Saúde mental e trabalho: um estudo com agricultores orgânicos no sudoeste do Paraná

Abstract

The basis for this research was built on the wide and important role played by family farmers regarding the southwestern region of Paraná State. The aim of the study was to analyze both the social representation about work and mental health of a given group of family farmers who grow organic products. It also analyzes the relation between such representations and the eventual emergence of mental suffering among them. Thus, the central concern was to understand at what extent both the sociocultural context of the family farmers and the way work is organized can influence mental illness or mental health promotion, based on the views of the worker himself. Nineteen organic family farmers, from twelve different properties took part of this research based on a qualitative method. They all live in the countryside, in Capanema, a southwestern city in Paraná. The study is organized as follows: At first, workplace observations were made; then, the second step was based on a semi-structured interview aiming to identify the social representations of the farmers over work and mental health. Collected data was then compared to look for converging matters. After data comparison, the representations on work and mental health showed many common elements; revealing that for the interviewed farmers health means work as much as work means health. The present investigation also allowed us to observe that the work logic used by the interviewed sample is no close to the capitalist mode of production, as it sets the family in the center of work organization and of most of their decisions; maintaining, notwithstanding, the relation between farm production and the market. Therefore, it is inferred that the results are related to some peculiarities of life context of these farmers; such as: technical support available, warranty of production sale, through a company that mediates business between the farmers and the international market; as well as their life history - determinant characteristics in building a friendlier working concept regarding physical/material aspects. At last, one realizes that this research can be considered as introductory to such a matter, since there are few studies over the relation between work and mental health involving organic farmers. Likewise, other comparative studies such as with different samples from different regions and different production practices may be relevant in order to identify forms of work that may contribute to the maintenance and promotion of workers’ mental health.