O objetivo deste artigo é analisar as representações sociais em torno aos alimentos produzidos por agricultores familiares em três municípios do Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil), destinados à alimentação escolar. Realizamos uma pesquisa qualitativa, com entrevistas em profundidade com 23 agricultores familiares agroecologistas. Os resultados foram processados através de análise de conteúdo. As representações sociais dos agricultores em relação a um alimento saudável remetem ao não uso de agrotóxicos e que não faça mal a saúde, tanto de quem consome quanto de quem produz. Nesses termos, tais ações podem contribuir com a segurança alimentar e nutricional dos cidadãos.

The objective of this work was to analyze the social representations about food produced by family farmers in the three municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), intended for school meals. We conducted qualitative research with in-depth interviews and twenty-three family farmers. Results were processed through content analysis. Social representations of farmers regarding a healthy food refer to the non-use of pesticides for do not harm the health of both the consumer and the producer. In these terms, such actions can contribute to the food and nutritional security of population.

ABSTRACT Foliar diseases impose severe restrictions on the persistence and productivity of Medicago sativa, both of which may be increased by developing disease resistant and more competitive genotypes that can improve pasture quality. We found Curvularia geniculata as the principal alfalfa foliar pathogen in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Growth chamber experiments evaluated the resistance of alfalfa genotypes ‘E1C4’, ‘CPPSul’, ‘ABT 805’ and ‘CUF-101’ to C. geniculata as compared the control ‘Crioula’ genotype. These genotypes were also evaluated in field trials at a sea level site in Eldorado do Sul in central RS and at two sites £200 m above sea level, one in Bagé municipality in south west RS and the other at a farm near the town of Alto Feliz in north east RS. Plants were spray-inoculated with 1.6 x 106 ml-1 of C. geniculata spores and visually evaluated for leaf damage 14 days later. The C. geniculata infection rates varied from zero to 100%. Alfalfa persistence and forage mean dry mass (DM) production at the Eldorado site were measured during different seasons from November 2013 to January 2015 by calculating the incidence of invasive plants and morphologically separating leaves from stems and calculating both leaf and stem DM. Data were analysed using mixed statistical models. The best results for persistence and forage DM were shown by the ‘CPPSul’ genotypes (DM = 16,600 kg ha-1) and ‘Crioula’ (DM = 15,750 kg ha-1). These two genotypes will be used for subsequent investigations and selection cycles.