Abstract
Sustainable bio-energy is interwoven with sustainable rural development for family farmers.
In this context, the Brazilian government is pursuing a “social inclusion” goal by means of
family farmers providing a fraction of biodiesel feedstock. In 2009, the state-run petroleum
company established a biodiesel plant in the north of Minas Gerais State. Family farmers in
this region are faced with the prospect of entering agreements with the industry to provide
castor beans (castor). Fewer family farmers than anticipated are engaging and this raises
doubts regarding the sustainability of this option for family farmers (da Silva César and
Batalha 2010). Exploration into the sustainability of such farmer-industry agreements from
the farm-level perspective is timely. We conduct an exploratory assessment using
sustainability indicators. We aim to: (i) capture and explore the scope of sustainability if
family farmers choose to cultivate castor and (ii) explain sustainability as a function of
current yield levels, alternative yield levels and alternative management decisions at the farm
level.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 5th WCCA - World Congress on Conservation Agriculture incorporating 3rd Farming Systems Conference Design Conference, 26-29 Sept. 2011, Brisbane, Australia |
| Pages | 314-315 |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
| Event | Resilient Food Systems for a Changing World, Proceedings of the 5th World Congress of Conservation Agriculture in corporating 3rd Farming Systems Design Conference, Brisbane, Australia - Duration: 26 Sept 2011 → 29 Sept 2011 |
Conference/symposium
| Conference/symposium | Resilient Food Systems for a Changing World, Proceedings of the 5th World Congress of Conservation Agriculture in corporating 3rd Farming Systems Design Conference, Brisbane, Australia |
|---|---|
| Period | 26/09/11 → 29/09/11 |