Elderly farmers in Trás-os-Montes: exclusion and recognition

Abstract

The authors take the perspective that rural and agricultural development result from the local reality and from diversification strategies present in multi-rational criteria of various types of farmers, among which are included retired farmers with their technical knowledge and aspirations. They aim to contribute with the elaboration of a social category - «elderly farmers» - which will not be identified with physical and mental incapacity, usually attributed to those who are over a certain age and have reached old-age. The authors emphasise the huge contribution and economic and social weight of elderly farmers in Trás-os-Montes and take as evidence their behaviour in relation to general family strategy and the functioning of farms.