A modernização da agricultura do Paraná

Abstract

The modernization of Brazilian agriculture showed gains in productivity, expansion of agricultural production and promotion of services and products related to modern agriculture, such as tractors, pesticides, fertilizers and technical assistance services. This study aims to measure the level of modernization of the agriculture in Paraná’s cities and its spatial distribution in the years of 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2006. For this analysis, an index of agricultural modernization was estimated through factor analysis, aiming to measure the studied phenomenon, and analyzed its spatial disposition in Paraná’s cities, using the indicators of global and local Moran’s I. The data were collected from the agricultural censuses of 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2006, carried out by IBGE. The results show that, initially, the modernization process of Paraná’s agriculture prioritized cities with more propitious soil to use machinery, especially the West and North. Besides soil condition, the availability of credit helped disseminate mechanized agriculture practices. Between 1985 and 1995, it presented the reduction of credit and the expansion of the animal husbandry sector, fostered by the growing agro industry of Paraná. These changes impacted on the lower spatial concentration of the IMA, especially the reduction of the IMA in the Northwest of Paraná. The following decade presented incentives for modernization, such as the resumption of credit expansion, especially for small producers, and the increase in international demand for agricultural commodities. It is important to point out that after 1995 Paraná presented clusters of high IMA in regions with predominance of soil which had restrictions for mechanization. The cluster identified in the surroundings of Curitiba presents restricted soil, however it is dynamized by the food demand of the metropolitan region. The cluster identified in the Southwest of Paraná, as well as the cluster of Curitiba, presents soil limitations, however, it is noteworthy that this region was able to develop a modernized family agriculture. Therefore, the concentration of modernization is related to natural, demographic and occupation factors of Paraná’s cities. Despite the expansion of the modernization of agriculture, Paraná presents several areas that have not been modernized. It should be noted that the modernization process followed a capitalist logic, prioritizing areas with more favorable soil and that, theoretically, present higher productivity.