Introduction
The absence of pesticides is the most striking feature in organic agriculture,
thanks to the fact that the production of healthier food has grown
significantly in the agri–food market in recent years. In urban or peri–
urban areas, food production under organic farming or based on agro ecological
systems1, particularly vegetable gardens, is an opportunity to improve
the living conditions of social risk population and to generate additional revenue
through surplus production selling. However, despite of the absence of
pesticides in their composition, in order to be considered an organic product
some aspects are involved, which in a broader approach, are so important
to humankind and the environment, like the chemical composition of food
grown in this perspective.
This article discusses the organic farming growth in the city of Río Cuarto,
Córdoba, Argentina, where organic farming is not either an incorporated
issue by the foodstuffs market or so deeply assimilated by local public opinion:
ProHuerta program, which is being implemented throughout Argentina
by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), has a main objective
which is the production of pesticide-free food through low–cost and
easy absorption technology adoptions, for self-consumption and additional
income generation from surplus production selling. This program also plays
the role of a knowledge source about natural food and the organic food cultivation, in a region that is largely dominated by grain production in conventional
monoculture systems.
Moreover, this work analyses the organic agriculture growth based on the
principles of agro ecology in the municipality of Seropédica (Rio de Janeiro
Metropolitan Region, Brazil), taking as a sample a group of certified agriculturists
by the Sistema Participativo de Garantia (SPG). The agriculturists
experience with organic production reveals the importance of non-industrial
crops for small agriculturists, considering their production conditions and
limited financial resources, as well as product placement difficulties in the
agri-food market for small and little capitalized agriculturists. For these producers,
it is usually not profitable to commercialize through large markets,
product selling in agro ecological fairs and short marketing channels tend to
be more suitable alternatives.
The objective of this research is not only the evaluation of institutional
strategies related to the research and development process of organic agriculture,
but also socialization and appropriation of agro ecological knowledge,
in order to contribute to the discussion regarding the importance of organic
agriculture alternative movements as an effective way to improve the labor
market and to generate income for economically disadvantaged populations.
Organic agriculture: alternative
farming production without pesticides to
the conventional model of agriculture
For thousands of years, since the so–called “Neolithic agricultural revolution”
about ten to twelve thousand years ago, humankind produced their
food without the use of industrial origin pesticides. On the basis of developing
the ability to choose place, time, selection of crops and animals that
could be raised, there were successive innovations such as the domestication
of plants and animals, fallow systems, oxcart and plow, cereals and fodder
cultivation systems without fallow, among others (Santilli 2009). It is noteworthy
that until then there had been a “no pesticide” agriculture, but not
yet covered by a scientific and technological support that could name it as
“organic” or other equivalent terms (Queiroz 2014).
The agricultural progress is closely related to the science advancement
in other areas; the late nineteenth century, in the awake of progress arising
from industrial revolution there were other innovations such as the seeders,
harvesters, threshers carousel and fans to clean the grain. There were also
chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides (Santilli 2009). Technological
innovations such as large cold storage and increased transport capacity for
long distances contributed to the farming development under the paradigm
of productivity guided by market demands, enabling the predominance of
large monocultures and thus the production cycles had become increasingly
longer (with several intermediary players), increasing the distance between
the producer and the consumer.
Agriculture has become an economic activity with characteristic elements
from the industrial sector, such as large-scale production, reduction
of production costs and profit maximization; and the intensive use of capital,
goods, technologies: such elements constitute the “Green revolution” technological
package, widely spread around the world, wrapped in a discourse
of “agriculture modernization”, and in order to control what “on the edge” is
uncontrollable, that is, the nature. According to Schmitt (2010), the “Green
revolution” is constituted in a production model based on intensive use of
modified seeds, industrial inputs (fertilizers and pesticides), mechanization
and reduction of management costs that made possible a great increase in agricultural
production in the least developed countries in the 1960s and 1970s.
The intensive use of pesticides to control pests and diseases is a widely
established practice for just over half a century and whose origins date back
to the world wars, when the chemical industry, at that time poison makers
with military purpose, turned to agriculture looking forward to the consumption
of their products2 (Londres 2011). The agriculture based on industrial
standards, or “Conventional agriculture”, has made food production on a large scale, supported by successive technological innovations that contribute
to productivity increase and profit raise, called big investors attention
and become hegemonic. It is observed that Conventional Agriculture growth
took a few decades to establish and consolidate its domain, requiring from its
great defenders investments both in capital contribution, as in the ideological
model construction, supported by the promise of being able to generate foreign
exchange and eliminate the problem of hunger in the world (a partially
achieved goal).
The emergence of the so-called
“alternative agriculture”: brief history
In the second half of the twentieth century, agriculture was able to meet,
on a global scale, the increasing demand for food with lower prices and increased
productivity, which generally exceeded the population growth rate
and so there was a decrease in chronic hunger. A satisfactory result was a
consequence of scientific and technological advancements that included the
use of fertilizers and pesticides, large irrigation structures and the development
of new plant varieties (Gliessman 2008). Despite the undeniable productivity
gains and the remarkable technological advancements, the agriculture
based on the premises of the “Green revolution” also had undesirable
effects, and thus came under questions about the high productivity benefits
versus such a high environmental cost. In the 1970s the harmful effects of
standard technology such as soil degradation, the emergence of pest resistance
to agrochemicals and the destruction of natural resources, could already
be observed.
The first current of alternative agriculture to conventional farming model
emerged in the 1920s, of which already existed in Europe, particularly in
Germany, considered a protest movement against urban and industrial development
at that time Darolt 2002). The so-called “alternative agriculture”
is an alternative way to conventional cultivation placed in the context of
counterpoint to the industrial agriculture excess and contemplating various
currents as biodynamic agriculture, organic agriculture, natural agriculture
and permaculture.
The best–known current, the “organic agriculture”, came up with the
studies of the English researcher, Sir Albert Howard, who worked for nearly
40 years in India researching the relationship of human health resistance to
disease, with organic soil structure. His book An Agricultural Testament and
his research, which had repercussions in many countries, propose to improve
soil fertility through the use of organic matter, considered essential to plants
(Jesus 2009; Darolt 2010). In Brazil and Argentina, the term “organic agriculture”
is commonly used to denote the pesticide-free agriculture. Organic
farming has grown with the support of alternative agriculture movements,
but has already been to some extent, absorbed by production models on an
industrial scale and focused on specific markets, including to export to central
countries at northern hemisphere. Currently, it is also practiced in large
areas, including monoculture systems, and in this case, the production is
driven by production technologies that provide control of unwanted variables
(pests and diseases) without the use of pesticides, but not including
the systemic approach (biological and socioeconomic) advocated by agro
ecology.
On the other hand, the study of food production possibilities using techniques
of various modalities of alternative agriculture, including agro ecological
systems, becomes important by its contribution to the availability
of income generation and social inclusion, considering that alternative systems
of food production have, on crop diversification, a hallmark: “in sum,
you cannot unlink the organic agricultural origin: a social and transforming
movement” (Campanhola y Valarini 2001).
Methodological procedures
The field research was conducted in Río Cuarto (Córdoba, Argentina)
and the Municipality of Seropédica (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), where local institutions
(public university and agricultural research institutions) perform
educational activities and technology transfer; and thus stimulate family agriculturists
to practice organic agriculture and the consumption of its products
locally.
The chosen methods were qualitative research, that “besides being a researcher’s
option, it is justified, above all, to be an appropriate way to understand
the nature of a social phenomenon” (Richardson 1999, 79), depth
interviews with agriculturists, horticulturists and significant players3 (professionals
and volunteers working in local institutions); and observation, which
is the basis of all social field research, through participation in agriculturist
meetings in Seropédica, certification and verification visits of the Participatory
Guarantee System (SPG), “Field Day” (a kind of extension activity) in
Fazendinha Agroecológica Km 47, training courses and technical visits for
follow–up activities of ProHuerta.
Organic agriculture in Río Cuarto:
The official institutions and ProHuerta program
Cultivation and consumption of pesticide-free food are not common ideas
among the urban environment of Río Cuarto. Covering trade near the main
square (Plaza Presidente Roca), where the main shopping and provision of
city services are located. The only place where organic food trade visibility is
performed is the fair of organic products Arte Orgánico, which was formed
with the support of professionals linked to local institutions for teaching and
researching, and takes place on a sidewalk in front of the Place on Saturday
morning, until approximately one or two o’clock in the afternoon. You can
notice, however, that at least from the point of view of consumption, the
concept of organic food is poorly spread in the city.
In 2017, according to updated information by a professional consultant
during field work, organic farming in the region of Río Cuarto is a residual
sector in the food market and “Arte Orgánico” fair continues to be carried
out with few fair dealers. In an attempt to promote family farming in the
region, professionals from the National Agricultural Technology Institute
(INTA) and citizens related to the subject are promoting editions of Fericambio
fair, which, besides marketing family farming products, it is a space for
the exchange of seeds, saplings, canning, recipes and experiences related to
family production and agro ecological subjects.
The discussion about the possibility of food cultivation without pesticides
in Río Cuarto is restricted to educational, research and social assistance
institutions set up on that city, which through academic activities, social projects,
workshops and outreach activities, promote the practice of organic agriculture
in the region. Trading organic food in Río Cuarto is very low in
relation to the consumption of conventional products and the term “Organic
Agriculture”, considering the conceptual basis that is beyond the absence of
pesticides along its production chain, it is mainly widespread in that region
as a result of activities carried out by local education, extension and social
assistance institutions, and there are no obvious signs that this situation can
be changed in the near future.
During the time of conducting the data collection, dissemination of the
concept of organic agriculture through the promotion of vegetable gardens
by Fundación Social4 was found, the activities of ProHuerta and Cambio
Rural,5 INTA programs and “Arte Orgánico” fair, formed with the support of the INTA and Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (UNRC), the local
university.
In the Department of Río Cuarto, the ProHuerta program, identified as
the main diffuser of the concept of organic agriculture in the region, was
executed in the period of data collection by a team of four professionals with
academic backgrounds in veterinary medicine, agronomy, biochemistry and
media, and all of them had at that time, or had been in a prior period, a formal
working with UNRC. The cooperative relationship between INTA unit in
Río Cuarto city, headquarter of the eponymous department, and the University
is quite evident, considering that in addition to professionals linked to
ProHuerta, also professionals from other lines of action have some kind of
cooperation or linking work with teachers from that institution.
The ProHuerta program runs on a network structure that aggregates the
various internal players, and the institutions with which the program has cooperative
activities, with a network of INTA technicians and volunteer promoters
across the country, belonging to various institutions, such as schools,
nongovernmental organizations, retired groups, prison systems, health centers,
and others.
The nationwide ProHuerta program gets cooperation from various level
government institutions, as well as civil society organizations such as the
Caritas, linked to the Catholic Church. In Río Cuarto it was reported that
cooperation comes from the local government and the neighboring cities, the
Argentine Agrarian Federation, regular and agricultural schools, neighborhood
associations, penitentiary, among others. The methodological framework
and the implementation of activities are similar to what is practiced all
over the country, but in response to questions about some peculiar feature in
Río Cuarto, the large cooperative relationship they have with the local university
(UNRC) was informed.
Various institutions emerge volunteer promoters who are linked to the
program team, a partnership that not only results in the creation of private
and community vegetable gardens, but also in spreading the concept of organic
agriculture, considering that in Río Cuarto region, conventional agriculture in monoculture structures for the production of grains, especially
soybeans, is predominantly practiced.
Context and performance
of ProHuerta in Río Cuarto
Río Cuarto region is not “naturally” favorable for organic agriculture
practice because of its environmental characteristics, undeveloped consumer
market and the absence of scientific research as well as applied technologies
to local conditions. Some farmers, who produce on a commercial scale, used
the expression “almost organic” (pesticide-free production is an objective to
be reached, but not always possible, for example, in the case of a livestock
producer who does not use pesticides on his site, but needs to use conventional
pasture from neighboring property to feed his or her animals).
Among the proposed activities in the program, there is the “development
of components”, which is to instruct people for the organic vegetable garden,
the use and multiplication of herbs, production of (natural) manures, the
development of traps for unwanted insects, ecological pest management, the
role played by fruit trees in the constitution of the vegetable garden and pruning
of these species, the provision of animal foods such as poultry, different
uses of food, among others.
Most of the production from the vegetable gardens refers to vegetable
and organic growing with cultivation system association (vegetables, fruit
trees, flowers, etc.) It is a ProHuerta routing, which also adds concern for
the related social aspects, like the need to obtain self–consumption food,
or surplus production for marketing and obtaining additional income. The
program has a strong concern for ensuring food security and the option for
organic agriculture was given by a quite pragmatic reason: the low–cost of
production. The cost of production and technological standards adopted for
the formation of vegetable gardens is suitable to the socioeconomic conditions
of the target audience of this public policy; for those who have food
shortages, sowing a vegetable garden means the possibility of having vegetables
to harvest in a period of 45 to 100 days.
Ideological motivation was a very evident trait in the discourse of professionals
and promoters involved with ProHuerta activities in Río Cuarto: the
goal of learning how to cultivate food enables the exchange of knowledge
among participants and, with the development of the program, over time
learning activities became more valuable, such as processing of food for sale
in the form of jams and preserves, or in the case of vegetables, already cut in
trays (cuarta grama).
In Río Cuarto, the ProHuerta program is developed by INTA Extension
Agency, which is responsible for implementing the activities of the Institute
at that Department, covering 39 municipalities in a radius of 300 km, and
under the jurisdiction of the Agricultural Experimental Station of Marcos
Juárez. There is, therefore, a very broad area of expertise and hard work
for a very small team. It is emphasized that the implementation of activities
at satisfactory levels is a result of the professionals´ commitment involved
from the structure provided by the Institute (facilities, automobile, fuel...),
and also relying on the strength and reputation of INTA, commonly referred
positively by the interviewed people.
The broadcast program in the Department occurs on two axes: the first
level is the training for promoters, aiming to distribute seeds and to transmit
the relevant concepts in their localities, including training in technical
concepts for transmitting knowledge and technology to horticulturists. At a
second level, the training is aimed to people who create the vegetable gardens,
who work the land and seek the seeds; they are invited to participate in
training courses in order to learn how to make their own tools with the use
of inorganic waste, such as plastic bottles, brooms and bleach, also used to
prepare traps for insects.
It is noteworthy that despite the program’s operating focus is food security,
some elements conceptually related to the concepts “Sustainability”
and “Urban agriculture” were identified in the discourse of professionals,
volunteers and interviewed beneficiaries, and issues related to the environment,
as for example, recycling of solid waste, the practice of agriculture as
a way of maintaining the cleanliness of collective urban and environmental
education, especially to the academic training of children and social projects.
For instance, in Alcira Gigena, a research carried out in an elementary school
was reported (with the guidance of ProHuerta volunteer promoters) for the formation of a vegetable garden, and the discussion about the improper disposal
of pesticide containers in the rural area of the municipality, which is
very close to the urban core.
The work done by INTA, more specifically, by ProHuerta, plays the role
of a knowledge transferring tool, which in partnership with formal educational
institutions, transmits information to new generations about an alternative
form of food production, and with limited resources they also carry
out activities related to organic farming in a region where there is a field
of conventional technological package principles in everyday agricultural
practice, and the current discourse in the local society indicates that industrialized
agriculture is a natural and certain idea.
Organic Agriculture in Seropédica:
improving the institutional arrangement6
and the participation of small producers
The Seropédica Municipality is a place where agriculture has traditionally
occupied an important position in the economy, as well as the environment
and the lifestyle of its inhabitants. In recent years, due to large investments
made in the State of Rio de Janeiro, like the construction of Arco Metropolitano
and the Port of Itaguaí, the city has undergone interventions that have
been significantly changing the local landscape and territorial dynamics, and
hence agriculture started to face a downturn context.
The intense pressure of the urban environment on agriculture in the region
was easily identified during the collection of research data, especially
in areas closer to downtown, as well as in the vicinity of Presidente Dutra
highway and the railroad that crosses the city; in addition some agriculturists
have been apprehensive about the possibility of staying in their properties living from farming since the proximity to some developments could compromise
the quality of production, especially because it is organic farming,
it can be even more affected by what happens “beyond the gate” due to its
characteristics.
Research in Seropédica was developed considering two axes for the
analysis of diffusion of organic agriculture in that environment, namely a
group of agriculturists taken as a sample for the study from farm producers’
perspective (Seropédica and small producers from neighboring municipalities)
and local teaching and research organizations, that also aim to promote
agriculture, which make up the institutional framework of organic agriculture
in the region.
In regard to scientific research, Seropédica has a unique feature that differentiates
it in the context of the state of Rio de Janeiro, and even in Brazil.
The city hosts three important teaching and research institutions related to
agriculture: Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), a unit
of Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária –Embrapa Agrobiologia
and a unit of Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Estado do Rio de Janeiro–
Pesagro-Rio. This research environment recently resulted in a further
step for the development of agro ecological research, which was the creation
of the Professional Master Course in Organic Agriculture.7
On the other hand, for the analysis from perspective of production and
marketing the group of agriculturists associated with the Participatory Guarantee
System was chosen (SPG) –Seropédica core–, through the Associação
de Agricultores Biológicos do Estado Rio Janeiro-ABIO, because this is a group of agriculturists organized in order to achieve a common goal, to obtain
the organic label using the participatory evaluation of the organic production
conformity, and who also have participated in knowledge and technology
transfer activities promoted by the local institutions, as well as the
Fazendinha Agroecológica Km 47, a space for research and dissemination
of organic agriculture, conducted in partnership by the institutions above
mentioned.
In addition, many interviewed agriculturists participated in activities related
to learning about organic farming in Fazendinha Agroecológica Km
47 and the three institutions that comprise it, as well as the formation of the
Circuito Carioca de Feiras Orgânicas8 and, in some cases, they obtained the
label as organic agriculturists from ABIO, before it started to act as appraiser
of organic compliance by SPG9 alternative.
Therefore, the decision of collecting data with these agriculturists, in
some cases their labor history suggested the possibility of a satisfactory response regarding the objectives and hypothesis defined for this study. In addition
to having interviews with agriculturists and researchers from teaching
and research institutions, the fieldwork was complemented by attending to
regular meetings of the SPG Seropédica group, assessment and verification
follow–up visits in the certified production units, and a “field day” in Fazendinha
Agroecológica Km 47.
Organic farming from the perspective
of agriculturists in the Seropédica SPG
The surveyed agriculturists have very different backgrounds and life
stories, their interest in organic farming was motivated by various reasons
such as health (not using pesticides in farming), the incomings that organic
products can generate in comparison to similar conventional products and,
in some cases, ideological reasons. The choice of organic agriculture was
generally motivated by more than one reason, and even in reported cases by
personal health problem experiences, the aggregated value of organic food in
the consumer market was another element related to this option, considering
that being already aware of the danger of pesticides, and considering its condition
of small farmers, organic farming represents an opportunity for more
satisfactory yields and better market opportunities.
It is observed that an agricultural practice directly associated with conventional
technological package as a more viable cultivation option, or even
as the only alternative agricultural practice, was not an perceived idea by
surveyed agriculturists when they have opted for organic farming, especially
for those who have always practiced a “pesticide-free agriculture”; some
of them, especially those from rural areas, or at least reported having family
background in agricultural environment, in some cases even could not
envision the possibility of producing food with the use of pesticides. It is
noteworthy that in that context, the absence of pesticides represented the
option for an agriculture with no industrial inputs, which did not, however,
identified that agricultural production as “organic”, considering the conceptual
charge associated with this term. The option to live mainly or exclusively from agriculture took place from the 1990s and, in some other examples,
from the 2000s
In the latter case, the agriculturists were influenced by the organic farming
concept, which gradually was up spreading in Seropédica and neighboring
cities, as well as the growth of the consumer market for organic food in
the city of Rio de Janeiro. The referred city, capital of the state of Rio de
Janeiro, already has an established niche market for organic products and
together with the participation of many loyal consumers, who purchase products
that appeal to issues such as health and ecology, represent an essential
market for the development of organic agriculture throughout the state.
Among the pioneers in the study group who identified the emergence of
organic fairs as a significant marketing channel for small producers, there
is the influence of local teaching and research institutions, especially the
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, even before the creation of
Fazendinha Agroecológica Km 47, in 1993. The relationship with these institutions
was initially strange and limited to specific projects conducted by
professors and researchers, who sought space to perform their scientific experiments,
which represented an incentive for learning about organic farming
and the option for this crop in that time, in opposition to the conventional
technological package, considering the difficulties that these agriculturists
would face in order to produce and drain their production.
The participation of agriculturists in research projects provided opportunity
to observe undertaken activities, which even when they have not received
a formal communication about the achieved results, the practical result
observed in their properties helped in learning to identify what would be
interesting, or feasible, for adoption in their crops, including to better evaluate
the approaches of researchers and technicians interested in making new
experiments in their production units. It is observed that over time, besides
the relative positioning to the market, agriculturists have gone through an
empowerment process in relation to local education and research organizations
and its relative position to the possibilities of integrating their products
to the market, that resulted, among other factors, from the knowledge acquired
over time on cultivation practices, the structuring of marketing channels
and participation in research projects.
While the focus of a researcher is the scientific experiment result and its
possible consequences, the agriculturist is interested in the possible availability
of the offered resource by the financing of the research (science and
technology) and in the knowledge that he can absorb interacting with the researcher
to improve his productivity. The research is possible only if there is a
“meeting of minds”, where both have something to offer and get from working
together. In the testimonies of agriculturists there was a clear perception
that if one of them was sought, it is because there is something interesting
to be discussed, and although they have not always the technical knowledge
to understand all the elements that involve the experiment, the agriculturist’s
interest in receiving the researcher is directly related to the knowledge they
can acquire through any participation in a scientific experiment.
The exchange of information between agriculturists became more intense
with the creation of local associations and the SPG group, whose formation
was decisive for the insertion of local organic production in the consumer
market (with the obligatory organic accreditation from January 2011, as provided
by law10). The collective organization made the qualified entry of these
agriculturists in formal economy marketing channels possible, which was
strengthened by the increased participation of new agriculturists, helping to
improve customer service demand and increase the yield obtained by each
producer, and thus enabling the continuity and diversification of production.
The role of Seropédica educational and research institutions, as well as
ABIO, influenced directly in the process of learning about organic agriculture
practices, which together with economic viability of organic food production
(consolidation of a space distribution), especially organic fairs in
Rio de Janeiro and the sale of products for the Rede Ecológica,11 made these
agriculturists choose to continue acting as organic producers.
Over the years, the performance of various institutions gave agriculturists
knowledge and the improvement of various technologies, such as the
construction of a chicken house inserted into mandala structure, composting,
the creation of agroforestry, cistern for water collection, the use of EM
(Effective Microorganisms), the Bokashi (organic compound), crop rotation,
green manure, low-cost greenhouses, the use of inoculant rhizobia for legume
seeds, drip irrigation, humus production and use of organic pesticides
(sulfur and Bordeaux mixture) to control pests and diseases.
The adoption of these different technologies varied as the individual
trajectories, the prevailing crops, access to technology and identification of
potential benefit in each agricultural production unit. Technologies such as
composting and crop rotation are used by some, while other practices such
as the formation of agroforestry and the use of low-cost greenhouses were
adopted in some properties, according to specific knowledge and technology
transfer projects or motivation of agriculturists, due to the learning obtained
through contact with technicians and researchers.
It has been found, so in Seropédica, that surveyed agriculturists revealed
in their speeches the ecological awareness of the importance of organic agriculture
and the respect for nature, both for reasons related to the health of
producers and consumers of organic foods, and to identify the possibility
of working in organic agriculture as the main activity, despite the limited
availability of resources and low investment capacity. Given the current conditions
established by Brazilian law, in which a product can only be considered
“organic” if the producer meets the legal requirements to be qualified
as “organic producer”, and too high cost of certification for audit, to ensure
the credibility of the Participatory Guarantee System is for most consulted
agriculturists, a matter of survival in this niche market food products.
