Agricultura familiar diversificada e qualidade de vida : o caso do município de São Pedro do Butiá - Rio Grande do Sul.

Abstract

This paper analizes the role of diversified familial agriculture in the income generation and in the promotion of quality of life among agricultural families in São Pedro do Butiá – RS, within the Committee of Regional Development COREDE Missões. Corede Missões is geographically localized in the Northeastern region of the plateau of Rio Grande do Sul state and its economy is based on agricultutre. São Pedro do Butiá belongs to COREDE Missões, and agriculture stands for 62,74% of its gross domestic product (GDP) (IBGE, 2000). This is the reason why it is important to study the opinions of the interviewees about the diversification of activities performed at the familial units of production, and the author also aimed to analyze their quality of life. The incentives to diversification of activities, aggregation of value to the production, income generation and promotion of quality of life of the families given by several entities such as Empresa Brasileira de Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural (EMATER), Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais (STR), COOPERBUTIÁ (Cooperativa de São Pedro do Butiá), COTRISA (Cooperativa Tritícola Santo Ângelo LTDA) and the city council were analyzed. Data obtained from these entities and the agriculturists were cross matched in order to analyze their quality of life. Also, the author cross matched the information with the data grouped at the Índice de Desenvolvimento Socioeconômico do Rio Grande do Sul (IDESE). The methodology used for the approach was based on the Marxist dialectics and the gathering of data was based on a case study. Twenty-four families were analized by answering a quantitative and qualitative questionnaire, while the representants from the entities answered a qualitative one. The results show the importance of the diversification of activities and plantations in the familial units of production. As the families diversify their activities there are three main monthly or four-time-a-year sources of income nowadays (milk, corn and swine), along with other products. These sources of income are used mainly for the family and the property maintenance, leisure time and payment of debts. The change from the soybean monoculture to the diversification of cultures is attributed to the technical assistance and rural extention offered by the entities mentioned above, and it seems clear that the agriculturists changed their matrix of production when they were reached by information. The incentive to diversification, aggregation of value to the production, income generation and promotion of quality of life are achieved by means such as: buying of the excess of the production, FUNDESE, promotion of courses about farming, work done with the Ladies and Girls Group, incentive to rural tourism and to agro-industries, prevention and protection of health, education and school transport. The significance attributed to quality of life by the interviewees was being healthy, having a good life in community, having a fair financial reward for the work done and being able to offer education to the offspring. When the data obtained from the interviewees and the information from the IDESE were cross matched it was possible to conclude that the quality of life of the familial agriculturists was the 5th best in COREDE Missões. Therefore, the model of development applied in São Pedro do Butiá, which is based on the incentive of its endogenous qualities and on the participation of the community, represents a strategy that assures sustainable rural development to the council.