Avaliação da assistência técnica da agricultura familiar no município de Quilombo -SC

Abstract

Rural technical assistance is essential for the development of agriculture. Without information and knowledge, farmers are unable to implement the technological innovations and management practices best suited to the success of their activity. Family farming is particularly vulnerable to a shortage of technical assistance, mainly public. In the state of Santa Catarina, family farming represents approximately 80% of agricultural establishments, having great economic importance in the production chains of milk, swine, poultry and grains. However, only 50% of these establishments receive public or private technical assistance. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of technical assistance provided to farmers in the Municipality of Quilombo, SC. Data were collected in the first half of 2020 with the support of a semistructured questionnaire. The sample consisted of 15 family farming establishments in the São José community, chosen at random. The study found that most people living in rural areas are elderly (> 56 years old) and have a low level of education. The main agricultural activities are the production of corn, soy and milk, developed with exclusively family labor. All the rural establishments studied carry out the protection of natural springs. The disposal of pesticide packaging is carried out according to technical recommendation (places of purchase or receiving points). Another aspect observed regarding the use of pesticides was the lack of training to regulate sprayers and the lack of guidance for the introduction of controls that are less harmful to the environment, such as biological products and traps. There is also a lack of guidance on the use of PPE, which may explain the low adherence of farmers - 100% of the families visited do not make use of adequate protection for the management of pesticides. Most families assisted by cooperatives partially follow the technical recommendation regarding the dose of pesticides and fertilizers (reason: cost reduction), which is indicative of the potential conflict of interest, since the technician who makes the recommendation also sells the product