Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural
https://revistasober.org/article/doi/10.1590/1806-9479.2023.282038
Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Grassroots initiatives of digital food markets in southern Brazil: the barred window of opportunity for institutional changes opened by the pandemic

Iniciativas populares de mercados alimentares digitais no sul do Brasil: a bloqueada janela de oportunidade para mudanças institucionais aberta pela pandemia

Paulo Niederle; Jeferson Tonin; Evandro Pedro Schneider; Sergio Schneider; Eric Sabourin

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1806-9479.2023.282038 resr, vol.62, n4, e282038, 2024
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Abstract

Debates about the effects of covid-19 on the dynamics of food systems abounded in the last years. Initial analyses projected major changes in these dynamics due to, among other things, the digitisation of markets. Based on data collected between 2020 e 2023 by means of direct observations and 64 semi-structured interviews with farmers, rural extensionists, public officials, and community leaders in the scope of a multi-case study, and in dialogue with the sociological literature on institutional change and social construction of markets, this article analyses grassroots initiatives of market digitisation in two regions (Litoral Norte and Médio-Alto Uruguai) of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Findings suggest that the pandemic promoted a barred window of opportunity for social movements’ initiatives of alternative food markets. By the end of 2023, half a year after the World Health Organization declared “with great hope” an end to covid-19, it did not seem to be much hope for these initiatives. This is because neither the pandemic proved to be a “critical juncture” that opened the space for significant institutional changes, nor the challenging actors in the field were able to become “institutional entrepreneurs” of these changes.

Keywords

institutional change, food markets, pandemic, social movements, digitisation

Resumo

Resumo: Os debates sobre os efeitos da covid-19 na dinâmica dos sistemas alimentares abundaram nos últimos anos. Análises preliminares projetaram mudanças expressivas nesta dinâmica devido, entre outras coisas, à digitalização dos mercados. Com base em dados coletados entre 2020 e 2023 por meio de observação direta e 64 entrevistas semiestruturadas com agricultores, extensionistas rurais, gestores públicos e lideranças sociais no âmbito de um estudo de múltiplos casos, e em diálogo com a literatura sociológica sobre mudança institucional e construção social de mercados, este artigo analisa iniciativas de digitalização de mercados da agricultura familiar em duas regiões (Litoral Norte e Médio-Alto Uruguai) do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. As descobertas sugerem que a pandemia promoveu uma janela de oportunidade bloqueada para iniciativas de mercados alimentares alternativos. No final de 2023, meio ano depois a Organização Mundial de Saúde ter declarado “com grande esperança” o fim da covid-19, não parecia haver muita esperança para estas iniciativas. Isto porque nem a pandemia provou ser uma “conjuntura crítica” que abriu espaço para mudanças institucionais significativas nestas regiões, nem os atores desafiantes no campo foram capazes de se tornarem “empreendedores institucionais” destas mudanças.

Palavras-chave

mudança institucional, mercados alimentares, pandemias, movimentos sociais, digitalização

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