CEIL   02670
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS E INVESTIGACIONES LABORALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Changes and continuities in farming work. The case of small and medium grape producers in Mendoza, Argentina.
Autor/es:
BRIGNARDELLO, MARÍA
Lugar:
Maringá
Reunión:
Simposio; Work in Agriculture; 2016
Institución organizadora:
Universidad Estadual de Maringá, Unitrabalho, INRA, CEIL CONICET
Resumen:
Questioning the production processes in agriculture today directly involves redefining the work and, therefore, the social agents that occupy these workplaces. So, this article is placed within agricultural studies that seek to understand how worldwide integration is transforming the organization of agro-food systems and in which ways these global forces are mediated then translated in the local field.Work, its rhythms, and the tools used are not set in the vacuum; they are actually framed within wider social, economical and political conditions. This approach to the work organization that addresses the social relations in which the work process is inserted, arises in opposition to those studies that consider the organization of agricultural work as a mechanical and linear result of technological innovations and the labor market.Specifically, since the late 1980s, there have been significant changes in a specific segment of the current wine production in Mendoza, due to changes in the national economy. Thus, this quality production sector is focused on the development of differentiated products, characterized by more flexible productions patterns and the growth of exports, while maintaining the demands of the domestic market. As this model takes hold, it is evident that the definition of quality, both in grapes and wine, is not just set in stone once. Instead, this designation covers various ideas and practices regarding agricultural work. In this scenario, the small and medium production that manages to go through restructuring processes and is linked to the quality production schemes, should adapt to conceptions, agro-industrial linkages, and the required production practices. In some cases, they already had structural elements, such as the varietal-structure that benefited its share in this segment, whereas in others they even had to modify these issues. Now, what happens to agricultural work in the vineyard? Who carries out the new tasks incorporated, and also the traditional ones? How are these different task remunerated?These questions are answered from a qualitative analysis of interviews that were made to small and medium producers localized in the areas of Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, which produce quality schemes. Through this methodology, we try to understand the current forms of recourse to labor in an agricultural production crossed by global changes, but also by local history and work configurations. As a result, we find that the links established in the work space between the producer, family and non-family workers are not channeled in only one direction, nor set once and for all. Instead, we find great diversity and dynamics in the forms of work organization in small and medium grape producers. Overall, this paper seeks to contribute to studies of rural sociology, while trying to rebuild the organization of labor in farms embedded in global production schemes, specifically the forms linked to the analyzed small and medium grape production.