O processo de gestão rural no Vale do Rio Pardo - RS : um olhar a partir da orizicultura.

Abstract

In order to understand the view that the rice producers have about the management of their properties, this dissertation seeks to bring, besides the introduction, the context of the region - Rio Pardo´s Valley - and the cities investigated - Candelária, Pantano Grande and Rio Pardo, in addition to information on rice cultivation based on the literature and secondary data. The second chapter presents the methodological proposal of the Actor Oriented Perspective (AOP), the literature related to it and the concept of agency and rural management to understand this reality. This perspective seeks to bring the eyes of the actors about their daily lives and about how they develop strategies that allow their survival in the rural environment. The third chapter presents the methodology used in data collection and analysis. Therefore, it presents a cross-reference of quantitative data obtained through the structured interviews, seeking to outline the general profile of the producers and their properties. Next, the responses to interviews are analyzed based four categories – agency; heterogeneity; autonomy and empowerment; and knowledge. With these, it was possible to elucidate how they develop their knowledge, fight for autonomy, differentiate themselves from each other and act to transform the reality around them. From this information, it was possible to perceive that the rice farmers have a broad empirical knowledge about the management of their properties, but lack the technical knowledge, which can be a strong ally in their maintenance in the rural environment. The final considerations close the work with the author bringing his perceptions and some conclusions obtained in the course of the research.