The Brazilian biodiesel program and family farmers: what is the social inclusion reality in the Brazilian savannah?

Finco, Marcus Vinicius Alves; Doppler, Werner

doi:10.1590/S1983-40632010000400005

Abstracts

Biofuel production has been greatly discussed in Brazil. In 2004, some debates led the country to develop new policies and implement the National Biodiesel Use and Production Program (PNPB), with the intent to increase the share of renewable energy and foster rural development. In this context, the present study aims to assess the linkages between family farmers living standard and the adoption of oil seed activity in the Tocantins State, in a region of transition between the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah) and the Amazon rain forest. Ranges of socio-economic indicators were collected among smallholders who cultivate Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis. A factor analysis based on living standard criteria and a non-linear probit model were applied to assess the inclusion of poor rural families in the biodiesel chain. Preliminary results point towards a positive relation between the family degree of deprivation and adoption of oil seed activity, for the Ricinus communis production, and a negative relation, for the Jatropha curcas production.

Brazilian biodiesel program; family farmers; social inclusion; Cerrado

A produção de biocombustíveis tem sido fortemente discutida no Brasil, levando o País a desenvolver políticas e implementar, no ano de 2004, o Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biodiesel (PNPB), a fim de aumentar a participação de energias renováveis, bem como fomentar o desenvolvimento rural. Neste contexto, o presente estudo busca avaliar a relação entre a condição de vida dos agricultores e a adoção do cultivo de oleaginosas no Estado do Tocantins, em uma região de transição entre o Cerrado e a Floresta Amazônica. Uma gama de indicadores socioeconômicos foram coletados entre os agricultores que cultivam pinhão manso e mamona. Análise fatorial baseada na condição de vida dos agricultores e um modelo não-linear probit foram utilizados para avaliar a inclusão de famílias rurais pobres na cadeia do biodiesel. Os resultados preliminares mostram uma relação positiva entre o nível de privação da família e a adoção do cultivo de oleaginosas, no caso da produção de Ricinus communis, e uma relação negativa, no caso da produção de Jatropha curcas.

Programa Brasileiro de Biodiesel; agricultores familiares; inclusão social; Cerrado

DESENVOLVIMENTO RURAL E AGRONEGÓCIO

The Brazilian biodiesel program and family farmers: what is the social inclusion reality in the Brazilian savannah?

O programa brasileiro de biodiesel e os agricultores familiares: qual é a realidade da inclusão social no cerrado?

Marcus Vinicius Alves Finco^I; Werner Doppler^II

^IUniversidade Federal do Tocantins, Departamento de Administração, Palmas, TO, Brazil. E-mail: marcus.finco@gmail.com

^IIUniversity of Hohenheim, Institute of Agricultural Economics, Stuttgart, Germany. E-mail: doppler@uni-hohenheim.de

ABSTRACT

Biofuel production has been greatly discussed in Brazil. In 2004, some debates led the country to develop new policies and implement the National Biodiesel Use and Production Program (PNPB), with the intent to increase the share of renewable energy and foster rural development. In this context, the present study aims to assess the linkages between family farmers living standard and the adoption of oil seed activity in the Tocantins State, in a region of transition between the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah) and the Amazon rain forest. Ranges of socio-economic indicators were collected among smallholders who cultivate Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis. A factor analysis based on living standard criteria and a non-linear probit model were applied to assess the inclusion of poor rural families in the biodiesel chain. Preliminary results point towards a positive relation between the family degree of deprivation and adoption of oil seed activity, for the Ricinus communis production, and a negative relation, for the Jatropha curcas production.

Key-Words: Brazilian biodiesel program; family farmers; social inclusion; Cerrado.

RESUMO

A produção de biocombustíveis tem sido fortemente discutida no Brasil, levando o País a desenvolver políticas e implementar, no ano de 2004, o Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biodiesel (PNPB), a fim de aumentar a participação de energias renováveis, bem como fomentar o desenvolvimento rural. Neste contexto, o presente estudo busca avaliar a relação entre a condição de vida dos agricultores e a adoção do cultivo de oleaginosas no Estado do Tocantins, em uma região de transição entre o Cerrado e a Floresta Amazônica. Uma gama de indicadores socioeconômicos foram coletados entre os agricultores que cultivam pinhão manso e mamona. Análise fatorial baseada na condição de vida dos agricultores e um modelo não-linear probit foram utilizados para avaliar a inclusão de famílias rurais pobres na cadeia do biodiesel. Os resultados preliminares mostram uma relação positiva entre o nível de privação da família e a adoção do cultivo de oleaginosas, no caso da produção de Ricinus communis, e uma relação negativa, no caso da produção de Jatropha curcas.

Palavras-Chave: Programa Brasileiro de Biodiesel; agricultores familiares; inclusão social; Cerrado.

Full text available only in PDF format.

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Trabalho recebido em jun./2010 e aceito para publicação em nov./2010 (nº registro: PAT 10096/ DOI: 10.5216/pat.v40i4.10096).

ABRAMOWAY, R.; MAGALHÃES, R. The access of family farmers to biodiesel markets: partnerships between big companies and social movements 2007. Available at: <http://www.abramovay.pro.br/artigos_cientificos/2007/Biodiesel_AIEA2_English.pdf>. Acess on: 15 Aug. 2010.
AGÊNCIA NACIONAL DO PETRÓLEO, GÁS NATURAL E BIOCOMBUSTÍVEIS (ANP). Biodiesel statistics. 2010. Available at: <http://www.anp.gov.br/>. Acess on: 10 Mar. 2010.
BETTI, G.; VERMA, V. K. Measuring the degree of poverty in a dynamic and comparative context: a multidimensional approach using fuzzy set theory. In: ISLAMIC COUNTRIES CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL SCIENCE S, 6., 1999, Lahore. Proceedings.. Lahore: Punjab University, 1999. p. 289-301.
BRASIL. Governo Federal. Programa nacional de produção e uso de biodiesel (PNPB). 2005. Available at: <http://www.biodiesel.gov.br/programa.html>. Acess on: 23 Nov. 2009.
BROAD, R. The poor and the environment: friends or foes? World Development, Quebec, v. 22, n. 6, p. 811-22, 1994.
COSTA, M. A multidimensional approach of the measurement of poverty: IRISS working paper series n. 2002-05. 2002. Available at: <http://iriss.ceps.lu/documents/irisswp28.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
DEUTSCH, J.; SILBER, J. Measuring multidimensional poverty: an empirical comparison of various approaches. Review of Income and Wealth, Malden, v. 51, n. 1, p. 145-174, 2005.
DOPPLER, W. Contribution of the farming systems approach to regional food security and rural infrastructure. In: THIMM, H. U. et al. (Eds.). Regional food security and rural infrastructure Münster: Verlag, 1993.
DUBOIS, O. How good enough biofuel governance can help rural livelihoods: making sure that biofuel development works for small farmers and communities. Rome: FAO, 2008.
ECHEVERRIA, R. G. Opciones para reducir la pobreza rural en América Latina y el Caribe. Revista de la CEPAL, Santiago, n. 70, p. 147-160, 2000.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Bioenergy, food security and sustainability: towards an international framework 2008a. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-3-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Climate change, bioenergy and food security: civil society and private sector perspectives. 2008b. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-6-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Climate change, bioenergy and food security: options for decision makers identified by expert meetings. 2008c. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-5-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
GARCEZ, C. A. G.; VIANNA, J. N. S. Brazilian biodiesel policy: social and environmental considerations. Energy, Aalborg, v. 34, n. 5, p. 645-654, 2009.
GREENE, W. H. Econometric analysis 6. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008.
HAIR, J. F. et al. Multivariate data analysis 6. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.
HILL, R. C.; GRIFFITHS, W. E.; LIM, G. C. Principles of econometrics 3. ed. Danvers: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.
JACCARD, J. Interaction effects in factorial analysis of variance: quantitative applications in the social sciences. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1997.
KIM, J. O.; MUELLER , C. Factor analysis: statistical methods and practical issues. Newbury Park: Sage, 1978.
MATTOS, J. E.; WAQUIL, P. D. Pobreza rural no Rio Grande do Sul: comparando abordagens. 2005. Available at: <http://www.fee.tche.br/3eeg/Artigos/m03t04.pdf>. Acess on: 12 Oct. 2009.
NASS, L.; PEREIRA, P.; ELLIS, D. Biofuels in Brazil: an overview. Crop Science, Madison, v. 47, n. 6, p. 2228-2237, 2007.
PIERSON, J. Tackling social exclusion: social work skills series. New York: Routledge, 2002.
PRAKASH, S. Poverty and environment linkages in mountains and uplands: reflections on the 'poverty trap' thesis 1997. Available at: <http://www.prem-online.org/archive/17/doc/creed12e.pdf>. Acess on: 13 Sep. 2009.
RAJAGOPAL, D.; ZILBERMAN, D. Review of environmental, economic and policy aspects of biofuels 2007. Available at: <http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2007/09/04/000158349_20070904162607/Rendered/PDF/wps4341.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
REARDON, T.; VOSTI, S. Links between rural poverty and the environment in developing countries: asset categories and investment poverty. World Development, Quebec, v. 23, n. 9, p. 1495-1506, 1995.
SILVER , H.; MILLER, M. Social exclusion: the European approach to social disadvantage. 2002. Available at: <http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~hcrd/people/staff/Social%20Exclusion%20The%20European%20approach.pdf>. Acess on: 15 Mar. 2010.
UN ENERGY. Sustainable bioenergy: a framework for decision makers. 2007. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1094e/a1094e00.htm>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.
YURI, D. Programa das Nações Unidas para o desenvolvimento (PNUD). 2009. Available at: <http://www.pnud.org.br/gerapdf.php?id01=2802>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
30 Sept 2014
Date of issue
Dec 2010

History

Accepted
Nov 2010
Received
June 2010

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ABRAMOWAY, R.; MAGALHÃES, R. The access of family farmers to biodiesel markets: partnerships between big companies and social movements 2007. Available at: <http://www.abramovay.pro.br/artigos_cientificos/2007/Biodiesel_AIEA2_English.pdf>. Acess on: 15 Aug. 2010.

[2] AGÊNCIA NACIONAL DO PETRÓLEO, GÁS NATURAL E BIOCOMBUSTÍVEIS (ANP). Biodiesel statistics. 2010. Available at: <http://www.anp.gov.br/>. Acess on: 10 Mar. 2010.

[3] BETTI, G.; VERMA, V. K. Measuring the degree of poverty in a dynamic and comparative context: a multidimensional approach using fuzzy set theory. In: ISLAMIC COUNTRIES CONFERENCE ON STATISTICAL SCIENCE S, 6., 1999, Lahore. Proceedings.. Lahore: Punjab University, 1999. p. 289-301.

[4] BRASIL. Governo Federal. Programa nacional de produção e uso de biodiesel (PNPB). 2005. Available at: <http://www.biodiesel.gov.br/programa.html>. Acess on: 23 Nov. 2009.

[5] BROAD, R. The poor and the environment: friends or foes? World Development, Quebec, v. 22, n. 6, p. 811-22, 1994.

[6] COSTA, M. A multidimensional approach of the measurement of poverty: IRISS working paper series n. 2002-05. 2002. Available at: <http://iriss.ceps.lu/documents/irisswp28.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[7] DEUTSCH, J.; SILBER, J. Measuring multidimensional poverty: an empirical comparison of various approaches. Review of Income and Wealth, Malden, v. 51, n. 1, p. 145-174, 2005.

[8] DOPPLER, W. Contribution of the farming systems approach to regional food security and rural infrastructure. In: THIMM, H. U. et al. (Eds.). Regional food security and rural infrastructure Münster: Verlag, 1993.

[9] DUBOIS, O. How good enough biofuel governance can help rural livelihoods: making sure that biofuel development works for small farmers and communities. Rome: FAO, 2008.

[10] ECHEVERRIA, R. G. Opciones para reducir la pobreza rural en América Latina y el Caribe. Revista de la CEPAL, Santiago, n. 70, p. 147-160, 2000.

[11] FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Bioenergy, food security and sustainability: towards an international framework 2008a. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-3-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[12] FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Climate change, bioenergy and food security: civil society and private sector perspectives. 2008b. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-6-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[13] FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO). Climate change, bioenergy and food security: options for decision makers identified by expert meetings. 2008c. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/foodclimate/HLCdocs/HLC08-inf-5-E.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[14] GARCEZ, C. A. G.; VIANNA, J. N. S. Brazilian biodiesel policy: social and environmental considerations. Energy, Aalborg, v. 34, n. 5, p. 645-654, 2009.

[15] GREENE, W. H. Econometric analysis 6. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008.

[16] HAIR, J. F. et al. Multivariate data analysis 6. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.

[17] HILL, R. C.; GRIFFITHS, W. E.; LIM, G. C. Principles of econometrics 3. ed. Danvers: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.

[18] JACCARD, J. Interaction effects in factorial analysis of variance: quantitative applications in the social sciences. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1997.

[19] KIM, J. O.; MUELLER , C. Factor analysis: statistical methods and practical issues. Newbury Park: Sage, 1978.

[20] MATTOS, J. E.; WAQUIL, P. D. Pobreza rural no Rio Grande do Sul: comparando abordagens. 2005. Available at: <http://www.fee.tche.br/3eeg/Artigos/m03t04.pdf>. Acess on: 12 Oct. 2009.

[21] NASS, L.; PEREIRA, P.; ELLIS, D. Biofuels in Brazil: an overview. Crop Science, Madison, v. 47, n. 6, p. 2228-2237, 2007.

[22] PIERSON, J. Tackling social exclusion: social work skills series. New York: Routledge, 2002.

[23] PRAKASH, S. Poverty and environment linkages in mountains and uplands: reflections on the 'poverty trap' thesis 1997. Available at: <http://www.prem-online.org/archive/17/doc/creed12e.pdf>. Acess on: 13 Sep. 2009.

[24] RAJAGOPAL, D.; ZILBERMAN, D. Review of environmental, economic and policy aspects of biofuels 2007. Available at: <http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2007/09/04/000158349_20070904162607/Rendered/PDF/wps4341.pdf>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[25] REARDON, T.; VOSTI, S. Links between rural poverty and the environment in developing countries: asset categories and investment poverty. World Development, Quebec, v. 23, n. 9, p. 1495-1506, 1995.

[26] SILVER , H.; MILLER, M. Social exclusion: the European approach to social disadvantage. 2002. Available at: <http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~hcrd/people/staff/Social%20Exclusion%20The%20European%20approach.pdf>. Acess on: 15 Mar. 2010.

[27] UN ENERGY. Sustainable bioenergy: a framework for decision makers. 2007. Available at: <http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1094e/a1094e00.htm>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.

[28] YURI, D. Programa das Nações Unidas para o desenvolvimento (PNUD). 2009. Available at: <http://www.pnud.org.br/gerapdf.php?id01=2802>. Acess on: 26 Oct. 2009.