​Project generates information about the rice market in Santa Catarina

With the aim of combining the training of rural producers with the generation of information for the management of price, cost and production risks on rural properties, the National Rural Learning Service (Senar/SC), a body linked to the Agriculture Federation of State of Santa Catarina (Faesc), develops the Campo Futuro project at the state level. The initiative is promoted nationally by the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA). This week, Campo Futuro took place with a focus on rice production, at Copagro, in Tubarão.

The work was carried out by researchers from the Center for Advanced Studiesin Applied Economics (Cepea), Luiz Henrique de Almeida and Fernando Perez Capello and accompanied by the Senar/SC supervisor in the southern region, Sueli Silveira Rosa. The initiative included the participation of rice producers from municipalities in the region. Embrapa, Epagri and Rural Unions, as well as cooperatives, also participated in this institutional effort.

Rice farmer Rogério Pessi, president of the Araranguá Rural Union, positively evaluated the project. According to him, the initiative is extremely important for surveying the cost of rice production, contributing in a real way to the situation experienced in the activity. “As president of the Union, I was able to deepen my knowledge. This will favor consistent arguments for the defense of the class when questioned,” he pointed out.

According to producer Rui Geraldinho, another important aspect of the panel was the participation of municipalities in the region, favoring integration and the exchange of experiences between producers in the sector. “The life of a rice farmer has been changing, by 2017 we will have problems in the production chain and the panel allowed us to discuss rice production in the State with a focus on actions to guarantee a better result”, said Geraldinho. Also participating in the initiative and agreeing with the methodology were the president of the Rural Union of Turvo, Donato Favarin and the president of the Rural Union of Tubarão, José Antônio De Pieri.

The president of Faesc, José Zeferino Pedrozo, highlighted that the generation of information is developed by the CNA and consists of preparing economic and rice performance indicators. “These indicators are based on data collections - called panels - carried out in municipalities representative of agricultural production. Then, the prices of inputs and production costs in these locations are monitored monthly.”

Rural producers learn, in a practical way, how to prepare their property's budget and production cost, in addition to using instruments for managing price risks, such as agricultural or production derivatives and rural insurance. “Campo Futuro provides strategic information to facilitate decision-making by rural producers, through access to a complete database of the agricultural sector, with the systematic evolution of production costs and profitability of the main agricultural and livestock activities and the publication Field Assets”, added Pedrozo.

The generation of information comprises four actions: creating panels with methodological instruments to identify the systems and production coefficients of each rural activity in a specific region; development of indicators with information on production costs and profitability of agricultural crops and livestock in the states; creation of an information system and consolidation of information generated by the project in a way that is accessible to rural producers and the general public; dissemination of publications based on sectoral analyzes and reports on the performance of Brazilian agriculture.

The panel methodology consists of defining the typical production property in each study region. The typical property refers to the most common reality in the region and a specific product considered in the study. A group made up of technicians and producers knowledgeable about the local reality meets to build a production system through open debate. “Together, they put together a spreadsheet of input costs and revenue for the most representative range of production in that municipality”, concluded the superintendent of Senar/SC, Gilmar Antônio Zanluchi.