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Abstract
The article aims to present particular views on family farm in economic and social
thought, suggesting that this subject has been attracting growing interest in the research
communities of these areas in Brazil, at different times. The trajectory seeks to highlight the
way in which many authors emphasized, in their analysis, the nature, characteristics and fundaments of family farming. The research methodology is bibliographic and guided by economics and sociology
comparative analysis, aiming a contextualized historical reconstruction, concerning theoretical and empirical
approaches on family farming. This methodological procedure brought as a hypothesis that Chayanov’s theory was
seminal for countless approaches, with repercussions into different schools of thought, interested in family farming
research. In addition, the research method also permits to conjecture about family farm specificities, to constitute,
organize and survive throughout history. The text aims to bring some contribution to the current debate on the role
and the importance of family farming in the Brazilian countryside, particularly on its resilience in a scenario of
productive concentration and rural depopulation. It also suggests that the quality of this discussion depends on: 1)
advances in the conceptual area, 2) more empirical research and 3) new looks on sectorial and regional diversity in
Brazil and its influence on family farming varieties and arrangements.