Spatially effective agrarian activities of ethno-social groups in Brazil. The example of Danube Swabian settlers in Entre Rios/Paraná. Since their immigration to Paraná in 1952 Danube swabian farmers have belonged to the most important innovators in agriculture on South-Brazilian Campos Limpos. The efficient activities of the agrarian cooperative have safeguarded the existence of the Danube Swabians as an ethno-social group by means of land purchase, internal land reform, consolidation of farm structure and stabilization of the core settlement despite continuing land concentration and social differentiation. Following the rice, wheat and soja booms, a balanced crop-rotation with sustainable winter crop alternatives is today the central aim. Barley for brewing has gained a special junction in the innovation and diffusion of innovations. Danube Swabian caused agro and socio-spatial structural changes on the modernization process of Brazilian agriculture is accompanied by attempts at socio-cultural integration. Nevertheless, Entre rios, the only concentrated settlement of Danube Swabians in overseas, has retained its ethno-social identity.
