Technical assistance and agricultural extension public services in Brazil are rendered in an environment where very distinct social groups - from agri-business entrepreneurs to traditional small farmers - coexist. Having as theme the participation of small farmers in technical assistance and agricultural extension planning, this article analyzes the participatory decision-making process of Emater-RN's 2005 planning, using as main theoretical reference Arnstein's (1969) citizen participation ladder. An exploratory documental and bibliographical field research, with a qualitative approach, was performed, and the data collected from different sources - interviews, non-participant observations and documents - was submitted to a categorical content analysis (Bardin, 1977). Results evidenced that the level of participation by the farmer in the institution's planning is in an intermediary situation between token and real participation. This permanent quest to improve participatory channels is relevant since, beyond institutionalization, the improvement and continuity of the participatory management process depend on the relation, always tensioned and increasingly qualified, between the organized society and the state.
technical assistance and agricultural extension; small farmers; civil participation; participation levels
