Análise dos processos de difusão e adoção da inovação : o caso do biodiesel em Monsenhor Tabosa - CE

Abstract

The present work aims to analyze the diffusion processes driven by support agencies and innovations adopted by farmers through the National Program of Biodiesel Production and Use (PNPB) in the city of Monsenhor Tabosa, Ceará. In late 2004, Federal Government shaped a public policy with the guiding principle of promoting the biodiesel market through the inclusion of family farmers in the production chain of raw materials used to manufacture this renewable fuel. In theory, such policy would encourage the internal market of biofuels and would add extra income for small farmers. To perform the research, it took three visits to observe and thirty-one interviews with eleven people connected to the biodiesel program of Ceará (which are directly linked to the city of Monsenhor Tabosa) and twenty farmers of São Jorge Community Association. The model chosen in the formulation of questions for interviews and in data analysis was the diffusionist-innovation proposed by Everett Rogers (2003), including the use of categories and subcategories proposed by him. After analyzing the data, it was realized that the program and the innovations, despite several problems to be solved, has had good acceptance by farmers, generating income for the adopters, even though in some cases their increase is not as significant. The PNPB has presented some limitations, so that needs to be reevaluated. One is that there must be some refinement in the communication processes in order to reduce discrepancies between the perception of technicians and farmers on issues common to these two groups.