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After harvest, usually a significant amount of crop residues are available and part of it can be a feedstock for biomass energy. This paper's objective is to quantify sustainable residual biomass from corn harvesting, husk leaf, and cob, and its solid-fuel characterization for energy co-generation assessment. The methodology considers geographical distributions of corn production on a municipal basis, at Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) State in Brazil. Residual biomass from corn harvest has its mass fractions and energy characteristics determined via proximate and ultimate analyzes, bulk density, and heating values. Also, assessment of energy and power obtained by using co-generation power plants technology. The conclusions identify that residual biomass from corn harvest (husk leaf and cob) have large amounts available for energy use (~190.106 kg), and a main one geographic micro-region at MS. Its characteristics as solid fuel, i.e., HHV~18 MJ.kg-1 and TMC,db <10%, as well as high availability for oxygen for combustion (TO ~43%) and low ash content (TAsh < 4%) corroborate with its energy use, as in co-firing with sugarcane bagasse or coal thermal power plants. Bulk density values suggest densification as an interesting option for the commercialization of pellets or briquettes. Assessment of energy and power has a significant contribution to the Dourados micro-region (~2 GWElectric) and could attend farm and other rural energy demands through co-generation power plants. Altogether, husk leaf and cob are adding-values co-products that can play a significant role in the corn productive chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short agrofood chains are organizational and commercialized types for the approach of producers and consumers. Theoretical foregrounding is necessary to investigate higher economic performance. Current paper proposes a study method on short chains by employing the Economy of Transaction Costs, Measuring Costs Economy, Resources-based View and Entrepreneurship Theory. The method was then applied to the study of milk sheep-breeding in Brazil. The agroindustrial system of sheep milk in Brazil is organized vertically to avoid high transaction costs in incipient and poorly structured markets. Probably this is not a transitory factor since the links between agents are prone to be strengthened. Efforts are also needed for improvements and innovations in processes and products due to the fledging condition of the chain. Results show that the study model analyzes a short agroindustrial chain and characterizes it to provide strategies in management and coordination to improve the system for sustainable competitive advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast relevance of applications of spatial regression models has recently captured the interest of Economics and Agriculture, in the sense of better understanding the spatial behavior of the region under study, in the different forms of approaches. It is interesting to understand why some regions show greater variability than others, and why some forms of regional development are better explained. It is up to the researcher to understand, explore, and organize a series of observations, so that it is possible to make predictions, diagnoses, and recommendations to public policy managers and regional development agents. The municipalities' Gross Domestic Product (Gdp) has driven studies involving spatial information. The objective of this study was to analyze the Gdp of the municipalities in Paraná-Brazil, in 2018, regarding soybean yield, corn yield, pig production, and the tax on the circulation of goods, through different approaches of spatial regression models. SAR and CAR models are global models, while the GWR model is considered a local one. Three spatial analysis models were used to perform this study: Spatial Autoregressive (SAR), Conditional Autoregressive (CAR), and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The results were compared using the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Cross- Validation Criterion (CVC), and the descriptive graphic of residual diagnoses-Worm Plot. The best result obtained was for the GWR model, which best explained the GDP of the state of Paraná-Brazil in terms of its covariates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil has favored agribusiness instead of family farming. In the agribusiness production networks, food is nottreated as a social right, but rather as a commodity whose primary purpose is to obtain profit. This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the intrinsic relationship between agribusiness expansion and hunger in Brazil. Our starting point are some of the pillars that support food as a commodity, like ultra-processed food and economic concentration in its production and distribution. The methodology was structured according to the basic principles of qualitative research for the construction of a critical analysis. We conclude that in addition to the increase in production and productivity of agribusiness, we have the growth of people without access to food, showing that these processes are sides of the same coin. We also note that although hunger increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, agri-food businesses and supermarkets were among the most profitable during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian government has over the past years promulgated a mix of orthodox and heterodox policies for Brazil's economic development. This paper seeks to test whether the existing economic ideas have been prescriptive in formulating the policies, or whether they have been the outcome of the "infusion of private interests" (Katzenstein, 1978) in the policy making process. To this end, the paper charts the origins of the unilateral opening for trade in the agribusiness and contrasts them with the policy process in the car industry, where trade barriers have been erected. The article will identify the channels through which private actors informed the government's interventions and show that the industry bodies have largely prodded the government. The resulting policy maze has left both the representatives of the orthodox as well those of the heterodox approach unsatisfied and has failed to halt Brazil's dwindling manufacturing capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way the researcher groups his research data will influence the result of his work. In the literature, this phenomenon is treated as a Problem of the Modifiable Areal Unit. The objective of this article was to analyze the three spatial levels by Municipalities, Regional Centers and Mesoregions using the following data: gross domestic product, effective agricultural production, grain production and gross value of agricultural production for the state of Paraná-Brazil in the period since 2012 until 2015. The methodological procedure studied data from the Paranaense Institute for Economic and Social Development of the above-named variables collected on the website of the Paranaense Institute for Economic and Social Development of the 399 municipalities, 23 regional centers and 10 mesoregions. The results found show the presence of the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem, presenting different results for each level of grouping. The study revealed the problem of the modifiable areal unit is a relevant occurrence and it should be disregarded by researchers who work with clusters of spatial data in their studies. The results found allow a better understanding of the scale effect and demonstrate the efficiency of spatial analysis in socioeconomic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazil, the expansion of sugarcane for ethanol production has fundamentally altered the rural landscape and represents a significant change in the trajectory of the country's rural development and agrarian reform policies. Current policies are highly skewed in favour of agrofuel industries and are denying landless rural workers and peasant families, like those of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement (MST), access to land. In addition to the heavy social costs, the agrofuel industry threatens the environment by polluting the air, water and land. This paper elucidates the socio-environmental impacts of the burgeoning sugarcane-ethanol industry in the Pontal do Paranapanema, a region in the extreme west of the São Paulo state with a long history of land-related conflicts. While corporations reap astronomical profits from the agrofuel industry, the costs of agrofuel expansion in the Pontal do Paranapanema and in Brazil have been disproportionally borne by the environment and the most impoverished and marginalized members of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of Ceará is the major Brazilian cashew producer and highlights the social and economical feature of its agribusiness, capable of generating wealth and assisting in people's settlement in the countryside. Despite the support of several organizations which compose the local innovation system, seeking generation, adaptation and diffusion of innovations, the productive chain of cashew agribusiness lacks of innovations. In that context, it is assumed that the "sustainable innovation" would appear from the social-environmental management, stimulating, consequently, the local system. Based on this discussion, this paper contributes on the identification of innovation possibilities through the introduction of the Cleaner Production approach, contemplating on the mobilization of local system of Ceará's cashew agribusiness. The qualitative methodology is based on the documental compilation and in interviews/debates with a group constituted by specialists who work in the sector. The analysis was performed using the Thematic Analysis technique, which belongs to the Analysis of Content techniques group. It was verified that the local system mobilization includes the increasing of interactions among participant agents, facilitating the spread of sustainable innovations from the complete use of cashew, enlarging, consequently, the economical spaces with new business and market opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze what extent the location inluences the internationalization process of Brazilian companies. From ive models of internationalization, that key concept is cross compared to explain the empirical analysis of the cases. The research is characterized by its longitudinal approach and methodological procedures based on the adaptive theory. Data analysis was performed in two stages: descriptive and the method of constant comparison, both using ATLAS/ti software. Based on the concept properties, four signiicant events emerged, with distinct dominance over time: trends, and comparative locational advantages (transactional and comparative) and disadvantages. The results show that the comparative advantages were decisive for the start of the internationalization and boosted the trends in the region. Transactional beneits are present in later stages, acquired through the opening of subsidiaries abroad. Locational disadvantages were also perceived throughout the whole process due to unforeseen chance events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agribusiness in Brazil has advanced significantly and gained importance in national economy in recent years. Within this sector of the economy has been power the beef cattle, around one third of the total value of production, particularly the export sector of beef. In this optimistic scenario, this paper aims to identify the best option for road transport by type of vehicle or the best among all the options available to minimize the costs of the whole process of export of meat from a refrigerator located in city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, destined to the ports of Santos and Guarujá, state of São Paulo. The technique used was the linear programming and, among the results, the best option is to increase its offer refrigerator to minimize the costs of transport. By adopting this solution, there is not inventory or the possibility of under-utilization of carrier vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attempt of the Brazilian agribusiness dominant class to link the political actions of the MST with the terrorist actions of contemporary such groups, trough the media of the great press, is the object of analysis of this paper. This maneuver can be evidenced by the analysis of two objetcts - an article published in a major press magazine and a referral of a bill in Congress - and the existent connections between them. In desconstructing this association it is intended to expose the counterpoint of accusatory argument of the violent character of the MST, by exposing the data that indicates that the violent áreas are those related to the agribusiness expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions related to food production in selected countries around the world in 2000, 2007, and 2014 were analyzed in this paper. In recent decades, many studies have suggested that greenhouse gas emissions mostly caused by agricultural production should be reduced. However, a low-carbon agricultural sector often involves a reduction in inputs, which may result in smaller production volumes. Nevertheless, the overarching goal should be to maintain food production at a sufficient level to meet the population's food requirements. Food production is particularly important in the context of the forecasted growth of the world population. In this situation, greenhouse gas emissions per product unit should be regarded as a key indicator that reflects the environmental sustainability level of production processes. Defined as such, environmental sustainability was examined across the entire food production system—referred to as agribusiness. This study calculated the emissions of major greenhouse gases related to food production and compared them to the GDP of agribusiness. The average ratio of the agribusiness carbon footprint to GDP in countries examined was nearly 2 kg of CO 2 equivalent/USD in 2000. This value kept decreasing during the study period, reaching 1.21 in 2014. A decrease in the ratio was recorded despite an increase in agribusiness greenhouse gas emissions, which validated the research hypothesis that an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from agribusiness does not necessarily reflect a decline in the environmental performance of agribusiness production. This is especially true for China and Brazil, whose greenhouse gas emissions related to food production increased considerably in the years examined in this study along with a clear decline in emission levels per unit of agribusiness GDP. This study is innovative, because the literature does not provide any similar calculations for the food production subsystem, especially regarding emission levels per production unit. This approach required the authors to integrate the calculation methods used in agribusiness production with those applicable to agribusiness greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this study relied on consistent methods developed by the authors to calculate these values. The research adds to existing literature by calculating the carbon footprint for the entire food production system, and it argues that better environmental performance of agribusiness production can be achieved despite higher greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]