Ecological niche of family farmers in southern Minas Gerais State (Brazil).

The concept of ecological niche, considered by the food dimension point of view, was used to characterize a small farmers community from the south of Minas Gerais State (Brazil). Ten small farmer families and 76 different meals eaten by them were evaluated in this study, during three different periods: September 1995 (end of the dry season), December 1995 (rainy season) and April 1996 (end of the rainy season). The analysed community appeared to depend markedly on certain food items showing little seasonal variation in their diet and appeared also to be self-sufficient in food supply, with satisfactory nutritional status. The food niche breadth for the studied small farmer families was always below 50%, with high seasonal overlap of the food niche, around 72% to 80%. The results are discussed based on social-cultural, economical and agrarian context.