Competitiveness of biodiesel production in Brazil: the insertion and impacts of farming family

• Grant number: 09/07514-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2009
• End date: July 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering - Production Management
• Principal Investigator: Mario Otavio Batalha
• Grantee: Aldara da Silva César
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The mechanisms of the National Production and Use of Biodiesel are still inefficient to promote effective participation of family farmers, one of its main goals. This way, the study of the impacts of institutional changes in the coordination and definition of governance structures involving social projects for inclusion of small farmers become relevant for the analysis of competitiveness of the biodiesel agro-industrial production. From the theoretical point of view, this project aims to propose a model of analysis of competitiveness of agro-industrial chains that consider not only the classic drivers of competitiveness, but also aspects of environmental issues, social inclusion and coordination mechanisms related to possible configurations of the structures governance of the chain. It means to make a critical evaluation of existing analytical constructs to propose the inclusion of analysis variables neglected or ignored in current literature on the subject. The analytical methodology to be developed will be applied in agribusiness systems for the biodiesel production. Besides, the environmental issue also deeply permeates the whole discussion of domestic and international biodiesel. Thus, by the empirical point of view, applying the methodology to be developed should allow the identification of public and private policies to remove current bottlenecks in the production of biodiesel from selected raw materials (castor bean, soybean and palm) generated by farms and allow sustainable integration of these farmers in this production system.