http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/48 2026-05-31T10:22:56Z http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/86422 Título: Sinergias entre o programa agroamigo e a agricultura familiar no semiárido do Brasil, no período de 2005 a 2024 Autor(es): Salviano, Jamile Ingrid de Almeida Abstract: This study investigates synergies between Agroamigo resources and the performance of rain- fed agriculture in the Semi-Arid Region, focusing on rice, beans, cassava, and corn crops, which are predominant in the region and sensitive to climatic variations. The states of Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Pernambuco, and Piauí are evaluated, as they account for the largest number of operations and resources in 2024 within the BNB’s area of operation. The objectives of the research are: i) to evaluate territorial expansion, contract dynamics, and financial resources, as well as economic relevance; ii) to assess the relationships between variables that influence agricultural production; and iii) to compare the Productivity Index (INPR) and Aggregate Production Value per hectare (VPA) before and after the implementation of the Program. and Experimental (2005–2024), the period following its implementation. The INPR and VPA are estimated to assess structural and productive changes associated with Agroamigo. The results show the program’s expansion, with the number of contracts increasing from approximately 18,000 to nearly 688,000 and total funding reaching approximately R$60 billion. However, real growth was limited compared to the minimum wage. Extensive coverage was observed in the Semi-Arid region, along with interdependence among crops, influenced by structural and technological factors. The INPR demonstrated good explanatory power, particularly in Ceará, Pernambuco, and Maranhão. The impacts were mixed, with income gains in Ceará and productivity gains in Maranhão, but unfavorable results in the other states. The overall conclusion is that Agroamigo contributed to boosting the productivity of family farming in the Semi-Arid region, although its effects depend on local structural and climatic conditions to translate these gains into increased income, as is expected in agricultural activities in general. Tipo: Tese 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/86113 Título: Eficiência técnica em assentamentos rurais do Ceará: análise envoltória de dados, clusters e aprendizado de máquina Autor(es): Araújo, Francisco Nilson Silva Abstract: The objective of this thesis is to analyze the technical efficiency of family-run production units in rural settlements in the state of Ceará, seeking to identify its determinants and propose recommendations for the sustainability of these territories. To this end, a quantitative methodological approach was employed, relating Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), cluster analysis (K-means), and machine learning algorithms (Random Forest, SVM, and XGBoost). The research used secondary data from 923 plots present in 16 Settlement Projects (PAs), distributed across ten municipalities. This data was also explored qualitatively, aiming at a socioeconomic and productive characterization of the settlements that comprise the sample. The DEA results revealed notable heterogeneity in performance, with 60% of the municipalities operating on the efficiency frontier and 40% presenting inefficiencies of up to 26.2%. The cluster analysis segmented the municipalities into three distinct profiles (small, medium, and large), validating the diversity of productive contexts. Machine learning models demonstrated high predictive capacity, with Random Forest achieving 89.7% accuracy in efficiency classification and XGBoost explaining 80.7% of the variation in efficiency score (R²). The area cultivated with corn emerged as the most important predictor, followed by access to water and diversification for livestock (poultry, cattle, and swine), which proved to be critical factors for productive success. It is concluded that the sustainability of settlements is intrinsically linked to increased technical efficiency, which, in turn, depends on overcoming socioeconomic deficits, such as the lack of water infrastructure. The mere possession of land proves insufficient without complementary investments. The research findings provide support for the formulation of customized public policies, with specific recommendations for each municipality profile, aiming to promote fairer, more resilient, and productive rural development in the semi-arid region of Ceará. Tipo: Tese 2026-04-01T00:00:00Z http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/84921 Título: Ensaios sobre pobreza no Brasil Autor(es): Loayza, Ana Cecilia Vasconcelos Abstract: The overall objective of this thesis is to analyze poverty in Brazil from an integrated approach, combining the construction of a multidimensional poverty index with the investigation of individual, household, and contextual determinants of poverty, from both a monetary and multidimensional perspective. The study consisted of three essays. The first aimed to construct a multidimensional poverty index for the years 2019 and 2023, based on the methodology of Alkire and Foster (2011), and to analyze the situation of deprivations using subgroup decompositions and a temporal analysis based on Shapley decompositions grounded in Roche's proposal (2013). The results indicate a decrease in multidimensional poverty in the country during the analyzed period and highlight the unequal distribution of deprivations faced by the poor in different regions and population subgroups. The second essay aimed to investigate the determinants at individual and contextual levels of monetary and multidimensional poverty in Brazil, based on the application of the multilevel logistic regression method. Data aggregated by geographic strata were used to analyze contextual determinants, allowing the identification of the extent to which the risk of poverty is associated with differences between these locations. The results highlight the importance of contextual factors in determining poverty; furthermore, it was observed that the effects are differentiated for rural and urban areas. The objective of the third essay was to investigate the individual and contextual factors specifically associated with rural poverty, measured using the extreme poverty indicator, emphasizing the role of nonagricultural occupation in poverty reduction. This study also applied a multilevel logistic regression model in conjunction with data from geographic strata. The results indicate that in structurally poorer strata, non-agricultural work plays an important role in mitigating poverty. Tipo: Tese 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/83726 Título: Ensaios sobre agroindústria brasileira Autor(es): Alencar, Nataniele dos Santos Abstract: This dissertation is composed of three essays that analyze different dimensions of the Brazilian agroindustry, using data from the 2017 Agricultural Census. The first essay investigates the direct and indirect effects of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Pronaf) on the production and sales values of rural agroindustry across Brazilian states, considering Internet access as a mediator. The results show that a significant share of Pronaf’s impact occurs indirectly, through the mediation of technical information obtained via the Internet, highlighting the relevance of digital connectivity for agroindustrial development. The second essay evaluates the technical efficiency of traditional agroindustries in the Northeastern semiarid region using the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model. The findings reveal low average efficiency levels and strong heterogeneity among groups: less efficient agroindustries display greater dispersion and restricted productive capacity, whereas more efficient ones are characterized by greater homogeneity and stability. The third essay examines disparities in the value of rural agroindustrial production in the semiarid region of Ceará between family and non-family farming, based on municipal productive characteristics. Using unconditional quantile regressions and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, the results indicate that family farming maintains superior productive performance compared to non-family farming, even under similar production conditions. Tipo: Tese 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z