Agriculture and environment: perceptions and practices of soybean-planters in Rio Verde-GO. / Agricultura e Meio Ambiente: percepções e práticas de sojicultores em Rio Verde-GO

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

Agriculture was responsible for transforming the ways of life millions of years ago. More recently, the transformation promoted by agriculture happened through the modernization of its productive processes. In Brazilian territory, the agricultural modernization made possible soybean growing. The strong demand and the good prices at the international market motivated incentive policies for soybean growing, mainly at the Cerrado biome. Besides the economic benefits, soybean growing conducted through Brazilian agriculture modernization, with huge mechanical and chemical inputs, and the maintenance of the land distribution structure caused environmental and social impacts. Deforestation, pollution of waters, soil erosion and depletion, intoxication and land concentration are some of these problems. In the present work, the aim was to outline the profile and verify the perceptions and practices of a group of soybean-planters, social actors involved with the growing of soybean, along its productive activity and the environment. The research was done at the largest soybean grower municipality of Goiás, Rio Verde, with native vegetation typical of Cerrado. It also aimed to verify the existence and the situation of the most perceived environmental problems by the group of soybean-planters in Rio Verde. To reach those objectives, a questionnaire was applied to a group of 50 soybean-planters at 3 big agricultural products reselling stores of Rio Verde. Data obtained was processed by EPI INFO computer program and analyzed. Broadly speaking, the questionnaire revealed that the investigated group grew soybean into the Cerrado patterns, which means, on large properties with intensive use of mechanization and pesticides. About the perceptions and practices, it was verified that, broadly speaking, the environmental perception of the interviewed soybean-planters not necessarily influenced the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The no-till system adoption, that reduces agricultural impacts on the environment, is a signal of a more sustainable agriculture, although it demands greater amounts of herbicides. Deforestation, water pollution, soil erosion and intoxication were the most perceived environmental problems by the interviewees. The verification of the existence and situation of these problems was done through maps of Rio Verde’s land use of the years 1975, 1989 and 2005; by illegal deforestation infractions issued by environmental control offices, by the results of pesticides remains analyses in the drinking water of the city, and by the intoxication cases by pesticides of agricultural use at the municipality. Soil erosion couldn’t be checked due to lack of data. The deforestation presence, that took place between 1975 e 2005, and its seriousness, could be detected by the analyzed data. The intoxication data, that were probably under notified, revealed a public health problem. As conclusion it was emphasized the need of public actions in order to promote a better environmental control in Rio Verde, the adoption of measures that would improve the notification of intoxication cases, and the promotion of incentives for those planters that respect the environmental laws. It is also necessary to devise more sustainable agricultural techniques according to the economic, productive, social and environmental points of view.

ASSUNTO(S)

rio verde cerrado meio ambiente environmental problem soybean-planters perception soja percepção rio verde cerrado problema ambiental environment soybean sojicultor

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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