Participatory Research is an important tool for Agroecology, since it presupposes a systemic approach, contextualized problems and capacity to generate processes of local development, characteristics required by the construction of agroecological knowledge. The results of the Participatory Research are, in general, easy to access and have low costs, promoting autonomy, equity and environmental sustainability to agroecosystems. There are few cases where the application of participatory research are observed in Brazil. In the few situations in which this occurs, there is still a lack of methodology, which may compromise efficiency. Aiming to broaden the discussion about the application of participatory research in Agroecology, some principles, models and examples are presented and discussed, in addition to some general considerations. The limits on participation in research are also discussed.
This paper discusses the outcomes of the R+D project 'Is the Bioeconomy a Plausible Strategy for Sustainable Human Development in Northeastern Uruguay? Theoretical-Conceptual Discussion and Empirical Bases for its Implementation', funded by the Sectorial Commission for Scientific Research (CSIC, by its acronym in Spanish) of the University of the Republic (UDELAR) in Uruguay 2021 - 2023). The project examined the potential of bioeconomy as a model for socio-technical transformations towards more environmentally sustainable formats with greater social inclusiveness, focusing on the Northeastern region of Uruguay (departments of Rivera, Tacuarembó and Cerro Largo). This paper presents findings from a multilevel and multi-stakeholder governance perspective. At the international level, there is currently a lack of governance frameworks related specifically to the bioeconomy paradigm. However, various countries have outlined some strategies to respond to the challenges of sustainable development and to potentially develop future governance schemes. This text explores the bioeconomy as a political initiative within governmental agendas in Latin America, where Argentina and Brazil are recognized as significant actors, while Uruguay made some efforts to develop a National Bioeconomy Strategy. The State has been instrumental in promoting the bioeconomy through public policies and inter-institutional cooperation. Diverse perspectives and initiatives of non-State actors have been taken into consideration. The private sector and foreign investment have also made significant contributions to the growth of certain sectors. However, there are challenges in implementing the bioeconomy paradigm at the territorial level. This is an important fact in order to evaluate its future projections.
This study analyzes the influence of political alignment on strategic intergovernmental party transfers, which are voluntary transfers between federal and municipal entities, specifically in the state of Tocantins from 2015 to 2020. The data was obtained from IBGE, TSE, and the transparency portal. To achieve the proposed objectives, a balanced panel data regression model was used, with a fixed effects model. In this context, three out of the eight investigated variables were found to have significance for higher transfers to municipalities in Tocantins, namely: party affiliation; second term in office; and PIB per capita. In addition, indices regarding municipal development were evaluated, for this purpose data on basic sanitation in the treatment of water and treated sewage, fiscal management, formal employment and education were used, in order to verify the real performance of the municipalities with the largest and smaller intergovernmental transfers. It was verified, therefore, that among the regions with the lowest transfers, the influence of the “second term” variable generates a positive impact on the development and growth of the city, this occurred in the city of Sucupira. In the regions that receive the largest transfers, the variables that should imply greater transfers do not weigh considerably on those that generate development, that is, there are external influences that are analyzed in this search that can intervene in the results entered.
O objetivo deste artigo consiste analisar as mudanças das fontes de crédito de custeio da cultura da soja no município de Dom Pedrito/RS. Ancorado metodologicamente na perspectiva histórico-dedutivo, o estudo se caracteriza essencialmente a partir de uma abordagem quantitativa. O período de análise foi de 2015 a 2024, delimitado em função da disponibilidade de uma das variáveis utilizadas no estudo. Foram consideradas séries estatísticas tanto do Banco Central do Brasil como do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Além disso, contou-se com três informantes-chaves para esclarecimentos sobre a cultura da soja no município. A análise dos resultados foi através da estatística descritiva e foi dividida em duas partes. Os principais resultados demonstraram que mesmo com incremento de 93,5% no valor acessado via crédito rural pela cultura da soja entre 2015 e 2024, a área financiada via este mecanismo reduziu sua participação de 43,3% em 2015 para apenas 32,1% em 2024, o que neste último ano representam 38.505 do total de 120.000 hectares de área plantada de soja em Dom Pedrito/RS. A análise deste cenário sugere que a alteração do padrão de financiamento está ocorrendo por ao menos quatro aspectos principais, entre os quais a atuação de sete grandes empresas de Trading do agronegócio que operam na localidade.
