Balde Cheio e Proyecto Lechero: fragilidades e potencialidades de políticas inclusivas e inovadoras para os pequenos produtores de leite

Abstract

The trade opening and the end of State regulations, in the nineties resulted in a set of transformations for the Brazilian agribusiness. The milk production chain, particularly among the small producers, had a large impact arising from deregulation, regional trade integration, applying technology and the internationalization of capital, which resulted in the expansion of transnational involvement of dairy industry. These factors exposed low indexes of technical efficiency and quality, providing evidence of improvements needed in this regard. The Brazilian dairy sector, unlike in Argentine, has approximately 1,300,000 dairy properties that work with milk production and where 58% of production originated from family agriculture, which lead to a strong social theme. On the other hand, there are two convergent processes concerning the exclusion of milk producers: the first internalize indexes such as supply capacity, production in scale, and level of technology employed; and more recently a second process, with the adoption of an intensive production system, where the quality of milk also complete a new exclusionary cycle. The aim of this study was to examine to what extent the Balde Cheio project, created by EMBRAPA Pecuária Sudeste in 1999, and the Proyecto Lechero set by INTA Rafaela (Argentina) in 2002, may act as vectors for promoting the development of small milk producers, by highlighting the projects strengths and limitations. The five months of on site interviews in the cities of Valença and near region, in Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil) and in Rafaela and near region, in the Santa Fe province (Argentina), allowed for the conclusion that both projects are efficient as technology transfer programs. Although the Brazilian program does not particularly aim at specific aspects of sanitary regulations and it does not cover the whole State of Rio de Janeiro, the Balde Cheio project ensures the recovery of the producer self esteem by removing him from a condition of subsistence or cases of extreme poverty. The Proyecto Lechero was concerned with keeping small producers active in the Argentine production chain, by training them toward increasingly high levels of productivity, quality and hygiene, so that they could remain in the Argentine production chain.