Mappe Etiche e Pratiche agronomiche: Un’indagine etnografica su paesaggi agricoli, agency e tensioni culturali nel mondo rurale catalano

This article explores the cultural, ethical, and political significance of everyday agronomic practices in the Delta of the Ebro, with a focus on the use of phytosanitary treatments as an ethnographic lens. Based on extensive fieldwork among small and medium-scale farmers, it reveals how pesticides and other agricultural technologies are far from neutral tools—they are deeply embedded in systems of value, aesthetic regimes, intergenerational dynamics, and contested visions of modernity. Drawing on anthropological theories of agency, ethical economy, and landscape aesthetics, the article argues that pesticide use operates as a form of cultural expression and social positioning. Practices of experimentation, bricolage, and adaptation illustrate how farmers negotiate their place in a world shaped by global markets, environmental constraints, and shifting regulations. Ultimately, the article positions the agricultural field as an ethical and political space, where the act of treating a plant can reflect broader struggles over autonomy, belonging, and survival in the contemporary Mediterranean countryside