Use of collective financing platforms for promotion offamily farming projects in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

One of the focus of the project "Support for the Integration of Territorial Initiatives into Rural Community Projects in the Hydrographic Microbasins of the Sustainable Rural Development Project in Hydrographic Microbasins", financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development linked to the World Bank and executed by the State Secretariat of Agriculture of the State of Rio de Janeiro (SEAPEC RJ) within the Rio Rural Program was the search for alternative sources of resources to support family agriculture projects. Of these, one of the hypotheses raised was to seek support through collective financing platforms, popularly known as crowdfunding. This article approaches a recent case study, which sought to raise funds for the drilling of an artesian well in the Ademar Moreira Settlement, located in the municipality of São Pedro da Aldeia (RJ). At the site, the family farmers have legal permission to extract pink pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), spice used in gourmet cooking and high value-added product. It is the extraction of this seasoning that generates most of the income of the small farmers who can’t improve their production due to lack of water, hence the need to drill an artesian well in the place.