Brazil: Access of family farmers to biodiesel markets - partnerships between large companies and social movements

This article aims to describe the social forces behind the construction of this policy, and above all, the mechanisms and the system of governance (Buskens et al, 2003, Fligstein, 2001) of the emerging Brazilian biodiesel market. Why are private companies subject to contractual forms that make them dependent upon actors with whom, up to now, they have not had a permanent relationship with and who are potential sources of considerable conflict? What are the chances that this policy will provide a sustainable source of income generation for groups that find themselves at the base of the social pyramid of farmers? Can this policy establish technological and organizational innovations capable of creating sustainability in income generation processes?

This publication forms part of the Regoverning Markets project.