Efficiency of the sugarcane mills of the State of São Paulo: an approach considering economic, social and environmental aspects using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

• Grant number: 18/16399-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2019
• End date: January 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Agrarian and Natural Resource Economics
• Principal Investigator: Ana Elisa Périco
• Grantee: Gabriel Malta Campos Dotta e Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since colonial times, Brazil has had a certain ability to plant sugarcane. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture (2018), Brazilian production totaled 662,473,271 tons in the 2016/2017 harvest, of which 76% is destined for sugar exports and 94% for internal consumption of ethanol, either in the anhydrous form (added to gasoline) or hydrated (fuel ethanol). The state of São Paulo is responsible for about 60% of sugarcane cultivation. In addition, there was a growth of 109% of planted area between the period from 2000 to 2015 in the country, with the state of São Paulo marking a growth of 124% in the planted lands of the crop, in the same period. In this context, the objective of this research is to analyze the efficiency of the sugarcane mills of the state of São Paulo, from 2007 to 2017, through Data Envelopment Analysis, from the economic, social and environmental perspectives, generating robust and complete efficiency models. The sugarcane industry is of paramount importance to the Brazilian economy. In the crop year 2013/2014, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the sector was about 2% of the national GDP, generating 1.2 million direct jobs. And the future of the industry is optimistic, due to the expansion of the production frontier, use of new technologies and emphasis on production efficiency, with emphasis on sustainability tripod management (eg RenovaBio). In addition, another important argument in favor of the development of this research is related to the absence of studies of this nature in the national and international literature, that propose to an investigation of the efficiency of global form, contemplating economic, social and environmental aspects.