Characterization of citrus farms production systems used in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the second world largest citrus producer, and the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is the sixth largest national producer, with about 505 thousand tons of citrus fruits in 2014. The state's citrus chain has different characteristics, consisting mostly of small family-based farms. This study aimed to diagnose the production system used in Rio Grande do Sul, through a structured questionnaire composed of 19 questions of closed and open answers to 163 growers, residents in 35 locations in the RS, belonging to the regions Vales do Ca and Taquari, Alto Taquari, Alto Uruguai, Noroeste, Serra do Nordeste and Fronteira Oeste. The selected locations have the citrus industry as an important activity for the local economy and the number of interviewed farmers varied according to the existing cultivated area in each. The interviewed farmers in each city were selected by non-probability sampling and convenience, and the information obtained was planned, generating quantitative and qualitative data. There were features prevalent in the visited farms, such as aging of the rural population, low level of education of growers, mainly family labor employment and concern about the shortage of work observed in rural areas. However, they presented long experience in the citrus activity and obtain good yields, similar to the average recorded in the State.