Innovation and modernization in the agricultural spaces of Castilla y León (Spain) and in the east of Alagoas (northeast of Brazil) (1990-2020)

• Grant number: 19/24717-8
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal researcher: Rosa Ester Rossini
• Grantee: Paul Clívilan Santos Firmino
• Supervisor abroad: Fernando Molinero Hernando
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Universidad de Valladolid (UVa), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/22120-9 - Modernization of sugarcane agroindustry in the State of Alagoas: challenges and perspectives in the globalization period, BP.DR

Abstract

The transition from the 20th to the 21st century is marked by a strong interaction between technique, science and information, which constitute the so-called technical-scientific-informative medium (SANTOS, [1996] 2008), and which characterizes the phenomenon of globalization that "increases a dialectic between a global order and a local order" (ELIAS, 2018, p. 20). Its diverse characteristics are present in urban spaces and agricultural spaces, where new sets of technical objects will be incorporated into agricultural activities as a whole: soil preparation, planting, cultivation, production and marketing of the product, organization and modern articulations. The project aims to analyze and discuss the process of modernization and innovation of productive structures in agricultural spaces in the region of Castilla y León (Spain), and in eastern Alagoas (Brazil), focusing mainly on agribusiness of sugar, in its various dimensions, in the period 1990-2020. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to specify some concepts: region and sub-regions, globalization and technical systems, innovations and modernization, economic development, agricultural spaces, sugar agribusiness, labor relations, etc. Some authors are essential: Alonso (2008), Andrade Neto (1990), Baraja (1999), Bernardes (2012), Cabo (2008), Carvalho (2009, 2012), Castillo e Frederico (2010), Diégues Jr. (2012 ), García (1984), Gil (2004), Lima (2006), Molinero (2006), Molinero [et al] (2016), Plaza (2016), Plaza [et al] (2008), Ramos (2010), Rossini (2016), Sampaio (2015), Santos (2003), Santos (1996] 2008), Thomaz Jr. (2013). Sugar production in the region of Castilla y León and the State of Alagoas are important for their economies. However, there is a concentration of the largest companies, with a high level of modernization and sophistication, while absorbing more qualified workforce, to the detriment of those that do not follow the trends of the current process. Likewise, the degree of modernization has greatly reduced the need for labor, replaced by machines.