Eduardo Rodrigues de Castro

Avaliação de uma política de estabilização de renda para a agricultura familiar

For decades, the Brazilian agriculture sector has suffered strong income transfers to many of the countrys other economic sectors, which caused the impoverishment of many Brazilian farmers. Government sponsored rural credit assistance programs have somewhat redressed this inequity and ameliorated the farmers plight. However, due to the structure of these credit assistance programs, the majority of their benefits have gone to the countrys largest agricultural producers, thereby increasing income disparity found between family and commercial farms. New policies are needed that actually assist the majority of those that work in the Brazilian agriculture sector: the family farmers. This work evaluates effects of implementation of an Income Stabilization Policy (ISP) intended to support family farmers, focusing on cassava, milk, and bean producers. The evaluation is based on the costs and benefits of ISP, with reference to the theory of economic surplus. This article also considers the policys negative effect on the surplus generated by commercial producers. Study results indicate that implementation of the proposed ISP would increase the prices received for cassava, milk and beans, improve the income of Brazilian family farmers producing these products, and lead to consumer gains that more than offset the losses suffered by large, commercial agriculture producers.

Efeito da desvalorização cambial na oferta, no preço de insumos e na relação entre os fatores na cultura do café

The objective of this paper is to analyze the 1999 exchange rate (real/dollar) devaluation impact on coffee and intermediate input prices. Input price increased with exchange rate devaluation, reducing the positive effect of the exchange rate on coffee production, compared with the scenario which did not take the impact on input price into account. Coffee supply increased by 19.75% when the exchange rate devaluation impact on input price was not considered and by 17. 69 % when the devaluation impact on the price of fertilizers and machinery was considered.