Indicadores de inovação em cultivares de cana-de-açúcar

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the crisis experienced by the sucro-alcohol industry in Brazil, taking as reference data from the Northeastern Brazil and the state of Alagoas, performing a comparative statistical analysis of five variables in time series covering the last decade (2006-2015). The increase in total ethanol production (anhydrous and hydrated) over the past decade in Brazil occurred, in part, through investments in innovation, research and technological development in the sector, despite the increased production also be related to expansion of agricultural frontier with increased areas planted in both the north-northeast region, as the center-south of the Brazil. The set of initiatives related to innovation and technological development of the sugarcane industry in Brazil is likely to contribute significantly to overcoming the crisis coming through the industry in recent decades. Increased productivity uncoupled from increased planted area is a reality that results directly from investments in research and genetic improvement of cultivars released over the past decade. Finally, it was considered in this study, that the sustainability of agronomic structure, technology and agricultural innovation in the sucro-alcohol industry, is directly linked to cutting-edge research into new varieties of sugarcane.