Juarez Azevedo de Paiva

DESENVOLVIMENTO TERRITORIAL SUSTENTÁVEL: estudo comparativo de indicadores do sistema de gestão estratégica em territórios rurais do Rio Grande do Norte

The management of public policies , from a territorial approach, recognizes territory as a projection and an expression of identity and as holder of a peculiar population with socio-cultural, environmental, political, institutional and economic characteristics, in order that any process of development must interact with these elements. The decision to strength a territorial policy in Brazil, by the Federal Government, resulted, firstly, in the creation of 36 territories in all regions , named “Citizen´s Territories”, which feed the Strategic Management System (Sistema de Gestao Estrategica – SGE) . This text brings part of the results from the SGE, focusing on a comparative analysis of the three territories, located in the Rio Grande do Norte State, taking into account secondary data produced by that system. The result of sustainable development dimension, reached from economic, environmental, socio-cultural and political-institutional variables, has a critical level and the economic issues as the most important lack. Despite of the natural potential of the productive chains, the local economy is weakened by factors such as restrictions on technical assistance, limited access to credit, inadequate investment, low productivity, problems in marketing , limited diversification of agricultural production and livelihoods focused on social security, especially in rural retirement income and “Family Grant Program” (Programa Bolsa Familia).