Estrutura fundiária, mão de obra e tecnologia na viticultura Duriense: um estudo das dinâmicas locais recentes.
Data
1995
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Resumo
As transformações registadas na Europa no post-guerra verificaram-se também em Portugal, embora com um certo desfasamento temporal e com uma dimensão específica. Boa parte dessas transformações observadas no espaço nacional foram condicionadas pelos processos de
mudança operados na Europa saída da guerra, caracterizados pela industrialização e tercearização da economia, e que estiveram na origem do enorme êxodo populacional das zonas rurais.
A transferência de mão-de-obra do sector agrário para outros sectores de actividade e dos meios rurais para os urbanos teve como consequência uma diminuição da população rural e em especial da força de trabalho agrária. O êxodo rural e a consequente rarefação de mão-de-obra e aumento de salários, induziu uma mudança tecnológica acompanhada duma mudança estrutural ao nível das explorações agrárias. Identificar as formas e conteúdos das dinâmicas recentes observadas nas explorações vitícolas durienses, no que concerne à sua estrutura e à adopção de técnicas e tecnologias poupadoras de mão-de-obra, constitui o objectivo central deste estudo.
Foi utilizada como metodologia uma abordagem ao nível da aldeia, estudando-se duas povoações localizadas em dois diferentes concelhos da RDD, através de entrevistas dirigidas às suas unidades familiares independentemente de possuírem ou não uma exploração vitícola.
As vias seguidas nas explorações vitícolas durienses para fazer face à rarefação de mão-deobra e ao aumento dos custos de produção têm sido variadas, em função não só das suas características físicas e das características socioeconómicas dos seus proprietários, mas também da
situação conjuntural que rodeia a produção vitícola duriense.
A abolição de certas operações culturais, o aumento da periodicidade de realização de outras, a substituição de trabalho masculino por trabalho feminino, mais abundante e barato, o crescente recurso a mão-de-obra de zonas exteriores à região e a substituição de trabalho por capital têm sido algumas das vias seguidas na tentativa de superar os constrangimentos observados ao nível do factor trabalho. Algumas destas mudanças podem ser consideradas conjunturais e foram adoptadas em períodos de crise financeira dos viticultores, tendendo a ser abandonadas logo que a situação se altere. Outras, pelo contrário, tendem a perdurar, independentemente da situação conjuntural da actividade, e podemos por isso considerá-las mudanças estruturais no funcionamento das explorações vitícolas.
As pequenas explorações vitícolas caracterizam-se por recorrerem essencialmente a mão-de-obra familiar e constituem o pólo "tradicional" do sistema vitícola duriense por não mobilizarem grandes meios técnicos ou tecnologias avançadas. Protagonizam uma "estabilidade dinâmica", pois, geralmente, não aumentam a sua dimensão física senão pela plantação dum número muito reduzido de cepas, procedendo à renovação das suas vinhas através de retanchas.
São, porém, de grande importância para a região, devido ao seu contributo para a produção vitícola total, pela dimensão demográfica das famílias proprietárias, pelo cuidado e intensidade de trabalho usado nas suas vinhas, podendo por isso constituir um pólo de qualidade na produção vitícola duriense e porque são um garante da riqueza paisagística da região, ao conservarem os sistemas de plantação tradicionais.
As explorações vitícolas de maior dimensão caracterizam-se pelo recurso quase exclusivo a mão-de-obra assalariada e constituem o pólo "moderno" do sistema vitícola duriense.
Protagonizam uma "dinâmica de crescimento e mudança", devido ao aumento da sua dimensão física através de compras e novas plantações de vinha, pelas importantes reestruturações das suas vinhas tradicionais, pelo investimento na aquisição de tractores e veículos de transporte, sendo estes últimos vitais para a mobilização e transporte da mão-de-obra, pela crescente verticalização da produção, vinificando em cave própria, e pela diversificação de actividades na exploração, orientando-as também para o turismo.
Changes observed in Europe after the II World War also occured in Portugal, although with different timing an a different scale. Most of those changes in Portuguese society had been conditioned by processes of change in Europe after the War, i.e. the development of industry and the services sectors, which generated an enormous exodus from rural areas. The transfer of workers from the agrarian sector to other sectors of economy and from rural to urban areas caused a decrease in the rural population, and especially of the agrarian labour force. The rural exodus and the consequent decrease in the labour force and increase in wages induced a technological change accompanied by a structural change at the farm level. The main objective of this study is to identify the patterns and strengths of the recent dynamics of the Douro region's vinegrowing farms, with special regard to their structure and their adoption of labour saving techniques and technologies. As the principal methodology we used a village-level approach, studying two villages located in different counties (concelhos) of the Douro region, interviewing a sample of family units, regardless of whether they owned a vinegrowing farm or not. Vinegrowing farmers of the Douro region have been adopting different strategies to cope with labour shortages and an increase in production costs, according not only to the physical characteristics of their farms and their own socioeconomic characteristics, but also to the conjunctural situation of the Douro region's wine sector. The abolition of some operations, the change in the frequency of others, the substitution of male by female labour (more abundant and cheaper), the need to search for workers from farther afield and labour-capital substitution have been some of the ways adopted by vinegrowers in their efforts to overcome the constraints affecting labour - the key factor of production. Some of these changes can be considered as conjunctural as they were adopted in periods of vinegrowers' financial crises, and they tend to be dropped as soon as the situation changed. Others, on the contrary, tend to continue, independently of the conjunctural situation, and so they can be considered structural changes in the vinegrowing farms' production processes. Small vinegrowing farms use essentially family labour and they form the "traditional" side of the Douro region's viticultural system, because they do not use sophisticated techniques or technologies. They attain a "dynamical stability", because, in general, they do not increase the size of their farms but rather plant fewer vines, renewing their older vines by a slow and progressive substitution. The small farms are, however, very important in the regional context, due to: their contribution to the total production of grapes and wine; the demographic importance of their owners' families; the care and the intensity of labour characterizing the production process, both of which are conducive to the creation of high quality wine prodution; and finally because, by preserving the traditional plantation systems, they also preserve the landscape heritage of the Douro region. The vine growing farms of a larger size can be characterized by the almost exclusive use of waged labour and they constitute the "modern" side of the Douro region's viticultural system. They attain a "dynamic of growth and change", enlarging their scale via: the planting of new vinyards and the acquisition of others; the renewal and consolidation of their older vines; investment in the acquisition of tractors and means of transport, which are vital for the supply and transportation of workers; the progressive verticalization through on-farm wine-production; and the diversification of on-farm activities, particulary via agro-tourism.
Changes observed in Europe after the II World War also occured in Portugal, although with different timing an a different scale. Most of those changes in Portuguese society had been conditioned by processes of change in Europe after the War, i.e. the development of industry and the services sectors, which generated an enormous exodus from rural areas. The transfer of workers from the agrarian sector to other sectors of economy and from rural to urban areas caused a decrease in the rural population, and especially of the agrarian labour force. The rural exodus and the consequent decrease in the labour force and increase in wages induced a technological change accompanied by a structural change at the farm level. The main objective of this study is to identify the patterns and strengths of the recent dynamics of the Douro region's vinegrowing farms, with special regard to their structure and their adoption of labour saving techniques and technologies. As the principal methodology we used a village-level approach, studying two villages located in different counties (concelhos) of the Douro region, interviewing a sample of family units, regardless of whether they owned a vinegrowing farm or not. Vinegrowing farmers of the Douro region have been adopting different strategies to cope with labour shortages and an increase in production costs, according not only to the physical characteristics of their farms and their own socioeconomic characteristics, but also to the conjunctural situation of the Douro region's wine sector. The abolition of some operations, the change in the frequency of others, the substitution of male by female labour (more abundant and cheaper), the need to search for workers from farther afield and labour-capital substitution have been some of the ways adopted by vinegrowers in their efforts to overcome the constraints affecting labour - the key factor of production. Some of these changes can be considered as conjunctural as they were adopted in periods of vinegrowers' financial crises, and they tend to be dropped as soon as the situation changed. Others, on the contrary, tend to continue, independently of the conjunctural situation, and so they can be considered structural changes in the vinegrowing farms' production processes. Small vinegrowing farms use essentially family labour and they form the "traditional" side of the Douro region's viticultural system, because they do not use sophisticated techniques or technologies. They attain a "dynamical stability", because, in general, they do not increase the size of their farms but rather plant fewer vines, renewing their older vines by a slow and progressive substitution. The small farms are, however, very important in the regional context, due to: their contribution to the total production of grapes and wine; the demographic importance of their owners' families; the care and the intensity of labour characterizing the production process, both of which are conducive to the creation of high quality wine prodution; and finally because, by preserving the traditional plantation systems, they also preserve the landscape heritage of the Douro region. The vine growing farms of a larger size can be characterized by the almost exclusive use of waged labour and they constitute the "modern" side of the Douro region's viticultural system. They attain a "dynamic of growth and change", enlarging their scale via: the planting of new vinyards and the acquisition of others; the renewal and consolidation of their older vines; investment in the acquisition of tractors and means of transport, which are vital for the supply and transportation of workers; the progressive verticalization through on-farm wine-production; and the diversification of on-farm activities, particulary via agro-tourism.
Descrição
Dissertação de Mestrado em Extensão e Desenvolvimento Rural
Palavras-chave
Viticultura , Tecnologia , Mão-de-obra , Região Demarcada do Douro (Portugal)