Estruturas de governança no complexo agroindustrial sucroalcooleiro goiano

Abstract

At the beginning of this millennium, there was a strong stimulus to the expansion of Brazilian sugar and ethanol sectors, which led to the resurgence of debate and analysis on the construction of new incentive policies and articulation of the agents of this complex. This thesis aims to identify and characterize the main governance structures (traditional and new models) in sugarcane agroindustry complex in Goiás. So, we carried out a historical revision on the process of establishing policies, since the Alcohol and Sugar Institute. We show the expansion and restructuring, even to deregulation in this complex with the consequent extinction of this organ in the nineties as well the emergence of new organs to represent interests. The new complex's growth boom in the 2000s reveals an expansion configuration in sugarcane agribusiness in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and Paraná. The migration of sugarcane agribusiness from São Paulo and the northeastern regions can be explained by the search of greater scale profits with abundant land, low costs of production and transaction and, above all, greater competitiveness which will modify the pattern of agricultural production in these state. Consequently, this process made the state of Goiás the second largest producer of Brazilian sugarcane and ethanol, improved by tax and credit incentive policies coming from the state and from federal funding agencies. Furthermore, we considered also the institutional, technological and main governance structures which covers the form to organize and articulate the agents in the complex. Therefore, the study methodology was based on qualitative and quantitative research. The quantitative search treats data obtained from the historical revision as well those got from the semistructured interviews. The qualitative search used secondary data to identify space clusters in space statistics as well to show the cause relation among variables, considering the dynamic panel model in space econometry. Our analysis allowed us to conclude that in Goiás there are space clusters that can be considered as sugarcane territories, with space association patterns in the sugarcane producing municipalities located in areas of high productivity which improves competition for land with existing soybean and corn crops. We observed that the sugarcane municipalities are also those who have shown good socioeconomic indicators. The governance structures come from the production organization process. One can summarize them as follows: vertical backward integration (own area and/or land lease) and integration between mills/distilleries and sugarcane suppliers. The study shows that the first governance structure has prevailed in Goias State. The municipalities are those who have the minor social and cooperative organization. In contrast, the integration with sugarcane suppliers has been observed in the cities where there are supplier association (with economical character) which reduces opportunistic actions, asymmetries of information and power in the mills and distilleries and makes corporatism an interesting contribution to analysis of this reality. This is a reality that saw the birth of Consecana, an important mechanism of self-governance in sugar and alcohol complex as to settle the conflicts between agents. Therefore, the institutions which represent the interests of the Goias’ sugar and alcohol complex have influenced the conformation of structures of the state governance.