Organization of knowledge and generation of content on territorial diagnoses for the Plan of Education and Dissemination of Knowledge of the Center for Applied Research in Digital Agriculture (CPAD)

• Grant number: 23/07707-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Agreement: MCTI/MC
• Principal Investigator: Durval Dourado Neto
• Grantee: Rodrigo de Freitas Espinoza
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/09319-9 - Center of Science for Development in Digital Agriculture - CCD-AD/SemeAr, AP.CCD

Abstract

The implementation of the AgroTechnological Districts (DATs) foreseen in the CPAD proposal will consider the characterization of each municipality from the perspective of three themes of interest: a) socioeconomic (educational level of the producer, rural demography, value of agroindustrial production, agricultural economic activities and non-agricultural, etc.); b) local infrastructure (availability of electricity on the rural property, distance from the property to the urban center, signal coverage of internet and telephone operators, etc.); and c) support network (level of social organization of rural producers, belonging (or not) to agro-industrial associations and/or cooperatives, presence of public and private institutions for technical assistance and rural extension - ATER, research and teaching institutions focused on to rural areas, etc.).In the dimension support network, aspects related to the degree of social organization of rural producers, their service through technical assistance and rural extension (ATER) and proximity to research institutions are considered. In this sense, it will be of great importance to map the structures of social organization of producers (associations) and economic organization (community cooperatives and agro-industrial companies), the presence of public and private institutions for the provision of ATER services and of research institutions aimed at the development of agribusiness, although not physically close, but which can operate in the selected territory.After the process of identifying these structures, it will be necessary to obtain information and data that make it possible to assess the extent to which these institutions are capable of playing a relevant role in supporting rural producers in identifying their demands and seeking solutions of common interest. The assumption is that the collective experience and the exchange of information between producers increase the diffusion and promote the adoption of new technologies, composing an innovative process in the local agricultural sector.In addition, technology transfer finds in ATER and agricultural research institutions an important channel for dissemination and training of rural producers. In this sense, formulating indicators that make it possible to establish the scope and coverage of this support network, its role in building human capital to interact with new technologies and innovations, constituting a structure capable of providing support for the implementation of DATs, constitutes a relevant action.This indicator formulation process will be constructed from variables extracted from secondary data sources (mainly the 2017 Agricultural Census and the 2010 Demographic Census, both from IBGE), carefully selected. State-wide data sources may also be used, such as the Survey of Agricultural Production Units for the 2017/18 harvest (Magnifying Glass). At the municipal level, complementary indicators will be identified for the analysis for the diagnosis.The methodology for evaluating the support network also provides for interviews with its leaders and relevant actors, local leaders and municipal agriculture secretariats, among others.The results of the analysis of this set of data and information that will make it possible to understand their degree of participation in the implementation of the DATs will be complemented by the application of the SWOT methodology among rural producers and local agents, identifying weaknesses, opportunities, strengths and threats to the effective implementation of DATs.The construction of this set of data so that one has in-depth knowledge of the support networks will require the work of a post-doctoral fellow, who will act in the preparation, execution and systematization of the data collection that allows its full characterization. (AU)