Evaluation of public policies for the development of green corridors to Agro-Logistics in Brazil

• Grant number: 18/24353-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: January 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Agrarian and Natural Resource Economics
• Agreement: Belmont Forum
• Principal Investigator: José Vicente Caixeta Filho
• Grantee: José Eduardo Holler Branco
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/50420-7 - Evaluation of public policies for the development of green corridors to agro logistics in Brazil, AP.R

Abstract

Freight transport in Brazil is highly dependent on highways. Roads account for about 60% of the total cargo transported in Brazil, while in other countries of continental size, such participation is less than 30%. The high average age of the heavy-duty fleet and the inefficient infrastructure of road transportation (such as the low-density and the poor quality of highways) weaken the sustainability of road transport. As a result, the productivity of freight transportation in Brazil is low, while the fossil fuel consumption and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are relatively high. In fact, the statistics indicate that the transport sector is responsible for about 35% of consumption of the oil product and over 40% of GHG emissions in Brazil. On the social side, the number of accidents involving trucks in Brazil is extremely high (approximately 66,000 per year). The low productivity of national transport also increases freight costs and affects negatively the competitiveness of Brazilian products, especially in the agricultural sector. There is an increasing awareness that green supply chains can be also competitive, either because of the awareness of the environment helps productivity or because consumers expect it, particularly in wealthy countries. In this context, it is essential that studies suggest policies that promote environmentally-friendly logistics through incentives to increase productivity and reduce GHG emissions from transport. Such policies should involve medium and long-term actions, and focus on increasing the efficiency of the transport system as a whole, generating lower environmental impacts. Ultimately, such policies should encourage the development of flow corridors that are aligned to the concept of green logistics, reducing emissions and promoting the competitiveness of Brazilian agro-logistics. Main Objectives: 1) Characterize the main logistics corridors of select agricultural products and to quantify GHG emissions from transport; 2) Develop a mathematical optimization methodology for select agricultural products that can be replicated for other commodities in Brazil and in other countries; 3) Identify potential investments in multimodal transport infrastructure to be created and/or expanded; 4) Model select public policies in freight transport to reduce GHG emissions in the medium and long term; 5) Identify/propose the range of public policies in Brazil that are more relevant to reduce GHG emissions in medium and long term.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

HOLLER BRANCO, JOSE EDUARDO; BARTHOLOMEU, DANIELA BACCHI; ALVES JUNIOR, PAULO NOCERA; CAIXETA FILHO, JOSE VICENTE. Mutual analyses of agriculture land use and transportation networks: The future location of soybean and corn production in Brazil.. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, v. 194, DEC 2021. (18/24353-3, 18/20436-1, 17/50420-7)