MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS E VULNERABILIDADE NA AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR DA REGIÃO RIO DOCE, MINAS GERAIS, BRASIL.

This paper aims to analyze the vulnerability to climate change of family farmers in the Rio Doce region, Minas Gerais. The theoretical background was based on the discussion about the negative impacts of climate change on family farming. Vulnerability was identified through its dimensions related to sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity, which were measured by representative indexes, based on socioeconomic and demographic data from 206 farmers in the region, and municipality climate variables. The results indicated that low pluriactivity and reduced access to irrigation mechanisms increased farmers' sensitivity. The low precipitation rates, in relation to the regional historical average, increased the exposure to climate change. The adaptive capacity can be attributed to the low access to rural credit and the absence of public irrigation projects. Therefore, high vulnerability were a consequence of high exposure and sensitivity rates, combined with low adaptive capacity. The results suggest that the region should receive attention in terms of public policies to reduce its vulnerability, enabling it to face more intense climate change scenarios in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]