Estratégias de segmentação de mercado no agronegócio: o caso da inserção da soja transgênica no estado do Paraná

Abstract

This study shows the main arguments from seven actors concerning the introduction of the agricultural technology of “Transgenic Soybean” in Paraná state. The general objective of this research was to determine the comparative factors of the production costs between conventional and transgenic soybean, aiming to subsidize strategies for decision making among the agribusiness actors in Paraná state. It was chosen a qualitative research of exploratory and descriptive nature, in the format of a case study and a survey respectively. The technique for collecting data was a semistructured individual interview, conducted along seven actors from the agribusiness branch: a researcher from a farming and cattle raising foundation of research, the multinational holder of the patented RR gene that transmit resistance to the RR soybean to the herbicide glyphosate, two agricultural managers of two cooperative companies in Paraná state, two representatives of the Agricultural Bureau of Paraná State, and one representative of the farmers of an agricultural cooperative company in Paraná state. The main arguments concerning the transgenic soybean confirmed in the research were: the practicality of use, the lower costs of this technology, problems with future resistances of harmful grass, market competitiveness of conventional soybean and environmental matters. Among the arguments, it was selected the comparative production cost between transgenic and conventional soybean to carry out the research. Concerning the comparative production costs, it was verified that the arguments that state lower costs with the introduction of the transgenic soybean are not correct, at least in short term. This study confirmed that there is practicality in the technology of the RR soybean, but there are also arguments and data that may inquiry about the use of this technology, concerning the economic and the technical aspect as well. Even with the significant reduction of costs due to the lower use of herbicides in the RR soybean, this fact is minimized by the higher price charged by the variety of RR transgenic seed, by the high technological tax used by the multinational holder of the RR gene and by the lower productivity presented by the varieties of RR soybean on the market in relation to the varieties of conventional soybean.