Technical degree in agroecology: A job alternative for young people from migrant families in Argentina

Abstract

Young men and women from migrant families of Bolivian origin settled in the horticultural belt of La Plata, in Argentina, access university degrees to shift away from activities characterized by precarious living and working conditions. This article examines the challenges faced by this population in their transition to higher education. Using a qualitative methodology and with the conceptual framework of endogenous education, encounter, and cultural recognition, we analyze the ways in which the Technical Degree in Agroecology at the National University of La Plata offers an alternative close to the reality of young people. The conclusions highlight the potential of this viable alternative that represents a training opportunity to advise family farmers and their organizations. It focuses on the active participation of students, especially in practical courses where they become protagonists by sharing their experiences. It can also be mentioned that, although these degrees offer collective spaces to question the conventional productive model, challenges still persist: the quality of lower-level training and the adaptation of schedules due to the need to combine study and work. In a context of crisis and transition, this type of proposal values local knowledge and empowers the autonomy of youth to transform their reality.