¿Agroecología o agricultura convencional moderna? Posicionamientos de extensionistas rurales argentinos

ORIGINAL PAPER IN SPANISH

ABSTRACT

At a global level, there is a growing concern about the sustainability of agricultural production models. In particular, the impacts and environmental passives derived from the implementation of the principles of the so-called Green Revolution. In contrast, agroecology gain supporters in the context of a different productive model, though limited due to lower levels of agricultural productivity. Nevertheless, for any of these models to come into practice, it has to go through farmers’ decision making. Thus, acknowledging the key role played by rural extensionists in farmers’ decision-making process, in this article the extensionists’ personal positioning and that of their institutions are analyzed in the context of the contrast between agroecology and conventional agriculture. A total of 583 rural extensionist that work in the National Institute of Agricultural Technology, the Subsecretariat of Family Farming and Territorial Development and other Argentine institutions replied an online questionnaire. It included sociodemographic questions and asked to position oneself and one’s institution using a five level Likert type item, in which agroecology and conventional agriculture were the poles. Results show that, in average, extensionists have a tendency towards the agroecological pole, while they situate their institutions halfway between both agricultural models. In general, women, who have no university degree, and who hold a degree in social sciences, are more oriented to the agroecological pole.

Keywords: organic agriculture, perceptions, pesticides, sustainability

¹ Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Barrufaldi 2364 (3300), Posadas, Misiones, Argentina. Correo electrónico: landini_fer@hotmail.com

² Univesidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Facultad de Psicología. Correo electrónico: maiteberamendi@gmail.com