Agroecology and social technology as paths to the integral rural development: an approach

Abstract

From both an empirical and theoretical-conceptual perspective, Social Technology (TS) can be understood as the technology that best aligns with the proposal to solve social problems: first, TS enables the process of social construction of technology, that is, the social actors who will use the technology participate in its construction. Moreover, rather than guaranteeing profit-making goals, it is aimed at solving social problems and, among them, social exclusion. The TS is aligned with the theme of rural development, for the criticizing the social problems generated by capitalism, and by criticizing its environmental unsustainability. In addition, discussions about rural development during the 1990s marked the differentiation between family farming (often small) and large farming - an essential element to show the importance of developing public policies for family farming. Agroecology also takes a critical stand against the problems generated by capitalism, emphasizing that the model of large agriculture, with its profit objectives, is not in line with the sustainability proposal. In contrast, it is the small family farmers who have been devoting themselves to developing alternative farming practices that align with the proposal of a sustainable society (from the economic, environmental, social, etc.) perspective.