Income of territorial quality: from french theory to brazilian studies

Abstract

When studying French agricultural regions in crisis at the end of the 20th century, researchers observed that some rural areas activated specific territorial resources, resulting in differentiated goods and services that gave rise to the theoretical-methodological framework of the Basket of Territorial Goods and Services (BTGS). Stimulated by the collective organization of local actors, this initiative proved to be a promising development alternative. Furthermore, these specific goods and services promoted differentiated income, a phenomenon that led to the theory of Territorial Quality Income (TQI). This opened the agenda for research on BTGS in various countries, including Brazil. However, the same did not happen with the topic of TQI. Although conceptually mentioned in various articles, the application of the concept still lacks further development. In this context, this article aims to highlight the topic of TQI based on the French experience and analyze the possibilities for generating this type of income in Brazilian rural territories. The methodological procedure applied was a literature review on TQI theory and case studies on the BTGS framework conducted in Brazilian rural territories. In all the case studies analyzed, there is an appreciation of territorial goods and services, which raises the possibility of investigating the generation of TQI, thus opening a future research agenda in Brazilian contexts.