhagens, Ecossistemas e Saúde. In: Miranda AC, Barcellos C, Moreira J, organizadores. Território, ambiente e saúde. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2008., which lead to a domination profile of the least developed countries, their peoples and territories. Still, according to the author, plundering determines processes of agricultural transnationalization, monopolization of land, loss of sovereignty, degradation of the countryside, loss of human and environmental rights and conversion of rights and natural resources into goods⁸8 Breilh J. Pilhagens, Ecossistemas e Saúde. In: Miranda AC, Barcellos C, Moreira J, organizadores. Território, ambiente e saúde. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2008..

The perception of local production, its singular and particular aspects, and the evidence of a dependence marked by instabilities in the financial market, commodities production capacities and environmental pressures in the territories are perceived in the statements, which, on the one hand, recognize that this productive model brings greater income, but also brings consequences and risks, protective and destructive factors²⁹29 Breilh J. Epidemiologia Crítica: Ciência Emancipadora e Interculturalidade. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2006. 317 p., through exposure to the risks of contamination during planting times, pesticide spraying and harvesting. At the same time, they feel the imposition of dependence on work and income, the difficulties of local production, affecting social reproduction and ways of life.

Despite the differences that exist between the different agents, they have certain experiences in common, such as, for example, subordination to the distant market³⁰30 Santos M. Por uma outra globalização: do pensamento único à consciência universal. 6. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Record; 2001., which is expressed both in the commercialization of locally produced commodities and in the dependence of food from other states to supply the region, characteristics of the process of deterritorialization of production and ways of life. In this sense, the study of food systems in the occupation of agricultural production spaces can contribute to the promotion of healthy and sustainable territories.

Seufert, Ramankutty and Foley³¹31 Seufert V, Ramankutty N, Foley JA. Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. Nature. 2012; 485(7397):229-232., in a meta-analysis of conventional and organic systems in different countries with specific climate and management conditions, conclude that the yields and benefits of family systems of organic production improve as they are encouraged by research, development of techniques and production and distribution technologies in local and regional circuits, with real impacts on improving the environments and the health of the populations. Such evidence was also presented by Reganold and Wachter³²32 Reganold JP, Wachter JM Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century. Nat Plants. 2016; 2(2):1-7., who analyzed the performance of family farming in the light of four main metrics of sustainability: productivity, environmental impact, economic viability and social well-being, and concluded that, despite producing lower yields, organic family farming tends to be more profitable from an economic point of view, as it allows for equitable income distribution, is sustainable, produces more nutritious food in terms of nutritional composition and without chemical residues, offers more ecosystem services and social benefits, in comparison with conventional agricultural production systems. The authors also state that local production and supply systems based on organic agriculture and other innovative forms of production have the potential to supply a greater number of people and require investments in public policies to promote their development and implementation.

Nigli³³33 Pradhan A, Idol T, Roul PK. Conservation Agriculture Practices in Rainfed Uplands of India Improve Maize-Based System Productivity and Profitability. Front Plant Sci. 2016; 7(1008):1-12. states that the biggest challenge for agriculture is to reduce the trade-offs between productivity and long-term sustainability, with local family and organic production systems being the ways to produce and distribute food that have the potential to guarantee the future of sustainable food production. The same was reaffirmed by Pradhan et al.³⁴34 Niggli U. Sustainability of organic food production: challenges and innovations. Proc Nutr Soc. 2015; 74(1):83-88., who evaluated the productivity of production systems that used intercropping and crop coverage with conventional monoculture systems for 03 years, concluding that, in the long run, sustainable agriculture has the potential to recover soils and water, promoting greater nutrient retention in food and equivalent and higher productivity than conventional production systems.

A study carried out by Alencar et al.³⁵35 Alencar GV, Mendonça ES, Oliveira TS, et al. Percepção ambiental e uso do solo por agricultores de sistemas orgânicos e convencionais na Chapada da Ibiapaba, Ceará. Rev. Econ. Sociol. Rural [internet]. 2013 [acesso em 2018 ago 8]; 51(2):217-236. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-20032013000200001.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-20032013... , evaluating conventional agricultural systems and organic family production, showed that the farmer-environment interactions, in the family production system, improved the quality of life of the families, in contrast to the conventional system, characterized due to the intensive use of pesticides and the great dependence on chemical fertilizers, where interest in obtaining maximum production prevails without concern for the environment. This condition is reflected in the continuous contact with pesticides, restrictive profit margins and a reduction in the natural fertility of soils cultivated under this system.

With regard to local food production and distribution circuits, Darolt et al.³⁶36 Darolt MR, Lamine C, Brandenburg A, et al. Redes alimentares alternativas e novas relações produção-consumo na França e no Brasil. ambient. soc. [internet]. 2016 [acesso em 2018 ago 8]; 19(2):1-22. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc121132v1922016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc1... analyzed alternative networks in Brazil and France. As a result, they presented a typology, characteristics and organization of short marketing channels, emphasizing that alternative systems are diverse and dynamic, being a social, economic and environmental option for family farming, strengthening local markets and reconnecting producers and consumers. In both countries, successful initiatives in alternative systems take place in areas where there are forms of network coordination and partnerships between public authorities, non-governmental entities, companies, farmers’ and consumer organizations³⁶36 Darolt MR, Lamine C, Brandenburg A, et al. Redes alimentares alternativas e novas relações produção-consumo na França e no Brasil. ambient. soc. [internet]. 2016 [acesso em 2018 ago 8]; 19(2):1-22. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc121132v1922016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422asoc1... .

On the other hand, the monopolization of the territory is a strategy developed by the commercialization and/or industrial processing companies of agricultural production, which do not necessarily produce, but control the circulation of goods in the globalized economy³⁰30 Santos M. Por uma outra globalização: do pensamento único à consciência universal. 6. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Record; 2001., that is, they monopolize production, having no need to territorialize monopolies³⁷37 Oliveira AU. A Mundialização da Agricultura Brasileira. São Paulo: Iandé Editorial; 2016. 545 p., controlling the processing and marketing of goods. This is the case of large corporations of pesticides, fertilizers and machinery, production and marketing of transgenic seeds and patent control and Tradings, responsible for trading commodities in international markets. These companies operate in the so-called commodities origination strategies, allying themselves with national companies in the exploration of production territories. National capitalists, then, have the status of landowners, but the exploitation of industrial capital, via commodities, is international³⁷37 Oliveira AU. A Mundialização da Agricultura Brasileira. São Paulo: Iandé Editorial; 2016. 545 p..

The legitimation strategies of this model find a voice in the discourses of local and regional economic development, but they support a limited number of transnational companies that monopolize the circulation of goods, dictate the economic rules of the markets and influence eating habits and practices, through a homogenization and typification process of the consumption of fast, ultra-processed, highly industrialized foods or contaminated with pesticide residues.

Final considerations

Discussions about a productive model and its repercussions in a territory such as the Juruena River Basin permeate the dominant occupation by monocultures and structures related to the agribusiness production chain, to the detriment of spaces intended for food production and polyculture family farming, and express a phenomenon evident in much of the Brazilian territory.

Despite high GDP rates and large tracts of lands destined for agriculture, the concentration of income and land is an evident phenomenon in the region and reflects the national reality. The study of the territory contributes to the discussion about health surveillance from the perspective of developmental surveillance. The agribusiness production and reproduction model and its accumulation processes have an impact on the ways of obtaining and consuming them, on the health of the exposed populations, on the progressive environmental destruction of environments, water and food. On the other hand, the promotion of spaces for agroecological family production and the encouragement of local and regional marketing circuits enhance local economies, promote greater availability of healthy food in cities, reducing the dependence on food produced elsewhere, and contribute positively for the sustainability and health of the territories. Thus, it is important to guarantee family farmers access to land, the choice of the productive model, as well as the conditions of production and marketing of their products.

The proposed indicator shows internal variations in the indices in the three municipalities, showing a trend of greater impact, as the production of agricultural commodities increases. However, the study has limitations as it highlights the reality of a specific agricultural territory, requiring further studies in different regions of agricultural production, in addition to the inclusion of indicators such as contamination of drinking water, food with pesticide residues and the evaluation of implementation of health surveillance for populations exposed to pesticides in the municipalities.

Thus, it is considered that the metric presented shows and measures the threat of a reduction in the availability of healthy food for human consumption in a given territory, since the negative pressure on food sovereignty exerted by the extension of production areas aimed at monocultures was evidenced by the proposed index.

References

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