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Family Farming36 almanaCincludes foods that are produced and consumed locally.From an economic point of view, fam- ily farming contributes to the promo- tion of local economies, creating em- ployment opportunities and generating income in rural areas. In places where family farming is predominant, the in- come generated by the sale of surplus production circulates locally and feeds other sectors, creating a virtuous eco- nomic circle in which we have small- scale entrepreneurs in the commercial, agro-industrial, tourism and service sectors, with inclusive development opportunities for people and places. Family farming is also very impor- tant for passing down and preserving knowledge about ways of life and local culture. Knowledge about processing and cultivation technologies is equally important. All these forms of expres- sion, typical to each rural place, have molded the identity of family farming, which becomes a carrier of the main elements that define the local identity of the rural environment.food Security StrategieSIn Brazil, family farming produces 70% of the food that arrives every day on the tables of almost 200 million people. Thisoutput of healthy, quality food is pro- duced by 4.3 million family-run farms, and represents the economic base for around 90% of the municipalities in all the country’s regions. Though it only occupies 24% of the total surface area of farms, family farming produces 37% of the gross value of Brazilian agricul- tural and livestock production. Brazilian family farming gives work to 13.8 million people, in other words 77% of the pop- ulation employed in agriculture.In recent years, the Brazilian govern- ment has seen family farming as a strategy for improving food security, reducing poverty and inequality, in- creasing inclusion and social mobility, and promoting development in rural ar- eas. It has therefore launched a pack- age of public policies related to family farming, with specific programs such as access to credit, technical assis- tance, training, insurance, innovation and agroecology. The Brazilian expe- rience has become a global reference point and spurred other governments and international development bodies to follow suit, developing differentiated public policies to improve assistance for this important and strategic form of production and style of rural life, found in all continents.© dodESIGn-S