Dinâmica do processo de inovação do açaí: a trajetória de pesquisa e desenvolvimento do BRS-Pará

Abstract

In Pará state açaí is the main product of the fruit-growing, generating an approximate value of R $ 677.2 million. With the expansion of production for upland areas, came the difficulty of standardization and homogeneity of production and thus lower quality. In an attempt to solve this problem, the Federal institute Embrapa Amazônia Oriental developed through genetic breeding the BRS-Pará, first crop for solid ground, with high productivity, early production and production in the off-season. Thus, the research aimed to analyze the process of innovation and profitability of BRS-Pará breeding. For the construction of this analysis it was necessary to characterize the BRS-Pará product developed by EMBRAPA, from the conception of the idea to product development, where were used for the analysis. The technological structure, productive and reproductive problems that gave origin to BRS-Pará were analyzed, through interviews with the technicians responsible for the development of farming. The perspective used to understand the process of innovation and technological came from Lundvall, Freeman, Cassiolato who argues that the process occurs from the interaction between different actors, institutions, support mechanisms and research work in collaboration to facilitate this process. At last, were collected accounting and production data of a farm that works with Açaí BRS-Pará crops, evaluating profitability, productivity and balance point of BRS-Pará crops. To understand the phenomenon we used the notion of paradigms and technological trajectories, based on the notion of Dosi and Nelson, however Costa perspective (2009) was highlighted to be a necessary contextualization of the natural environment in the formation and constitution of paradigms and their trajectories. The production unit analyzed is included in the T5 concept, path defined by Costa, as part of the patriarchal system, where there is an intensive land use and landscape homogenization. The study showed high level of profitability, because the crop enables revenue generation in the period between harvests, when prices rise, as well as the benefits of irrigation for the development of production.