FAMILY FARMINGIN IN THE AGRESTE PARAIBANO: A PROPOSED TYPOLOGY

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to typify the family farming units in the Mesoregion Agreste Paraibano (Brazil), according to the standard of modernization. It was applied the Item Response Theory (IRT) on data collected from 314 family farming units that represent the specificities of the eight micro-regions of the Agreste Paraibano. The results showed that: (1) most of the farmers can still be considered subsistence farmers, it aimed to produce primarily for the satisfaction of basic family needs; 2) there is a weak dependence on external factors; 3). it appears, however, a tendency to introduce a better technological standard in some production units. These results indicate a limited advance in the development of basic infrastructure of production and technical assistance; it difficults the introduction of new technologies in rural areas of Agreste Paraibano.