The inter-relations between ICT and Family Agriculture

Abstract

This article is a result of the research and technological extension work related to the Project entitled "The use and appropriation of ICTs by family farmers in the Vale do Caí - RS", financed by the edict of MCTI/CNPq, FAPERGS and UNISC, developed in Partnership with EMATER/ASCAR-RS, the Union of Rural Workers, the rural schools located in the Vale do Caí, the students of the Graduation Administration and Accounting Sciences courses of the Campus of Montenegro/UNISC and the doctoral students of the Postgraduate Program in Regional Development. This article refers to a literature review of the production carried out by the project team and aims to demonstrate the interrelations between the use and appropriation of ICTs and family agriculture. It was identified that only the access of the families of farmers to the new technologies and an adequate infrastructure does not guarantee, in itself, the use of the ICTs. It is concluded that the appropriation of ICT by family agriculture depends on a process of mediation and social interface between the University and society, requiring interdisciplinary work teams, resources for the extension, projects with long-term maturity, without time limits and of goals. In addition, it is emphasized that the understanding of the symbolic universe and the everyday life of the farmers must be the starting point.