The social construction of quality in agrifood production: The case of the rice “Amigo do Taim”

Abstract

The article analyzes the trajectory that culminated in the creation of organic rice “Amigo do Taim”, revealing the nature of the social ties that were being woven to develop a unique process of social construction of quality in a specific region of Rio Grande do Sul, in the close to one of the main natural reserves of this Brazilian state, the Taim Ecological Station.
The initiative came amid the search for economic viability for a group of families settled in the extreme south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The project was led by a non-governmental organization that simultaneously proposed to establish a sustainable way of using natural resources in an area considered as buffer zone of the Taim ecological
reserve. However, the project undergoes profound changes over time, amid the progressive abandonment of the project by the families involved due to the lack of institutional support, bureaucratic obstacles and the demobilization of the settlers. The space left by them is being occupied by medium producers. The case in point is inserted, from the theoretical point of view, in the great debate about the risks of conventional organic production.

Keywords: organic rice, social construction of quality, conventionalization.