Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Statistical data
Inferential and descriptive statistical techniques and computer programs were
used. The software used was the Statistical Analysis System, an integrated
system of products provided by the SAS Institute for Windows Version XP,
and Statistics Toolbox 6.0 (MathWorks, Inc.), a dataset used for organization
and analysis of heterogeneous data and metadata.
Qualitative data
Information acquired from owners was compared with data from workers
who were interviewed both inside and outside the quintas. The latter
interviews enhanced the scope of the study and were used to assess risk and
favourable processes as well as to determine the extent of female and child
labour, which was frequently hidden in production units. In many cases,
workers denied this was going on; therefore, photographs were used to prove
its existence as a reality in the workplace. Health professionals were
interviewed in the care centres used by farmers to cross-reference information
gathered on the farms.
Production conditions on the farms as well as the impact of production on
the health of the population were determined from the surveys and interviews.
Attempts were made to ascertain how the actors perceived and built their
social reality based on their social class.
R
ESEARCH
F
INDINGS
Structure of the local horticultural activity
The peri-urban green belt around Rosario contains 194 horticultural farms of
a variety of sizes (Figure 9.1). In general, the average enterprise is substantially
smaller than other agricultural and animal husbandry farms (Cloquell et al,
2007).
More than half (53 per cent) of the farms are 10 ha or less. The vegetables
produced in this peri-urban area are diverse and, therefore, a variety of
techniques and resources are applied for different varieties. Moreover, the
diversity makes it possible to keep land in production all year round. Different
crops are planted depending on seasonal cycles and crop growth time, varying
from a few weeks for lettuce and radishes to years for asparagus and
artichokes. Other production factors are also influential. For example, the
production of tomatoes and peppers are capital intensive and require high-
quality labour, in contrast to the production of carrots and marrows.
In intensive production such as horticulture, the relationship between
labour and capital is connected by the type of technology used during the
production process. Labour inputs can be characterized differently in
horticultural production depending on resources, size and composition of
the family unit, production strategy, marketing and so on. Four different
