The expansion of the sugarcane industry in the western of the state of Sao Paulo and its impactos to family farming in the Pontal do Paranapanema and the extreme Northwestern State of Sao Paulo

Author(s)

Flávio de Arruda Saron

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Presidente Prudente. 2018-12-06.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. Presidente Prudente
• Defense date: 2018-07-30
• Advisor: Antonio Nivaldo Hespanhol

Abstract

In this research we aim to analyze economic and social impacts caused by the sugarcane industrial sector in the Pontal do Paranapanema and Northwest, which are regions located in the West of São Paulo State, Brazil, as well as the effects of harvesting sugarcane fields on lands owned by family farmers, dynamics that are related to a land renting practice that replaces family farm crops and activities by sugarcane fields towards the needs of sugarcane industrial mills. In order to reach the research project objectives, we did a literature review, secondary data source collection and field works. We found out that in the 2000s there was a great expansion of the sugarcane industrial sector, presenting similarities with the previous period covered by PROALCOOL - Federal Program for Supporting the Ethanol Production. There was a great increase of the number and size of sugar mills, in the spreading of sugarcane mechanical harvest, in the offer of electricity as a byproduct sold by sugar mills and in the expansion of investments from foreign companies in this sector. Most of the new sugar mills where built in regions where there was small sugarcane acreage as Western São Paulo. Consequently, Western São Paulo has risen as an important area for sugarcane production in Brazil. At the same time, in the United States (U.S), where there was a great increase in the ethanol production made from corn, the most important product of the U.S agriculture. Both in Brazil and in the U.S., subsidies, cooperation between its governments, and the influence of corporations are important characteristics of sugarcane industrial sector and ethanol industry. Growing crops in both countries to make ethanol heavily relies on intensive farming system, characterized by large scale agriculture and green revolution techniques. Under that perspective, ethanol has not been produced on a sustainable basis. However, it can provide less greenhouse gases (GHGs) levels emission than conventional fuels (gasoline). So, sugarcane industrial sector in Brazil and ethanol industry in the U.S. have been developed based on capitalistic agriculture, which means dropping of the number of farmers and increasing of large scale operation and relationships with non-agricultural capital. We found out that most of the sugarcane fields have not been grown on family farms lands, which are characterized by smaller size of farms and farming scale, in both regions. Most of the sugarcane fields have been grown on non-family farms, especially on absentee ownership lands. There was not significant changes in agriculture systems of the declining family farming related to sugarcane mills, expect in the cases in which family farmers rented their land to grow sugarcane fields. The processing and growing sugarcane is made by sugarcane mills, therefore these industries control the whole productive process. So, most of the family farmers can only participate of sugarcane industrial sector as employees in sugar mills, especially in the Pontal do Paranapanema region area. The sugarcane mills provide a lot of jobs, which have heavily impacted the local labor market in regions where there wasn’t any big industry has been installed before. In the two regions, there were serious impacts caused by sugar mills, which affects quality of life of rural communities, such as spreading flies, risks agrochemical exposure, worse rural roads caused by trucks traffic, among others. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/04431-9 - The expansion of the sugarcane industry on the West of São Paulo State and its effects on the family farm in the Pontal of Paranapanema and Northwest
• Grantee: Flávio de Arruda Saron
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate