Fernanda Antunes de Oliveira

Citizen science has established itself as an important approach to the co-production of knowledge and public participation in scientific research. Combined with digital technologies and online tools, the approach has been celebrated as a path toward the democratization of science. However, only a few studies have investigated the role digital technologies play in shaping interactions between people and nature. Additionally, the role of context in shaping online and face-to-face participation in citizen science projects has yet to receive much attention. This article takes a citizen science initiative in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the state of São Paulo as an illustrative case of the emergence of unanticipated consequences of digital technologies. The emergence of a socio-material practice of animal identification through a popular instant-messaging app is described, allowing a better understanding of the role of digital technologies and the context framing citizen participation in challenging environments.

Recent years have seen the advance of alternative models of consumption, which seek to restore relations between consumers and producers, such as the Community that Supports Agriculture (CSA). Following this proposal, despite the rapid expansion in Brazil, there are still gaps in scientific works that explore its practices. In order to contribute with empirical elements for the CSA movement, the present article aimed to expose the performance of the Belo Horizonte experience, evidencing its achievements and challenges. In methodological terms, a case study was adopted, based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with farmers and coproducers. The research results presented innovative organizational practices that illustrate the potential of supporting small farmers and their families in order to provide stability and alternative paths attuned to the reality of the countryside. However, among its limits, it is worth emphasizing that as the group has expanded, the proximity between farmer and co-producer has become more difficult, which poses to the group the challenge of changing the posture from one of traditional consumption and to emphasize greater involvement and participation of CSA as a community.Keywords: CSA; Belo Horizonte; innovations; challenges.OLIVEIRA, Fernanda Antunes de; PEREIRA, Rafael Diogo; CALBINO, Daniel. Comunidade que Sustenta a Agricultura: a CSA de Belo Horizonte à luz de suas possibilidades e desafios. Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura, v. 27, n. 2, p. 371-393, jun. 2019.Submitted in april 2019.Accepted in may 2019.