Adequação e aplicação da matriz de capacidades tecnológicas para agroindústrias de carne suína

Abstract

This study deepens the analysis of technological capabilities for the pork industry, understood as the ability to use, adapt, manage their resources and technologies for production and generate innovations. By means of a qualitative approach, with an exploratory-descriptive character, it was analyzed two cooperatives from Western Paraná that slaughter and process pork. For this, it was used bibliographic and documental research and semi-structured interviews, applied to 15 collaborators of the cooperatives, with ample knowledge about industrial swine farming, logistics and market, with an average experience of 26 years in the sector, representing different areas of the agribusiness. These cooperatives have a history of performance in the development of agribusiness in the region, integrating agricultural production and technical transformations for the industrialization and commercialization of pork. In 2019, the two cooperatives were responsible for 36% of pork production and 28% of the amount of pigs slaughtered in Paraná. However, industrial swine farming has specificities that demand parameters consistent with economic, productive, and technological aspects to evaluate its technological capabilities. For this, besides the theoretical approach, was used the works of Sanjaya Lall (1987; 1992; LALL et al., 1994) as a base to structure a revisited Technological Capabilities Matrix for the pork industry. In this sense, new parameters and the scope of Systemic Innovation were incorporated, which complement and make the matrix adequate to analyze meat industries. The applied matrix establishes four technological scopes (lines): Investment, Production/Operation, Systemic Innovation, and Relationship with the Economy. Each scope has parameters for identification and categorization of the stage (columns) Basic, Intermediate and Advanced of technological capabilities. Thus, it was observed that the cooperatives master the abilities of the Investment scope, competently carrying out pre-investment studies/steps and executing projects for the expansion and construction of the industrial plants. Regarding the Production/Operation scope, it is highlighted that the cooperatives have Basic and Intermediate stage competencies of Product and Process Engineering. However, they still need to strengthen Advanced competencies and overcome internal challenges, in order to develop more innovations in productive processes and products. The greatest distinction among the cooperatives can be seen in the Systemic Innovation area. Cooperative A already has an innovation management implemented, establishing processes/steps and indicators for the company's innovation projects, an Advanced stage. However, Cooperative B is still in Intermediate stage, in the implementation phase of innovation management in its projects and of the interdepartmental innovation committee. In the scope of the Relationship with the Economy, the cooperatives dominate the Basic and Intermediate stages, making partnerships with scientific, technological and innovation institutions to offer qualification and training/updating programs and exchange information with their surroundings, participating in the West in Development Program and the IGUASSU VALLEY Regional Innovation System technical chamber. However, in the Advanced stage, there is an opportunity to consolidate the development of new technologies and processes through cooperative R&D. Therefore, considering the bottlenecks and the need to improve Advanced competences, it is emphasized that the innovations in processes and products in the slaughtering and processing of pork can be mitigated through the Relationship with the Economy.