Perspectivas de produção de etanol da batata-doce no oeste do estado de São Paulo

Abstract

This work aims to prospect future scenarios as a technical perspective for the production of sweet potato ethanol in microdistilleries in the main producing cities in the western region of the state of São Paulo. The sweet potato crop has favorable characteristics, such as a short production cycle and low management cost, making it suitable for small and medium-sized properties. The hypothesis that was adopted is that there is economic feasibility for the production of ethanol from sweet potatoes in microdistilleries in Pontal do Paranapanema, with the use of more productive cultivars. The constant transformations that occur at an accelerated pace in the world due to uncertainties with the advancement of technology provide several social, economic, political and technological changes that are not always predictable that cause ruptures in trends. The introduction of new technologies can increase production in the field and contribute to the development of a new business model as an alternative source of income for rural producers. The research was conducted through bibliographic and documentary analysis, with a qualitative-quantitative approach, using data from research institutions and bibliographic databases. In addition, a survey of the data of sweet potato production for the implementation of micro-distilleries was carried out, followed by cost simulation using appropriate software. The results were obtained through the interpretation of the collected data, compared with the chosen theoretical framework. According to the survey carried out, the region has enough raw material for the installation of micro-distilleries for ethanol processing, starting on a smaller scale with 10% of the annual production in the field, with possibilities of gradual growth over time to 25 and 50%, however everything depends on an incentive program from the local government that provides technical and economic resources to farmers. The prospection of future scenarios as a tool in this work favors the analysis of data and the obtaining of important information for better decision making.