2023-10-14 19:24:20
Luzia de Souza emerged from food insecurity and began supplying food to the government
There is no evolution and improvement without an effective change in the way things are done. In this sense, the DF Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Emater), in accordance with the reality of producers, works on appropriate solutions for the development of rural properties and the well-being of families. Luzia Rodrigues de Souza is an example of how the public rural extension service can contribute to changing the lives of people and the community.
Luzia arrived in the Federal District in 1994, coming from Piauí, looking for a better life opportunity. “I was very hungry, I stopped eating to feed my children, who are eight; I would drink the broth that was left over,” she remembers.
She even worked as a maid, but she didn’t feel happy. After going back and forth to her hometown a few times, Luzia obtained a plot of land in the Contagem Settlement project, in the Fercal region, in Sobradinho. Since then, she has relied on Emater’s technical assistance to start a productive activity.
Successful business
As for many producers, the challenge was the financial issue of making the necessary improvements, purchasing inputs and materials. It was up to the extension agents to plan everything with the resources available at the time and seek public policies to boost Luzia’s business, which at the time was beginning to invest in the countryside.
She started working on planting cassava, in order to produce flour. “I do it with love,” she says. “The way I like it, I make it to sell.” Afterwards, she gradually diversified production with other foods, such as Japanese pumpkin, okra, beans, tangerines, papaya and bananas.
Of this production, Luzia delivers around 400 kg to the government’s Food Acquisition Program (PAA), which provides food to institutions dedicated to caring for people in situations of food insecurity.
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Rural credit
In 2005, through a rural credit project prepared by Emater, Luzia purchased a truck to deliver her products. The vehicle was purchased by Pronaf Mais Alimentos and cost R$140,000. The rural producer managed to pay off the purchase, paying the last installment in September this year.
“This is another achievement”, he celebrates. “I can’t read, but I’ve always been responsible with money and I’ve always paid my debts.” In addition to the government program, Luzia sells food at Feira do Padre, in Sobradinho. With the money from the fair, she bought cattle and also started selling some calves.
“She is that farmer in whom we see potential”, points out the manager of the Emater unit in Sobradinho, Clarissa Campos. “She is the one that we can always challenge a little more to improve, and she always responds. She carries out technical recommendations, is aware of the importance of cultural treatments to improve production, enjoys and participates in training. It is an example of how rural extension, combined with the producer’s interest, brings positive results.”
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With information from Agência Brasília
1697311560
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