Indices of agricultural productivity: understanding the author's point of view

Abstract

This article examines the issues related to the need of updating the indices of agricultural productivity in Brazil and evaluates the ways in which supporters and opponents of this issue express their concerns. This study is based on articles and interviews published in newspapers in Sao Paulo, written by authors whose views were reflected in the pages of their products and the views of trade unions representing workers, or official entities, particularly those linked to the Ministry of Agrarian Development and the National Agrarian Reform Institute. In this case, all involved are in agreement with the proposal for updating these indices in order to improve and hasten the implementation of the Agrarian Reform. The arguments of those who oppose the proposed updating process were also taken from articles and interviews published in magazines and newspapers in Sao Paulo. Likewise there were other authors who expressed their opinions, as the members of the employer representative bodies and rural government agencies, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. Both supporters and opponents emphasized the role of technological changes in driving the consolidation of capitalist conventional agriculture. In conclusion, one can say that frequent updates of these indices, in terms of "the scientific and technological progress", which is now available, might well compromise agricultural sustainability.

Keywords: Agrarian Reform; Rural Settlements; Agricultural Productivity
Indexes; Capitalist Conventional Agriculture; Agrobiodiversity.