The São Francisco Valley, in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast, is a global reference in irrigated fruit production and wine-making. With more than 125,000 hectares cultivated and an annual output of over 4.4 million tons of produce, including 90% of Brazil’s mango and 98% of its grape exports, the region generates about US$ 1.5 billion annually through government-backed irrigation projects.
While agribusiness thrives, hundreds of families living in land reform settlements across the same territory face major barriers: limited access to water, no formal land titles, scarce agricultural credit and dependency on middlemen to sell their produce.
These disparities are at the center of a new study led by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and the Federal University of the São Francisco Valley (Univasf). The research reveals the structural invisibility of small farmers in a region praised for its agricultural wealth.
“We sell it cheap, they sell it at ten times the price”
Nearly all fruit produced in these settlements is sold to middlemen, who dictate prices and take the bulk of the profit. According to the study, up to 93% of the production is sold this way, often without traceability or recognition of origin.
“We sell them boxes and boxes of fruit, and they pay whatever they want,” says Naiara Santos, from Vale da Conquista settlement in Bahia. “Then we see our mangoes in supermarkets at ten times the price, and often of lower quality.”
In nearby Santa Maria da Boa Vista (Pernambuco), farmer Robson Silva explains that mangoes bought for about US$ 0.36/kg reach supermarket shelves at over US$ 2.25/kg. “They drive new cars every year while we can’t even afford a bicycle,” he says.
The absence of organized cooperatives, transport logistics, and public purchasing programs worsens the situation. Even when fruits are sold, most go unlabeled or repackaged under fake brand names.
Water inequality amid abundance
Ironically, in a region known for irrigation, land reform settlements struggle for basic access to water. Large-scale agribusiness projects benefit from federal irrigation infrastructure built by Codevasf (the government agency for regional development), while settler communities face rationing and precarious supply.
In Vale da Conquista, only 5% of families are currently able to produce anything — and even then, only through collective plots. “We live next to one of the largest dams in Brazil, and still can’t irrigate,” says Naiara.
From landless to landholders, but still without support
Naiara’s story reflects the contradictions of land reform in the São Francisco Valley. Her family joined the MST (Landless Workers Movement) at age 15, occupying unused land in Juazeiro in 2007. They eventually secured settlement status in Sobradinho in 2008. Still, 20 years later, she is classified as “pre-settled”, without a formal land title or access to agricultural credit.
In the Pernambuco side of the valley, families from the Safra settlement have begun to reverse this cycle. After years of struggle, they formalized a cooperative and secured funding for an agro-processing facility to reduce waste and increase autonomy. But the path has been steep: legal advice, technical assistance and public funding remain limited.
Agroecology and the pressure to use chemicals
While many families want to transition toward agroecology, the dominance of conventional, chemical-intensive agribusiness casts a long shadow. Settlers often face pesticide drift from nearby industrial farms and pressure to adopt the same farming models.
“We’re surrounded by agribusiness,” says Naiara. “They spray pesticides with drones and planes. We’ve seen dead fish in rivers and rising cancer cases. It’s terrifying.” Even when families want to produce organically, fear and lack of training hold them back. “We encourage them to experiment with a few trees, but it’s risky,” she adds.
Building alternatives, one step at a time
The study by UFSC and Univasf is working to address both infrastructure and education gaps. The goal is to deliver technical designs for agro-industries and training programs for cooperative management. With this, communities could directly access institutional markets, or even launch branded retail outlets like Armazém do Campo, a network linked to MST.
For Robson, the dream is simple: “We want to sell our mangoes under our own name, at fair prices and live with dignity from our work.”
