Surubim Agroecological Fair strengthens family farming in Pernambuco’s northern Agreste region
Cecília Figueiredo and Darliton Silva, popular communicator from the Sabiá Center
The Surubim Agroecological Fair (FAS) is the meeting point between farming families and consumers looking for fresh food produced without poison in neighboring municipalities. The bonds established through the marketing of food build a relationship of trust between producers and consumers, strengthening family farming in the region. Let’s learn about the work of Doraci and Jurandir, who bring their cheeses and butters directly from the municipality of Vertente do Lério to the FAS, an experience that shows that the direct sale of products has made it possible to expand production and improve this family’s quality of life.
Early in the morning, the buzz starts in Praça Estefânia, in the center of Surubim. The stalls have been set up since 6am and the farming families are already welcoming their first customers. It’s important to arrive early to guarantee the best products from neighboring towns. The farming families bring a wide variety of fresh fruit, pulp, vegetables, cheeses, sweets, honey and eggs to sell.
According to Roseilda Couto, Surubim’s Director of the Environment, the fair is very important for the municipality and for farmers, as it promotes the autonomy of families and is a motivating factor for them to continue planting and ensuring that fresh, healthy food reaches consumers directly at a price that is fair to those who buy and also to those who produce. Rose also points out that even though there are only farmers from other municipalities, the fair promotes a virtuous circulation of resources: “Today there are farmers from neighboring municipalities who manage to diversify their production and make this generation of income circulate not only in the municipality where it comes from, but also in the municipality of Surubim, and this income contributes to the territory as a whole.” The Surubim Agroecological Fair is therefore a hub for generating income and quality of life for consumers and producers, but also for the whole municipality.
FAS in pictures and stories
Photographs by Ana Mendes and Darliton Silva show the wealth that circulates at the Surubim Agroecological Fair and how this space strengthens farming families in a virtuous circle of income generation, work valorization and territorial integration.

The Surubim Agroecological Fair has existed since 2019 and arose from a political and organizational process that gave farming families more autonomy and created the conditions both to manage the space and to secure a partnership with the municipal administration. The fair is run by a collective made up of families who meet once a month and have the support of organizations such as Centro Sabiá and the AgroflorIn addition to Surubim City Hall, the Pernambuco State Secretariat for Agrarian Development, Banco do Nordeste, the Small Farmers’ Movement and trade unions.

The direct sale of food at the fair strengthens relations between consumers and farming families, contributes to income generation and improves quality of life, as well as bringing the importance of consuming poison-free products to the center of the debate. The food sold at FAS is brought in from various municipalities that are part of the Agreste Setentrional Rural Territory in Pernambuco, in which Surubim is an important hub, but which is also made up of 15 other municipalities: Bom Jardim, Casinhas, Cumaru, Feira Nova, Frei Miguelinho, João Alfredo, Limoeiro, Machados, Orobó, Passira, Salgadinho, Santa Maria do Cambucá, São Vicente Ferrer, Vertente do Lério and Vertentes. Women’s participation in the fair is higher than men’s. They are also community leaders, make decisions, generate income, are autonomous and promote good living.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, farming families who work at the fair have received protection and hygiene material and guidance from the Centro Sabiá team on health precautions to avoid contamination and the spread of the new Corona Virus. Solidarity is one of the values that stands out in the relationship between farming families and the people who attend the fair. It’s not just about buying and selling products, but also about a relationship of trust and mutual support that gives the fair a pleasant atmosphere to share.
From the farm to the market, from the market to the farm: the story of Doraci and Jurandir’s cheeses
Doraci and Jurandir’s stall has products that consumers don’t miss at home. Queijo coalho, queijo manteiga, queijo temperado, requeijão and the butters from bottles and batida are produced with great care by the family and are a hit at the Surubim Fair. Jurandir goes to the market with his eldest son while Doraci takes care of the delicate process of fermenting and maturing the cheeses on the farm in the community of Alto do Rosário in Vertente do Lério.

The Surubim Agroecological Fair is the result of a collective action involving various institutions, both in terms of technical assistance to farmers and in ensuring the structure of the marketing space with stalls, chairs, identification banners, thermal boxes and visual identity materials such as labels for the products sold by Jurandir.

Doraci and Jurandir’s main source of income is products made from cow’s milk. Doraci has been raising cattle and producing cheese for sale for more than 10 years and sees the fair as a place to showcase her products. “Before, we made a quality product, but we sold it cheaply because we didn’t know the value of a homemade, natural product,” says Doraci.

The technical assistance provided by the Sabiá Center helped improve cheese production, as it brought new knowledge about caring for the animals and the property. Doraci notes that the quality of the milk has changed a lot with the improvements the family has made to the animals’ feed, especially with their own production of mineral salt and more protein-rich silage. In addition, the family has invested in reforesting the property and incorporating various agroecological soil care practices. The changes are celebrated by Doraci and are reflected in the quality of the product and also in the family’s life.

“The suffering of carrying a can of water on my head is over.” Doraci also points out that the rainwater storage cistern helps a lot in guaranteeing the quality of her products and has greatly improved her family’s life. The clean water from the cistern makes life easier for the women, who have more time to dedicate to work that generates pleasure and income.

With a greater variety of products, the family’s income has increased in recent years. In addition to the Surubim Agroecological Fair, Doraci and Jurandir sell their cheeses and butters at the Agroecoloja in Recife. A study carried out by the Sabiá Center showed that sales at these markets contributed to a 90% increase in the family’s income. This increase in income enabled the couple to invest, in 2021, in building a small cheese factory with more structure for food production. Doraci says that the variety of products has had a direct impact on the increase in sales, which brings her enormous satisfaction and makes her want to work harder and produce more and more. “We’re at the fair to bring healthy, natural food to consumers.”
This photo report is a publication of the Northeast Agroecology Ater Network and was produced by the Sabiá Agroecological Development Center.
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