The living encyclopedia of modern coffee culture in Brazil: the Coffee Experimental Station of Botucatu and science in the national coffee production (1889-1945)

• Grant number: 14/25790-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants - Publications - Books published in Brazil
• Start date: March 01, 2015
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Cristina de Campos
• Grantee: Cristina de Campos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The modernization process of agriculture in Brazil - characterized by the improvement of the methods used in the production, mechanization, the qualification of the agrarian labour and expanding consumer markets - can be seen as something in progress. Their integration in the global market and the introduction of agribusiness can prove such affirmative, revealing how changeable is the stage of these transformations. The bases for such changes can be ascertained, being the period between 1930 and 1970 of fundamental importance in this process. A lot of institutions have been created to promote research relating to agricultural products, most notably, in the early 1930, experimental stations. In the particular case of Brazilian coffee production, experimental stations can be considered one of the measures adopted by the Brazilian government against the effects of the crisis of 1929. Problems related to overproduction, low quality of product and growth of international competition demanded a new look for the sector, where economic policy related changes would suffice, and there is also the need for the improvement of the production. In this dissertation, we take the case of the Coffee Experimental Station in Botucatu, São Paulo, as a component of this irreversible process, where applied research and technology are seen as indispensable for resolving the crisis that was in coffee growing and Brazilian agricultural development. (AU)