This paper analyzes alternatives for recognition and appreciation of the multifunctional character of agriculture in the semiarid Brazilian Northeastern region. In it, the functions associated with agricultural production in terms of management of shared natural resources and production of public assets are examined. These functions are defined as non-market practices for management of shared natural resources mobilized by farmers through various forms of collective action based on relations of reciprocity. The idea is defended that such collective devices ensure the sustainability of social, environmental and productive functions, permanence or modernization of social structures and institutions that regulate these reciprocity practices. The support for these practices and their legal or institutional recognition contributes to their reproduction or their adaptation to the current context.
common natural resources; multifunctionality; public assets; common devices; reciprocity
