3.1. The principles of National Policy of National Policy for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER) are the following: to ensure for family farmers, settled by agrarian reform programs, indigenous, quilombolas, aquaculture fishermen, forest peoples, rubber tappers and other specific beneficiaries of programs MDA/SAF, access to free technical service and public extension for improving family farming. To promote the sustainable rural development, focusing on endogenous development processes, supporting family farmers in enhancing the sustainable use of natural resources. To adopt a multidisciplinary approach, encouraging the adoption of new participatory approaches and a technological principles of agro-ecology. To establish a management method capable of democratizing decisions, contributing to the construction of citizenship and facilitate the process of social control in planning, monitoring and evaluation of activities. TO develop permanent educational processes aimed at skills training, improving the quality of life and promoting rural sustainable development. 3.2. The guidelines of the National Policy are: to support multiple and coordinated actions of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension, enabling equitable economic development and solidarity, in communities and rural areas, taking into account the environmental dimension. To ensure the permanent supply of ATER services that are present and active in all Brazilian rural areas in order to meet the demands of all farmers in the country. To support actions to improve skills and increase agricultural and fisheries production with emphasis on basic food production. To ensure all stages of economic activities, from production to marketing and supply, observing the peculiarities of the different production chains. To prioritise Committes as active fora and co-responsible for the management of the National Policy at the municipal, state and federal level in order to strengthen the participation of beneficiaries. 4.2.1. The general objectives are: Stimulate, encourage and support sustainable rural development initiatives involving agricultural and non-agricultural, fisheries, and extractive activities, focused on strengthening family farming in order to improve the quality of life and adopting the principles of agro-ecology as guidelines. 4.2.2. Specific objectives: Contribute to the improvement of income, food security and diversification of production to maintenance and generation of new jobs, in conditions compatible with the environmental balance and the socio-cultural values of the groups involved. Enhance processes of social inclusion and strengthening of citizenship, through integrated actions that take into account the dimensions: ethical, social, political, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability. Stimulate the production of healthy food and better biological quality from the support and advice to farmers and their organizations for the construction and adaptation of environmentally friendly production technologies, and to optimize the use and sustainable management of natural resources. To develop actions that lead to the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and sustainable management of agro-ecosystems, to ensure that the processes agricultural and non-agricultural production avoiding environmental damage and health risks for humans and animals.
Brazil · 2007-11-01