Percepções dos agentes de Ater sobre inovações tecnológicas e novas competências profissionais

Abstract

The agricultural sector is facing challenges to feed the growing world population, while also facing global climate crises, and it is urgent to produce more sustainably. Possible solutions to the challenges exposed are directed to technological advances in agriculture, such as robotics, nanotechnology, genetics and artificial intelligence. Such technologies can contribute to a sustainable production of primary and consumer goods, reorganizing production systems. Therefore, technical assistance and rural extension play an important role in the agri-food sector, as they collaborate in different ways with rural producers so that they can make more assertive decisions regarding their rural properties, with regard to management and/or production. For this, agriculture 4.0 encompasses a variety of technologies that can add value to food systems and promote improvements in processes and products in rural areas. Therefore, the objective of the study was to identify the perception of extension agents in relation to technological innovations in rural areas. The research sample consisted of 95 extension agents from the Land Institute of the State of São Paulo (ITESP) and data collection was carried out through questionnaires applied virtually. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and then factor analysis using the principal component analysis method. The results showed that most extension agents do not see agriculture 4.0 as a threat, but an aspect of change, evolution and expectation of improvements in the field, and that new skills arise with the adoption of new technologies. The factor analysis of perceptions on agriculture 4.0 resulted in the identification of three factors: Positive impacts of agriculture 4.0, Negative impacts of agriculture 4.0 and Disruption of agriculture 4.0. In the factorial analysis of the perceptions about new competences, it was identified: Role of the extension worker, Technological adaptation and Paradigm translation. The extension agents' perception of the technological innovations included in agriculture 4.0 can contribute to the redesign of agricultural practice, both for rural producers and for the actions of extension agents. However, the perception of extensionists about the importance of new skills in carrying out ATER in view of the adoption of technological innovations demonstrated that after their adoption, the need for new skills of extensionists arises, being necessary to understand and adapt the new skills that are generated by the advancement of technologies in rural production.