Work and technological innovation in organic agriculture

Abstract

Organic agriculture is a sustainable cultivation ecologically, economically and socially. Several researches in organic agriculture have been made from technical perspectives, economic traits or related to ecological aspects. There are practically no investigations into the nature of the technology used in organic agriculture, especially from an ergonomic perspective. From the activity analysis, this study aimed to map the technology used in the production of organic vegetables. Properties producing organic vegetables were selected representing the State of São Paulo. It was applied an instrument (questionnaire and semi-structured interview) with their managers and it was made visual records to identify adaptations, innovations and technological demands that simultaneously minimize the workload and the difficulties in performing the tasks and increase work productivity. For some of the technological innovations a digital scanner was used to generate a virtual solid model to facilitate its redesign and virtual prototyping. The main results show that organic farmers have little technology in product form. The main innovations that enable competitive advantage or allow higher labor productivity occur in the form of processes, organization and marketing.

A Análise Ergonômica do Trabalho (AET) aplicada ao trabalho na agricultura: experiências e reflexões

“…-Trabalho e inovação tecnológica na agricultura orgânica (TERESO et al, 2012). Essa pesquisa teve por objetivo mapear a inovação tecnológica que, simultaneamente, minimizasse a carga laboral e as dificuldades na execução das tarefas e que aumentasse a produtividade do trabalho em propriedades de produção orgânica de hortaliças representativas do Estado de São Paulo.…”

Unusual pollinator attractants increase the fructification rate on West Indian Cherry Trees

“…Besides that, it is essential to evaluate the coloured attractants for other fruit crops, and if it is functional, it may help in poverty reduction because agriculture has the advantage over industry and services in reducing poverty, especially for the poorest countries (Christiaensen & Martin, 2018). Due to the low cost of the methodology used here, it may be dispersed and increase innovation technology in agriculture (Tereso et al., 2012; Tomich et al., 2019), representing an agricultural practice contributing to agricultural research for development (AR4D) and so to food security.…”

O reflexo da ausência de políticas de incentivo à agricultura urbana orgânica: um estudo de caso em duas cidades no Brasil

“…Vale ressaltar que o agricultor orgânico executa diversas tarefas ao longo do dia, levando-se em conta a variedade de cultivos que produz 38 . A diversidade de tarefas é ainda maior quando se trata da agricultura urbana, pois é realizada em espaços menores quando comparada com a agricultura familiar realizada em pequenas propriedades.…”