O autoconsumo na agricultura familiar: o caso do município de Lajeado do Bugre

Abstract

This study demonstrates the contribution of self-consumption to the composition of family farm income and discusses the main characteristics associated with its development. Also referred to as "pro-spending" or "provisioning" production, self-consumption refers to all production made by the family (vegetable garden, orchard, animal husbandry, etc.) whose products are intended for their own consumption. Sixteen agricultural production units (UPA) and three rural technical and extension agents (ATER) of the municipality of Lajeado do Bugre, in the Northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul, were surveyed. The selection of PAUs was consulted with ATER agents, the main selection criteria were: i) Representativeness of families according to the study; ii) Accessibility for data collection. Data collection was performed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study was divided into 3 parts: 1st questionnaires were applied on self-consumption to ATER agents; 2 to 8 families that produce little or nothing for self-consumption; 3rd to 8 families that produce enough for self-consumption. For those that produce, the agricultural income of the activity was raised, referring to the year 2018, considering diversity, quantity produced and all factors of production. For those that do not produce, the characteristics associated to disinterest with the activity were raised. For the calculation of the RA of self-consumption, a market survey was made considering how much the family would spend, if it stopped producing in the UPA and purchased the products in the local commerce. The activity has a great diversity, in which there are 169 products, divided into: 47 fruits, 39 vegetables, 35 medicinal, 13 animals, 13 processed, 12 seasonings, 5 grains, 2 vegetable fibers, 1 stalk, seed and firewood. The average annual agricultural income is R$ 10,006.02, which corresponds to a monthly income of R$ 833.83. The main elements in income composition are animal (37%), vegetables (24.7%), fruits (12.5%) and firewood (9.2%). Another positive aspect is the relatively low demand for labor, 262,30 man-days (DTH) per year, and a remuneration of 38.10 R$/DTH, and the family can enjoy holidays, holidays. Among the main reasons associated with the lack of interest in self-consumption are the shortage of labor, and mainly non-agricultural occupations by women, among others. Added to this, the average age of the people able to work in these UPA’s is lower than those with strong self-consumption, according to Student's t-test (α = 5%). It is concluded that self-consumption is an important alternative to generating income in family agriculture, reducing market spending, and besides guaranteeing socioeconomic autonomy to the family, promotes food security due toits great diversity, distribution throughout the year and quality of the products, which are mostly free of pesticides. From the social point of view, it was also interesting, since it values the past knowledge of parents to children, strengthens relations between neighbors and friends and encourages group work.