A MIRAGEM VERDE NO SEMIÁRIDO: DESACOPLAMENTO ORGANIZACIONAL E INVISIBILIZAÇÃO DO NEXO ÁGUA–SOLO–SOCIEDADE NA FRUTICULTURA DE EXPORTAÇÃO GREEN MIRAGE IN THE SEMIARID: ORGANIZATIONAL DECOUPLING AND THE INVISIBILITY OF THE WATER–SOIL–SOCIETY NEXUS IN EXPORT FRUIT FARMING

Abstract

The expansion of irrigated fruit farming in the Brazilian semiarid hás been widely associated with narratives of sustainability, productive efficiency, and environmental modernization. However, this production model  reveals significant contradictions between operational practices and institutional discourses, particularly regarding impacts on natural and social systems.  This study aims to analyze how organizational decoupling manifests in export-oriented fruit farming in the Caatinga, high lighting the invisibilization of impacts on the water–soil–society nexus and the discursive construction of sustainability. Methodologically,  this research adopts na integrative literature review, conducted through a systematic adapted protocol, starting from na initial set of 207 references and refined into a final corpus of 26 studies. The results indicate there current presence of greenwashing practices, supported by selective disclosure strategies, certifications, and corporate programes that do not reflect material transformations in production systems. Empirical evidence points to soil degradation, intensified water use, hydrological changes, and socio-environmental impacts of te nomitted in institutional narratives. The  discussion integrates these dimensions through the proposition of the “Green Mirage” as  ananalytic alcategory capable of explaining the dissociation between discursive visibility and ecological materiality. The study concludes that sustainability, when reduced to its symbolic dimension,  contributes to the reproduction of inequalities and the legitimization of environmentally intensive practices, requiring critical revision of policies and environmental governance instruments.