Ruben Dario Mayorga

Território, cooperação e inovação: um estudo sobre o Arranjo Produtivo Pingo D’água

Several states and Brazilian countries already have adopted investment programs to the local productive arrangements (LPA’s) that involves by micro, small and median companies. However, most of the studies on LPA’s has given little attention to the local productive arran-gements of agricultural nature. This study intends to analyze the LPA, of irrigated agriculture, called “Drop of water” in Quixeramobim, Ceara. It was used primary and secondary data that were obtained through bibliographical and documental researches, case study and field rese-arches. The resulted were verified through of tabular and descriptive analyze. Inside the arrangement analyzed we could verify the involve-ment of several partners’ from different segments that participated in hi-gher or lower degree. This involvement of several partners’ establishing important instruments for introduction of innovations of product, pro-cess and organizational creating new competences and gains competitive advantages. However, it was verified the existence of obstacles related to the inexistence of inappropriate training centers for qualification of the producers, absence of research laboratories and lack of more appropriate credit lines adjusted producer’s reality. In spite of these problems, we can conclude that there was gain of resulted from the collective efficiency that was created by this productive gathering. This arrangement is a proof that with some social organization of the local actor’s will be possible to change the difficult reality of the families that earn from their income agriculture in the zone semi-arid of the Ceara.

COMPETITIVIDADE DAS EXPORTAÇÕES MUNDIAIS DE PLANTAS VIVAS E PRODUTOS DE FLORICULTURA

Este artigo teve como objetivo analisar a competitividade das exportacoes de plantas vivas e flores no mercado internacional no periodo 1998-2004, atraves de um conjunto de indicadores de desempenho das exportacoes. Os resultados mostram competitividade das exportacoes do segmento no mercado internacional. Porem, grandes exportadores nem sempre sao fortemente competitivos. Caso da Italia, Belgica, Estados Unidos, Alemanha e Espanha. Os exportadores mais competitivos foram Equador, Holanda, Colombia e Dinamarca, sendo que estes tres ultimos apresentaram perdas de competitividade e Equador os maiores ganhos. O Brasil, apesar de nao configurar entre os maiores exportadores mostrou-se fortemente competitivo com taxas crescentes de competitividade.

CARACTERIZAÇÃO DO COMÉRCIO DA CEASA-CEARÁ

Os Centros de Abastecimento sao pontos de concentracao fisica da producao de hortigranjeiros oriundos de diversas regioes do pais. Grande parte da comercializacao de hortalicas, frutas e flores no Brasil tem ocorrido atraves das Centrais de Abastecimento. O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar o comercio da Ceasa-CE a partir da visao dos que ali operam, buscando identificar o perfil do mercado atacadista ali instalado. Para esta finalidade foram aplicados questionarios junto aos permissionarios. Os resultados mostraram que os donos de mercadinhos e mercearias sao os principais clientes da Ceasa-CE, os principais produtos comercializados na Ceasa-CE sao as frutas, mais da metade dos produtos comercializados sao produzidos no Estado do Ceara e as perdas dos produtos comercializados no interior da Ceasa-CE podem superar 20%.

Capital social, capital físico e a vulnerabilidade do sertanejo: o caso das comunidades de Lustal e Sítio Lagoa no município de Taua, Ceará

The County of Taua is located in the region of Inhamuns in the State of Ceara, one of the areas most affected by impacts of periodic droughts, with their adverse influence on production and consequently on the farmers’ quality of life. It is observed that, during climate crises, the communities have limiting defense mechanisms. It is supposed that the social capital, as a mechanism that agglutinates and facilitates coordinated actions, strengthens the communities and reduces the vulnerability. This study intends to verify and analyze the importance of social and physical capital as a strategy of Lustal and Sitio Lagoa communities to live with droughts. For this purpose, a questionnaire containing a list of social capital variables was submitted to specialists to rank them. Out of this list the ten most frequent variables were selected. Following, in the Taua County, technical specialists and rural agents experienced in these communities were asked to provide weight to social and physical capital variables. With this information, an Index was developed to show the importance of social capital in the reduction of vulnerability as well as the relative importance of social and physical capital in these communities. The present work enabled the verification of the relevance of social and physical capital as decisive elements of the level of vulnerability of the communities of Lustal and Sitio Lagoa.