Agrarian contracts, relations between agents, and perception on energy crops in the sugarcane supply chain: The Peruvian case

Peruvian regions for sugarcane planting produce sugarcanes throughout the year with a high average productivity. The objective of this article is to analyze the role of agents in the sugarcane supply chain to Peruvian mills and their relationship with the practice of agrarian contracts to sugarcane production. The perception of landowners and farmers about bioenergy and their predisposition to plant energy crops is also investigated. Field interviews are conducted with the main agents of the sugarcane production chain in the major producing regions. Statistical analysis of data from field interviews indicates that the relationship between owners and sugarcane producers is of land leasing. Intermediate agents act as a fundamental part of the sugarcane supply chain. The sharecropping or sugarcane purchase contract is an instrument that is established between middlemen and small independent producers, whether they are owners or tenants. The middlemen participation in commercialization can reach 30–40% of the sugarcane production. Most mills prefer to produce sugarcane in own lands. A relatively high degree of inequity in favor of the middlemen appears in the intermediation process because, in general, the mills prefer this intermediation in their commercial practice. A large number of landowners and tenants are familiar with notions of energy crops, particularly in relation to sugarcane and have a positive vision about them for the environmental sustainability. However, their interest in planting bioenergy crops is less. Friendly and equitable relations between agents will provide more economic and social stability to the Peruvian sugarcane agroindustry.