Young farmer at a crossway: between the rural and the urban choice

Abstract

This paper discusses the aspirations of the rural youths who live in family farms in Santa Catarina,
Brazil. It is possible to notice a change in the youth’s behavior in relation to the alternatives to build their
professional course and the search for different ways from those experienced by their parents. It is shown in the research that the youths who stay in the rural enviroment are those who have lower level of formal education, which becomes a heavy burden for the formation of a new generation of farmers. The girls are not willing to simply reproduce the role of wife and mother anymore, a formerly dominant pattern in the Brazilian rural society. The migration process and what determines the professional choices of the rural youth, mainly those which are related to the dynamics of the familiar nucleus are also discussed.