Gestão do conhecimento na agricultura familiar: uma análise nos serviços de assistência técnica e extensão rural

Abstract

The current context is called the knowledge society, characterized by technological advances in all sectors and enhanced by intellectual capital. Based on knowledge management, competences, insights and skills that take part of social groups and organizations have been identified. The search for valuing several knowledges has increased dynamically in all knowledge areas. Modernization has led agriculture to improvements in yield. On the other hand, the hegemonic way in which new technologies has become discriminatory, in a highly heterogeneous environment, formed by different kinds of populations, with their values, customs and knowledge. During the Green Revolution, the methodology adopted by Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER) to spread out new knowledge neglected the agricultural practices of family farmers, supported by traditional knowledge. There were changes with PNATER (2003) on how extension workers act in relation to family farmers, according to participatory methodologies application for sharing knowledge. The disciplinary overview concerning the reality of family farmers changes to an Inter and Transdisciplinary approach with this new paradigm. There is also a dialogical relationship setting among several actors who interact with family farmers. Thus, based on the research problem, the following question was: how do the actors of family farming realize the role of ATER on the process of interaction between technical-scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge to create some new knowledge aiming at sustainable rural development? Thus, this study aimed at analyzing the interaction process between technical-scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge, according to the family farmers’ perception in relation to technical assistance services, rural extension and sustainable rural development. The methods applied in the study are exploratory, qualitative and case study. The research population was formed by family farmers in the municipality of Cascavel/PR. The sample was established for convenience; 30 farmers from family farms in the districts of Barreiro, Bom Retiro, Colônia Esperança, Gramadinho, Rio 47, Sapucaia and São Salvador were interviewed. As a result, it was identified that the process of interaction and knowledge sharing among farmers occurs continuously, since farmers are used to exchange information about their daily lives and productive activities during their informal conversations and in community meetings. According to the relationship with ATER agents, even with a good interaction, tacit and explicit knowledge has not been properly socialized, considering that, due to the economic and knowledge potential to add value to products and services, with attributes derived from local knowledge, the predominant yield of soybean and corn crops still remains, since they depend on large-scale yield.