Estratégias de renda de trabalhadores migrantes e a mecanização da colheita de cana-de-açúcar: um olhar desde o Sertão Paraibano

The mechanization of sugarcane harvest by mills in the State of Sao Paulo intensified in the decade of 2010, resulting in a significant drop in employment. A harvester replaces an average of 80 workers. This article aims to analyze the impacts of that process on the employment strategies of migrant workers from rural areas of the Northeast region of Brazil. Considering that the municipalities where they live have few economic opportunities, they need to migrate to other localities to work in agriculture, industry, construction or commerce, such as the sale of clothing and other items. The article is based on research that was carried out in the region of the Sertaode Cajazeiras, Paraibastate, with families in which the men migrated to temporary jobs in the period from 2011 to 2015. The methodology used was ethnographic observation and oral history, using semi-structured interviews, direct observation and quantitative data collected by other sources.Keywords: migrant workers; temporary migration; sugarcane mills; agricultural mechanization.Article received on November 25, 2019. Accepted on March 17, 2020.How to citeCOVER, Maciel; MENEZES, Marilda Aparecida. Estrategias de renda de trabalhadores migrantes e a mecanizacao da colheita de cana-de-acucar: um olhar desde o Sertao Paraibano. Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura, Rio de Janeiro, v. 28, n. 2, p. 458-475, jun. 2020.