The The intensive use of the workforce in Family production units in Rio Grande do Sul agrarian reform settlements: observations from the pedagogical instruments of rural extension

Abstract

The article analyzes the relationship between labor force and agricultural income in family production
units in agrarian reform areas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). The information
comes from the Network of Pedagogical Observation Units (RUOP), a tool developed by RS’s
Technical, Social and Environmental Advisory Program (ATES). For analysis, a dialogue was
sought with the Chayanovian microeconomic theory, which explains the peasant logic based
on the subjective balance between the painfulness of work and the satisfaction of the needs of
the family nucleus. The analysis shows that family units maintained by farm incomes are forced
to intensify the use of the labor force to reach their basic needs and their degree of satisfaction.
RUOP, as a tool for rural extension, presents itself as an important tool for understanding the
socioeconomic strategies developed by farmers. Understanding these issues can contribute to
the strengthening and improvement of specific public policies for family farmers.