Brazilian Journal of Development 44690 ISSN: 2525-8761 Ethno-zootechny and its relationship with traditional knowledge in family farming A etnozootecnia e sua relação com os saberes tradicionais do agricultor familiar DOI:10.34117/bjdv7n5-068 Recebimento dos originais: 07/04/2021 Aceitação para publicação: 03/05/2021 Nathaly Silva Rezende Bacharel em Ciencias Agrárias, académica do curso de Zootecnia. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço: Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: nathaly.s.rezende@gmail.com Regiane Rosa Amaral Académica do curso de Zootecnia. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço: Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: regianerosarosa@hotmail.com Jeanne Broch Siquiera Dra em Medicina Veterinária. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço:Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: jeanne.siqueira@ufvjm.edu.br Adolpho Marlon Antoniol de Moura Dr. em Produção Animal. Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos Bio-Manguinhos - Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ E-mail: dofo.antoniol78@gmail.com Diego Azevedo Mota Dr. em Zootecnia. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço:Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: diego.mota@ufvjm.edu.br Anderson Alvarenga Pereira Dr. em Bioinformática. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço:Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: anderson.pereira@ufvjm.edu.br Ezequiel Redin Dr. em Extensão Rural. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço:Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44691 ISSN: 2525-8761 E-mail: ezequielredin@gmail.com Thiago Vasconcelos Melo Dr. em Zootecnia. Instituto de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri – UFVJM, Campus Unaí Endereço:Avenida Universitária, nº1000, bairro Universitários, Unaí-MG E-mail: thiago.melo@ufvjm.edu.br ABSTRACT Ethno-zootechny is a contemporary science, an analytical instrument for rescuing knowledge and its relationship with society's culture. The work aimed to analyze the perception and understanding of rural family's livestock about the ethno-zootechny concepts in the social, economic, and environmental scope in the Northwest of Minas Gerais. To this end, research was conducted using a semi-structured script involving 50 farmers, representatives of rural producers' families during 2019. Subsequently, the data obtained were analyzed in the light of a statistical and descriptive approach to the results. A cluster analysis was performed by the hierarchical method using the Ward model. The results indicate that the interviewees feel devalued by society as producers, on the other hand, maintain that the current condition of cattle ranchers is related to the intangible elements: inheritance of property, way of life, tradition, and preservation of rural values. The research pointed out that the form of knowledge acquisition encompasses a traditional process of transmitting knowledge across generations. The survey demonstrates a low level of technical assistance in the interviewed properties. It is concluded that the main form of knowledge transmission is generational. There is a confrontation between the old and the modern because of inherited and acquired rationalities and resistance with the new production technologies in family production units in the Northwest of Minas Gerais. Keywords: animal science, animal welfare, ethnoscience, generational inheritance. RESUMO A etnozootecnia é uma ciência contemporânea, um instrumento analítico de resgate do conhecimento e sua relação com a cultura da sociedade. O trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a percepção e compreensão dos rebanhos familiares rurais sobre os conceitos de etnozootecnia no Noroeste de Minas Gerais. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi realizada por meio de um roteiro semiestruturado envolvendo 50 agricultores, representantes de famílias de produtores rurais durante o ano de 2019. Posteriormente, os dados obtidos foram analisados à luz de uma abordagem estatística e descritiva dos resultados. A análise de agrupamento foi realizada pelo método hierárquico usando o modelo de Ward. Os resultados indicam que os entrevistados se sentem desvalorizados pela sociedade como produtores, por outro lado, sustentam que a condição atual dos pecuaristas está relacionada aos elementos intangíveis: herança de propriedade, modo de vida, tradição e preservação dos valores rurais. A pesquisa apontou que a forma de aquisição do conhecimento engloba um processo tradicional de transmissão do conhecimento entre gerações. A pesquisa demonstra um baixo nível de assistência técnica nas propriedades entrevistadas. Conclui-se que a principal forma de transmissão do conhecimento é geracional. Há um confronto entre o antigo e o moderno por conta de racionalidades herdadas e adquiridas e a resistência às novas tecnologias de produção em unidades de produção familiar no Noroeste de Minas Gerais. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44692 ISSN: 2525-8761 Palavras-chave: bem-estar animal, ciência animal, etnociência, herança geracional. 1 INTRODUÇÃO There is the primary concern in the relations between human beings and nature with conserving natural resources and adopting sustainable practices by all society components. These have demanded alternatives for their prevention, cure, or control, which improve the populations' life expectancy. Des Roches et al. (2016) described that animals are in contact with humans in most farming conditions, so human-animal relationships are essential for farmers and other stakeholders. In this way, traditional/popular communities' knowledge represents cultural and socially established ties over time and a bridge to maintain interdependence interrelations in connections with nature (Albuquerque, 2010; Carvalho, 2006; Gomes et al., 2017). At certain times, rural families are agents of the preservation of natural resources. At other times, inversely proportional, they adopt practices that are not aligned with the environmental perspective. This process is the consequence of the knowledge baggage, sometimes positive, sometimes negative. In livestock family farming, some traditions involve the reproduction of memories and symbolic ties that preserve work and management practices and rationalities. Others end up bringing difficulties about the production system that are oriented to market demands. This research focuses on rural families, settled by agrarian reform, who dedicate themselves to livestock family farming in the Cerrado, especially in the Northwest of Minas Gerais. Due to the interviewees' characteristics, cultural baggage, and experiences, the research has potential for innovation in ethno-zootechny, given the relationship between animals and people, animals, and daily life in rural areas animals as a way of income generation. In this context, some families may be linked to traditional populations, while others are not. Stefanello and Nogueira (2012) maintained that traditional populations are defined as those who know nature, relating intimately, in symbiosis and dependence, learning the secrets, their properties, and using their resources to live and transmit these values of generation to generation (Stefanello & Nogueira, 2012). In this sense, a line of studies develops in a broader way to understand and value the social, economic, and environmental issues present in societies immersed in a close relationship of experiences with the natural environment. Rural families have a direct and daily relationship with nature, the social and cultural space, as their way of life and Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44693 ISSN: 2525-8761 reproduction is directly linked to the exploitation of resources such as land, water, and fauna. Ethnoscience emerged in the United States from the mid-twentieth century, suggesting a new anthropological approach. Cultures have ceased to be perceived as sets of artifacts and behaviors and started to be considered systems of knowledge, such as linguistic structures (Alves et al., 2010). In this way, local knowledge can be regarded as a series of accumulated knowledge regarding their professional or lived relationships. From this premise, it is possible to deduce that the knowledge of these populations, combined with the conservation of biodiversity, as proposed by Modesto et al. (2012), in which they state that the information obtained from these populations is a relevant tool for conservationists' studies in virtue that help with information about ecosystems and their interactive organisms. Saldanha (2005) emphasized that conservation efforts need to identify and promote social processes, allowing traditional populations to conserve and increase biodiversity as part of their way of life. In this context, it stands out that the elements related to culture and nature are fundamental rights of preservation and maintenance over time. In this way, considering the valuable environmental and cultural heritage existing in Brazil, it is possible to highlight the role of ethno-zootechny as active in understanding these values. The rescue and generational transmission of knowledge about the management with animals are relevant because the manufacturing techniques for preparing by-products and the care and procedures with the animals that precede it are unknown by many people. Traditional manufacture is essential to have on environmental preservation and quality of the final product. In this sense, it is highlighted that, according to Donazzolo et al. (2012), it is plausible to say that some knowledge systems have already been eroded, varying in degree, according to the type of population in question. On the other hand, there are remnants between the ancient and the modern shared in rural families' daily lives. To ensure the animal's health, families farming working need to preserve animal welfare and the particular concern in the quality of products from animal products that generate demand for alternative disease control methods and new alternative products for food supplementation. In this sense, ethno-zootechny is characterized as a crossing field of knowledge. The importance of animal production within human societies, history, evolution, and the relationships between man, animal, and environment are critical cultural parameters for development. Social, economic, and environmental (Laurans, 1977). Corroborating with the rescue of traditional knowledge Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44694 ISSN: 2525-8761 and its relationship with the people's culture, especially rural families, is an element of high social impact. Therefore, this work aimed to analyze the perception and understanding of family farming about the concepts of ethno-zootechnics in Northwest of Minas Gerais. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS Questionnaires were carried out, using a semi-structured script, with 50 farmers, representatives of families allocated in rural settlements, who own their property located in the municipality of Unaí in Northwest of Minas Gerais. This questionnaire has recorded the relevance of essential cultural knowledge associated with social, economic, and environmental development. The questionnaires were carried out between January and December 2019. The semi-structured script involved the following categories of analysis: the naturalness of the region, time engaged in a rural activity, receiving some type of technical assistance, types of animals on the property, consideration of the tradition of agricultural activity, the representation of animals for the producer, the way of acquiring knowledge to work with animals in the field, the utilization of animal by-products and the way they are used, the way of internalizing knowledge for the preparation of derivatives, the importance of the propagation of values and the opinion on the valorization of rural producers by society. After the interviews, the collected data were organized in a spreadsheet using the Microsoft Excel program for descriptive statistical analysis. Cluster analysis was performed according to Malhotra (2011), using the hierarchical method. The Ward model was adopted regarding the model used, which has proved efficient, being the model most used in hierarchical methods. According to Malhotra (2011), cluster analysis is a technique used to classify objects or cases into relatively homogeneous groups called clusters or conglomerates. Thus, each group's things tend to be like each other but different from objects in other groups because this analysis is inserted in Figure 1. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44695 ISSN: 2525-8761 Figure 1. Dendrogram for the 50 farmers in Minas Gerais. Each line represents a farmer with his survey number. The horizontal line represents the best split of the dendrogram and defines the three clusters /profiles. Source: Elaborated by the authors Therefore, three fundamental questions must be considered when applying cluster analysis: first, how the data's similarity will be measured; second, how to form clusters; and how to decide how many groups to form. The distance measures represent the similarity, which is defined by the proximity between the observations and the variables. Hierarchical aggregation is characterized by the establishment of a tree-shaped hierarchy or structure. Hierarchical aggregation links objects by their associations, producing a graphical representation called a dendrogram. These pieces of information are grouped (Figure 1), where they represent the three hierarchical groups. So, groups 1, 2, and 3 are composed of 36, 13, and 1 producer, respectively, following the described analysis methodology. 3 RESULTS It can be seen in the results presented in table 1 that 30.56%, 100%, and 38.46% of producers in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, are not native to the analyzed region and have been working as a rural producer for over ten years. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44696 ISSN: 2525-8761 Groups Table 1. Naturalization and time engaged in rural activity in Northwest of Minas Gerais. Naturalization/birth in Northwest of Minas Gerais (%) G1 G2 G3 Yes 69.44 61.54 No 30.56 100.00 38.46 Groups Time (years) engaged in a rural activity (%) Less 4 years G1 G2 G3 5.55 23.07 Between 5 to 10 Between 10 to 15 years More than 15 years years 5.55 11.11 77.78 100.00 23.07 7.69 46.17 Source: Elaborated by the authors The research demonstrated that 5.55% and 15.38% of producers in groups 1 and 3, respectively, did not know how to give an opinion on the valorization of the rural producer's profession. At the same time, most producers claimed that society does not value rural producers' professions (Table 2). However, 27.78% and 30.77% of the producers in groups 1 and 3 responded that there is some professional appreciation. Table 2. Valuing, tradition, and importance of the placement of the profession of rural producer in Brazil by the interviewees. Groups Perception of valuing the profession of rural producer (%) G1 G2 G3 Yes 27.78 30.77 No 66.67 100.00 53.85 Did not know 5.55 15.38 Opinion on the profession (rural producer) as tradition (%) G1 G2 G3 Yes 100.00 0.00 100.00 No 0.00 100.00 0.00 Importance on the transmission and preservation of values (knowledge) (%) G1 G2 G3 Yes 100.00 0.00 100.00 No 0.00 100.00 0.00 Source: Elaborated by the authors As shown in table 3, concerning the ethno-zootechnical knowledge acquired for working with animals in rural areas, all producers in groups 1 and 2 reported that the transmission of this knowledge came from a family circle member. With group 3 producers, the values obtained were 38.46%, 15.38%, 30.78%, and 15.38%, in which they Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44697 ISSN: 2525-8761 acquired this knowledge from ancestors; alone; technical courses or technical courses and ancestors, respectively (Table 3). Table 3. Way of obtaining ethno-zootechnical knowledge in the handling and utilization, and preparation of animal by-products. Groups G1 G2 G3 Knowledge acquisition of working with animals in the field (%) Ancestors Alone Technical courses 100.00 100.00 38.46 15.38 30.78 Technical courses and Ancestors 15.38 Learning of the utilization and preparation of animal by-products (%) Ancestors G1 G2 G3 91.68 100.00 46.16 Alone Technical courses 2.77 5.55 15.38 23.08 Source: Elaborated by the authors Technical courses and Ancestors 15.38 The technical assistance received by the producer groups formed in this research verified that 8.33%, 0.00, and 61.54% of families settled by groups 1, 2, and 3 technical assistance. Besides, 91.66%, 100%, and 38.46% of producers receive some helpful animal production service on their properties (Table 4). Table 4. Presence of technical assistance in the interviewed properties in Northwest of Minas Gerais. Groups Technical assistance received (%) Yes No G1 8.33 91.66 G2 100.00 G3 61.54 38.46 Source: Elaborated by the authors The diversity of livestock in family farming is composed of many animals such as goats, sheep, poultries, equines, and swine. These species, in general, are economically important in the tropics, where more than 50% of domestic animals are found. In this way, it is observed that 55.59%, 100%, and 38.47% of respondents in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, have a remarkably diverse range of domestic animals (cattle, poultry, swine, and equines) (Table 5). A small percentage of group 1 producers produce only one animal category (poultry or swine). Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44698 ISSN: 2525-8761 Table 5. Main types of domestic animals existing in the interviewed properties in Northwest of Minas Gerais. Groups Types of domestic animal in rural properties (%) P1 S2 CP3 CS4 PS5 CPS6 CPSE7 G1 2.77 2.77 11.11 5.55 8.33 13.88 55.59 G2 100.00 G3 7.68 15.38 38.47 38.47 1 Poultry; 2Swine; 3Cattle and Poultry; 4Cattle and Swine; 5Poultry and Swine; 6Cattle, Poultry and Swine; 7 Cattle, Poultry, Swine and Equine. Source: Elaborated by the authors The destination of by-products, from animal production, observed that the producer of group 2 uses it for his consumption. On the other hand, most producers (72.22% and 84.61% of groups 1 and 2, respectively) destining the by-products at both own consumption and commercialization. No producer analyzed to use the derivatives solely for marketing (Table 6). Table 6. Use of by-products and representation of livestock in family farming in the interviewed properties in Northwest of Minas Gerais. Groups Utilization of animal by-products and form of consumption or trade (%) Own consumption Only Trade Own consumption and Trade G1 27.78 72,22 G2 100.00 G3 15.38 84,61 Representation of the animals by the producers (%) Only as a source of income Source of income. but with respect for animals G1 16.67 83.33 G2 100.00 G3 61.54 38.46 Source: Elaborated by the authors 4 DISCUSSION The Northwest of Minas Gerais is considered an agricultural pole in the Cerrado due to the growing advance of farm modernization and agricultural and biological technologies that leveraged production in this territory. This space is divided into different farmers, including rural companies, employers' farmers, medium-sized producers, family farming, and agrarian reform settlements. Regarding rural settlements, they impact the transformation of the municipalities' socioeconomic reality where they are located. De Sousa et al. (2011) showed that, until the publication of the data, the Northwest of Minas Gerais settled 4,721 families, which generate a large sum of resources for the municipalities. These facts may explain the large percentage of producers who are not native to the analyzed region. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44699 ISSN: 2525-8761 Regarding the profession's valuation, the research demonstrated that many do not know how to express their opinion or believe that society does not value the work among producers. Mendes and Ichikawa (2010) pointed out that the greater the technological development of some rural sectors, the lesser the possibility of many producers participating in the process, which implies exclusion and disqualifying and devaluing their work mode. However, 27.78% and 30.77% of the producers in groups 1 and 3 responded that there is some professional appreciation. Such consideration may be linked, perhaps, by the slow but growing inversion of this picture of negative perceptions about the job since the consumer started seeking and choosing the quality present in traditional foods. This readaptation of consumption in greater attachment for quality than for quantity happens due to health issues and the symbolic quality present in these foods, traditions, origins, and roots. In this sense, there are analogies with the research by Tedesco (2012), who studied the effective practices of family farmers in Brazil. The author states that a product's quality is a social construction in the relationships between subjects and objects, in groups' social experiences in specifically built spaces, and gain cultural attributes of the territories. Food brings in its constitution the history of a community, from a territory, from a group, or a region that classifies them as unique, currently reinforcing the issues related to geographic identification. This possible aggregation of value is attributed to the farmer's image due to a series of media strategies for enhancing farmers' identity, especially with the public of family farming. The insertion of actions related to food security and stimulating products from rural families with a small production scale, valuing issues associated with output, organoleptic qualities, and valuation of small production and consumption circuits. Despite food empires, Paulino (2008) stated that 85% of world food production is channeled through short and decentralized circuits. There is a strong tendency to value family farming products produced locally, whose effective practices promote sustainability strategies (Cruz & Schneider, 2010). These traditional products are constituted and are part of the social history of a given culture. Products, fruits of history, and generations producing and recreating them mark a process that brings together sociable and family relationships in a meeting between knowledge and experience. Therefore, the production of these foods is still know-how built over time through family tradition. Such finding agrees with producers of groups 1 and 3 on the importance of propagating these values and reaffirming rural producers' profession as a tradition. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44700 ISSN: 2525-8761 Only, the producer that composes group 2 replied that he does not perceive the rural producer as a profession and disregards the transmission of knowledge related to rural production. This is why they placed him in a specific group in part in the results obtained in this research. The ethno-zootechnical knowledge acquired for working with animals in rural areas demonstrates that traditional knowledge constitutes a heritage of traditional populations, transmitted orally through intergenerational processes, which presents peculiarities by the close relationship of these populations richness of biodiversity (Eloy et al., 2014). However, due to the problems of generational succession observed by Kischener et al.(2021), the transmission of traditional knowledge can be affected by the absence of a generational line. This fact was also verified by Bamikole and Ikhatua (2009) and Mkwanazi et al. (2019). The traditional knowledge about management with animals has developed themselves and passed over generations. It is also noted, as the second-highest index of this analysis, the use of technical courses to complement the knowledge, which may indicate a rupture in this cycle of tradition, presenting the search for more information to adapt the traditional production to the current parameters of sanitary hygiene. Within the scope of the consumption of traditional foods, there are two distinct points of view: a) on the one hand, there is a discussion on the "quality" of the food, obtained through the formal market through the regulated standards through technical requirements; b) on the other hand, there is a vision of "quality" based on the cultural values of the food, which are increasingly incorporated into the informal market. However, Wuepper et al. (2020) evaluated that family farming is no different from the others using sustainable practices. This is a worrying statement since one of the differentials of products from family farming is its characteristics of better soil management less use of pesticides. It is observed that the technical assistance received by the producing groups formed in this research is still considered nascent. Data from the 2017 Agricultural Census (IBGE, 2017) show that 80.14% of agricultural establishments do not receive technical assistance in Brazil to trace a parallel. In most cases, there are problems with technology in family farming due to a series of economic resources and a low rate of application by producers, corroborating with the results obtained by Gaspar et al. (2008), who observed that livestock farming in Extremadura, Spain, still has low technical efficiency. However, Kling-Eveillard et al. (2020) indicated that most farmers expressed satisfaction about working with the new technology because their work becomes more accessible and allows more control over the animals' management. In this sense, public Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44701 ISSN: 2525-8761 technical assistance is an evident need for rural families who manage the milk production system. Gonçalves et al. (2014) found that technical assistance, guidance, and monitoring allow improvements to be made in the rural property located in Oliveira, Sao Paulo's sales municipality. For that, it was necessary a harmonic interaction between producer and extensionist, being fundamental and, at the same time, relevant to the success of technology transfer. Therefore, in addition to technical assistance availability, it is necessary to consider how they act with them, working and respecting the producers' traditional knowledge. However, activities initiated by technical assistance, despite being widespread, only 17% of producers have participated in the workshops and training sessions (Logan, 2005). The diversity of livestock in family farming is composed of many farm animals, such as goats, sheep, poultries, equines, and swine. Corroborating with Bezzuti et al. (2011), who analyzed family farming in Brazil, about animal production, about 75% of the establishments have beef cattle, 70% have poultry production, 55% have pig breeding activity, and approximately 50% of the units have dairy activity. For family farmers, adding value to their production facilitates the insertion of these products in the market, highlighting that family agro-industries process and/or transform part of agricultural and/or livestock production, aiming, above all, at the presentation of exchange value that takes place marketing. However, family farmers still faced severe problems of lack of market for their products, especially food. One way to insert this production in the market is to invest in institutional demand (Gomes & Padovan, 2014). Among the public policies to support the commercialization of family farming production in Brazil, the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) and the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) stand out. It is also observed that for groups 2 and 3, there is a relationship of affection and usefulness, agreeing by Serpell (2004), that identified that human-animal relationships are subject to the two primary dimensions: those of affection and utility, which together combine to shape human attitudes towards animals. Bock et al. (2007) also show that most cattle farmers have a sense of attachment to their cows, with the bond ranging from loose to very close. Some French farmers described their relationship as one of deep attachment, which almost resembled a family relationship. This relationship of affection and utility proves to be universal, regardless of location. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44702 ISSN: 2525-8761 In this sense, this research focused on the study of ethno-zootechny, sought to understand, through the interviewees' perception, the relationship of rural families with agricultural activities, the transmission of traditional knowledge, knowledge, and practices adopted by family farming in Northwest of Minas Gerais, through the generations and the possible relations with the productive system, the perception about the activity, the technical assistance and with the animals around the productive system, through the understanding of the local, traditional knowledge and its relations with the chain agribusiness. These relationships denote a readaptation of traditional practices with innovations, a dispute between the old and the modern, and the slow adaptation of the productive environment, nature, and local rural culture. 5 CONCLUSIONS The research aimed to analyze livestock's perception and understanding in family farming about the ethno-zootechnical concepts of 50 farmers in the Northwest of Minas Gerais. It is concluded that the local rural development involves cultural and generational heritage attributes over time, which undergo adaptation processes and preserve the essence. The cattle ranchers' current condition is related to the intangible elements: inheritance of property, way of life, tradition, and rural values protection. The research pointed out that a form of knowledge acquisition encompasses a traditional process of transmitting knowledge across generations. The study demonstrates a low level of technical assistance in the interviewed properties. It can be said that the main form of knowledge transmission is generational and, in most of the properties, there is a confrontation between the old and the modern, in the face of inherited and acquired rationalities with experience. It results in resistance and adaptations with the new technologies essential for developing production chains in family production units in Minas Gerais's Northwest. As a suggestion, further studies are recommended to deepen the debate on ethnosciences and ethno-zootechny to establish parameters of understanding about cultural groups and the influences of knowledge on agricultural production and environmental conservation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development for the scholarship granted. Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.5, p. 44690-44705 may 2021 Brazilian Journal of Development 44703 ISSN: 2525-8761 REFERENCES ALBUQUERQUE, U. P., LUCENA, R. F. P., & ALENCAR, N. L. (2010). 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